How do I install the Para Memory Files skill?

Run npx skillmds add paperclipai/para-memory-files in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Para Memory Files safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Capability flags: docs only. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Para Memory Files?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Para Memory Files free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Para Memory Files?

paperclipai (@paperclipai) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Para Memory Files by paperclipai — Agent Skill

Name: Para Memory Files
Rating: 4.5 (4 reviews)
Author: paperclipai

Para Memory Files

Use a file-based PARA memory system to store, retrieve, and organize durable knowledge across sessions. Trigger on saving facts, daily notes, entity records, weekly synthesis, recall, tacit user patterns, or plan memory.

paperclipai b90a1aa 2 files · 5.0 KB Updated Sep 9, 2026

File contents

PARA Memory Files

Persistent, file-based memory organized by Tiago Forte's PARA method. Three layers: a knowledge graph, daily notes, and tacit knowledge. All paths are relative to $AGENT_HOME.

Three Memory Layers

Layer 1: Knowledge Graph (`$AGENT_HOME/life/` -- PARA)

Entity-based storage. Each entity gets a folder with two tiers:

summary.md -- quick context, load first.
items.yaml -- atomic facts, load on demand.

$AGENT_HOME/life/
  projects/          # Active work with clear goals/deadlines
    <name>/
      summary.md
      items.yaml
  areas/             # Ongoing responsibilities, no end date
    people/<name>/
    companies/<name>/
  resources/         # Reference material, topics of interest
    <topic>/
  archives/          # Inactive items from the other three
  index.md

PARA rules:

Projects -- active work with a goal or deadline. Move to archives when complete.
Areas -- ongoing (people, companies, responsibilities). No end date.
Resources -- reference material, topics of interest.
Archives -- inactive items from any category.

Fact rules:

Save durable facts immediately to items.yaml.
Weekly: rewrite summary.md from active facts.
Never delete facts. Supersede instead (status: superseded, add superseded_by).
When an entity goes inactive, move its folder to $AGENT_HOME/life/archives/.

When to create an entity:

Mentioned 3+ times, OR
Direct relationship to the user (family, coworker, partner, client), OR
Significant project or company in the user's life.
Otherwise, note it in daily notes.

For the atomic fact YAML schema and memory decay rules, see references/schemas.md.

Layer 2: Daily Notes (`$AGENT_HOME/memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md`)

Raw timeline of events -- the "when" layer.

Write continuously during conversations.
Extract durable facts to Layer 1 during heartbeats.

Layer 3: Tacit Knowledge (`$AGENT_HOME/MEMORY.md`)

How the user operates -- patterns, preferences, lessons learned.

Not facts about the world; facts about the user.
Update whenever you learn new operating patterns.

Write It Down -- No Mental Notes

Memory does not survive session restarts. Files do.

Want to remember something -> WRITE IT TO A FILE.
"Remember this" -> update $AGENT_HOME/memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md or the relevant entity file.
Learn a lesson -> update AGENTS.md, TOOLS.md, or the relevant skill file.
Make a mistake -> document it so future-you does not repeat it.
On-disk text files are always better than holding it in temporary context.

Memory Recall -- Use qmd

Use qmd rather than grepping files:

qmd query "what happened at Christmas"   # Semantic search with reranking
qmd search "specific phrase"              # BM25 keyword search
qmd vsearch "conceptual question"         # Pure vector similarity

Index your personal folder: qmd index $AGENT_HOME

Vectors + BM25 + reranking finds things even when the wording differs.

Planning

Keep plans in timestamped files in plans/ at the project root (outside personal memory so other agents can access them). Use qmd to search plans. Plans go stale -- if a newer plan exists, do not confuse yourself with an older version. If you notice staleness, update the file to note what it is supersededBy.

---name: para-memory-filesdescription: Use a file-based PARA memory system to store, retrieve, and organize durable knowledge across sessions. Trigger on saving facts, daily notes, entity records, weekly synthesis, recall, tacit user patterns, or plan memory.--- # PARA Memory Files Persistent, file-based memory organized by Tiago Forte's PARA method. Three layers: a knowledge graph, daily notes, and tacit knowledge. All paths are relative to `$AGENT_HOME`. ## Three Memory Layers ### Layer 1: Knowledge Graph (`$AGENT_HOME/life/` -- PARA) Entity-based storage. Each entity gets a folder with two tiers: 1. `summary.md` -- quick context, load first. 2. `items.yaml` -- atomic facts, load on demand. ```text $AGENT_HOME/life/ projects/ # Active work with clear goals/deadlines <name>/ summary.md items.yaml areas/ # Ongoing responsibilities, no end date people/<name>/ companies/<name>/ resources/ # Reference material, topics of interest <topic>/ archives/ # Inactive items from the other three index.md ``` **PARA rules:** - **Projects** -- active work with a goal or deadline. Move to archives when complete. - **Areas** -- ongoing (people, companies, responsibilities). No end date. - **Resources** -- reference material, topics of interest. - **Archives** -- inactive items from any category. **Fact rules:** - Save durable facts immediately to `items.yaml`. - Weekly: rewrite `summary.md` from active facts. - Never delete facts. Supersede instead (`status: superseded`, add `superseded_by`). - When an entity goes inactive, move its folder to `$AGENT_HOME/life/archives/`. **When to create an entity:** - Mentioned 3+ times, OR - Direct relationship to the user (family, coworker, partner, client), OR - Significant project or company in the user's life. - Otherwise, note it in daily notes. For the atomic fact YAML schema and memory decay rules, see [references/schemas.md](references/schemas.md). ### Layer 2: Daily Notes (`$AGENT_HOME/memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md`) Raw timeline of events -- the "when" layer. - Write continuously during conversations. - Extract durable facts to Layer 1 during heartbeats. ### Layer 3: Tacit Knowledge (`$AGENT_HOME/MEMORY.md`) How the user operates -- patterns, preferences, lessons learned. - Not facts about the world; facts about the user. - Update whenever you learn new operating patterns. ## Write It Down -- No Mental Notes Memory does not survive session restarts. Files do. - Want to remember something -> WRITE IT TO A FILE. - "Remember this" -> update `$AGENT_HOME/memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md` or the relevant entity file. - Learn a lesson -> update AGENTS.md, TOOLS.md, or the relevant skill file. - Make a mistake -> document it so future-you does not repeat it. - On-disk text files are always better than holding it in temporary context. ## Memory Recall -- Use qmd Use `qmd` rather than grepping files: ```bash qmd query "what happened at Christmas" # Semantic search with reranking qmd search "specific phrase" # BM25 keyword search qmd vsearch "conceptual question" # Pure vector similarity ``` Index your personal folder: `qmd index $AGENT_HOME` Vectors + BM25 + reranking finds things even when the wording differs. ## Planning Keep plans in timestamped files in `plans/` at the project root (outside personal memory so other agents can access them). Use `qmd` to search plans. Plans go stale -- if a newer plan exists, do not confuse yourself with an older version. If you notice staleness, update the file to note what it is supersededBy.

Frequently asked questions