Memory Storage

Memory Storage Skill

Configure storage paths, data retention policies, cleanup schedules, GDPR compliance mode, and performance tuning for agent-memory.

When Not to Use

• Initial installation (use /memory-setup first)
• Querying past conversations (use memory-query plugin)
• Configuring LLM providers (use /memory-llm)
• Multi-agent configuration (use /memory-agents)

Quick Start

Question Flow

State Detection
      |
      v
+------------------+
| Step 1: Storage  | <- Skip if path exists (unless --fresh)
| Path             |
+--------+---------+
         |
         v
+------------------+
| Step 2: Retention| <- Skip if policy configured
| Policy           |
+--------+---------+
         |
         v
+------------------+
| Step 3: Cleanup  | <- --advanced only
| Schedule         |
+--------+---------+
         |
         v
+------------------+
| Step 4: Archive  | <- --advanced only
| Strategy         |
+--------+---------+
         |
         v
+------------------+
| Step 5: GDPR     | <- Show if EU locale detected or --advanced
| Mode             |
+--------+---------+
         |
         v
+------------------+
| Step 6: Perf     | <- --advanced only
| Tuning           |
+--------+---------+
         |
         v
    Execution

State Detection

Before beginning configuration, detect current system state to skip completed steps.

Detection Commands

# Check if storage path is configured
grep -A5 '\[storage\]' ~/.config/memory-daemon/config.toml 2>/dev/null | grep path

# Check retention configuration
grep retention ~/.config/memory-daemon/config.toml 2>/dev/null

# Check current disk usage
du -sh ~/.memory-store 2>/dev/null && df -h ~/.memory-store 2>/dev/null | tail -1

# Check if archive exists
ls ~/.memory-archive 2>/dev/null

# Detect locale for GDPR
locale | grep -E "^LANG=.*_(AT|BE|BG|HR|CY|CZ|DK|EE|FI|FR|DE|GR|HU|IE|IT|LV|LT|LU|MT|NL|PL|PT|RO|SK|SI|ES|SE)" && echo "EU_LOCALE"

State Summary Format

Current Storage State
---------------------
Storage Path:    ~/.memory-store (4.2 GB used, 120 GB available)
Retention:       Not configured
Cleanup:         Not configured
Archive:         Not configured
GDPR Mode:       Not configured
Performance:     Default settings

Recommended:     Configure retention policy

Wizard Steps

Step 1: Storage Path

Skip if: path configured in config.toml AND not --fresh

question: "Where should agent-memory store conversation data?"
header: "Storage"
options:
  - label: "~/.memory-store (Recommended)"
    description: "Standard user location, works on all platforms"
  - label: "~/.local/share/agent-memory/db"
    description: "XDG-compliant location for Linux"
  - label: "Custom path"
    description: "Specify a custom storage location"
multiSelect: false

If Custom selected:

question: "Enter the custom storage path:"
header: "Path"
type: text
validation: "Path must be writable with at least 100MB free space"

Step 2: Retention Policy

Skip if: retention configured AND not --fresh

question: "How long should conversation data be retained?"
header: "Retention"
options:
  - label: "Forever (Recommended)"
    description: "Keep all data permanently for maximum historical context"
  - label: "90 days"
    description: "Quarter retention, good balance of history and storage"
  - label: "30 days"
    description: "One month retention, lower storage usage"
  - label: "7 days"
    description: "Short-term memory only, minimal storage"
multiSelect: false

Step 3: Cleanup Schedule

Skip if: --minimal mode OR not --advanced

question: "When should automatic cleanup run?"
header: "Schedule"
options:
  - label: "Daily at 3 AM (Recommended)"
    description: "Runs during off-hours, catches expired data quickly"
  - label: "Weekly on Sunday"
    description: "Less frequent cleanup, lower system impact"
  - label: "Disabled"
    description: "Manual cleanup only with memory-daemon admin cleanup"
  - label: "Custom cron"
    description: "Specify a custom cron expression"
multiSelect: false

If Custom cron selected:

question: "Enter cron expression (e.g., '0 2 * * 0' for Sundays at 2 AM):"
header: "Cron"
type: text
validation: "Must be valid 5-field cron expression"

Step 4: Archive Strategy

Skip if: --minimal mode OR not --advanced

question: "How should old data be archived before deletion?"
header: "Archive"
options:
  - label: "Compress to archive (Recommended)"
    description: "Saves space, data recoverable from ~/.memory-archive/"
  - label: "Export to JSON"
    description: "Human-readable backup before deletion"
  - label: "No archive"
    description: "Delete directly (irreversible)"
multiSelect: false

Step 5: GDPR Mode

Show if: EU locale detected OR --advanced flag

question: "Enable GDPR-compliant deletion mode?"
header: "GDPR"
options:
  - label: "No (Recommended)"
    description: "Standard retention with tombstones for recovery"
  - label: "Yes"
    description: "Complete data removal, audit logging, export-before-delete"
multiSelect: false

Step 6: Performance Tuning

Skip if: --minimal mode OR not --advanced

question: "Configure storage performance parameters?"
header: "Performance"
options:
  - label: "Balanced (Recommended)"
    description: "64MB write buffer, 4 background jobs - works for most users"
  - label: "Low memory"
    description: "16MB write buffer, 1 background job - for constrained systems"
  - label: "High performance"
    description: "128MB write buffer, 8 background jobs - for heavy usage"
  - label: "Custom"
    description: "Specify write_buffer_size_mb and max_background_jobs"
multiSelect: false

If Custom selected:

question: "Enter write buffer size in MB (16-256):"
header: "Buffer"
type: number
validation: "16 <= value <= 256"

question: "Enter max background jobs (1-16):"
header: "Jobs"
type: number
validation: "1 <= value <= 16"

Config Generation

After wizard completion, generate or update config.toml:

# Create or update storage and retention sections
cat >> ~/.config/memory-daemon/config.toml << 'EOF'

[storage]
path = "~/.memory-store"
write_buffer_size_mb = 64
max_background_jobs = 4

[retention]
policy = "forever"
cleanup_schedule = "0 3 * * *"
archive_strategy = "compress"
archive_path = "~/.memory-archive"
gdpr_mode = false
EOF

Config Value Mapping

Validation

Before applying configuration, validate:

# 1. Path exists or can be created
mkdir -p "$STORAGE_PATH" 2>/dev/null && echo "[check] Path writable" || echo "[x] Cannot create path"

# 2. Write permissions verified
touch "$STORAGE_PATH/.test" 2>/dev/null && rm "$STORAGE_PATH/.test" && echo "[check] Write permission OK" || echo "[x] No write permission"

# 3. Minimum 100MB free disk space
FREE_KB=$(df -k "$STORAGE_PATH" 2>/dev/null | tail -1 | awk '{print $4}')
[ "$FREE_KB" -gt 102400 ] && echo "[check] Disk space OK ($(($FREE_KB/1024))MB free)" || echo "[x] Less than 100MB free"

# 4. Cron expression valid (if custom)
# Use online validator or test with: echo "$CRON_EXPR" | grep -E '^[0-9*,/-]+ [0-9*,/-]+ [0-9*,/-]+ [0-9*,/-]+ [0-9*,/-]+$'

# 5. Archive path writable (if archiving enabled)
mkdir -p "$ARCHIVE_PATH" 2>/dev/null && echo "[check] Archive path OK" || echo "[x] Cannot create archive path"

Output Formatting

Success Display

==================================================
 Storage Configuration Complete!
==================================================

[check] Storage path configured: ~/.memory-store
[check] Retention policy set: Forever
[check] Cleanup schedule: Daily at 3 AM
[check] Archive strategy: Compress to ~/.memory-archive/
[check] GDPR mode: Disabled
[check] Performance: Balanced (64MB buffer, 4 jobs)

Configuration written to ~/.config/memory-daemon/config.toml

Next steps:
  * Restart daemon: memory-daemon restart
  * Configure LLM: /memory-llm
  * Multi-agent setup: /memory-agents

Partial Success Display

==================================================
 Storage Configuration Partially Complete
==================================================

[check] Storage path configured: ~/.memory-store
[check] Retention policy set: 30 days
[!] Cleanup schedule: Skipped (use --advanced to configure)
[!] Archive strategy: Using default (compress)
[check] GDPR mode: Disabled

What's missing:
  * Advanced options not configured (cleanup schedule, archive strategy)

To configure advanced options:
  /memory-storage --advanced

Error Display

[x] Storage Configuration Failed
---------------------------------

Error: Cannot write to storage path /custom/path

To fix:
  1. Check directory permissions: ls -la /custom/path
  2. Create directory if needed: sudo mkdir -p /custom/path
  3. Set ownership: sudo chown $USER /custom/path
  4. Re-run: /memory-storage --fresh

Need help? Run: /memory-status --verbose

Mode Behaviors

Default Mode (/memory-storage)

• Runs state detection
• Skips configured options
• Shows steps 1, 2, and 5 (if EU locale)
• Uses defaults for advanced options

Minimal Mode (/memory-storage --minimal)

• Skips all advanced options (steps 3, 4, 6)
• Uses recommended defaults
• Fastest path to configuration

Advanced Mode (/memory-storage --advanced)

• Shows ALL six steps
• Includes cleanup schedule, archive strategy, performance tuning
• Shows GDPR option regardless of locale

Fresh Mode (/memory-storage --fresh)

• Ignores existing configuration
• Asks all questions from scratch
• Can combine with --advanced: /memory-storage --fresh --advanced

Reference Files

For detailed information, see:

• Retention Policies - Policy options and storage impact
• GDPR Compliance - GDPR mode details and trade-offs
• Archive Strategies - Archive options and recovery

Related Skills

After storage configuration, consider:

• /memory-llm - Configure LLM provider for summarization
• /memory-agents - Set up multi-agent configuration
• /memory-setup - Full installation wizard
• /memory-status - Check current system status