# Use CLI Recall

> Search past Claude Code/Codex sessions via recall CLI.

- Skill: `thkt/use-cli-recall` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add thkt/use-cli-recall`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/thkt/use-cli-recall/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: thkt (https://skillmd.com/u/thkt)
- Updated: 2026-09-10
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/thkt/use-cli-recall

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# use-cli-recall

## When to use

When one applies, call without deliberation. recall answers past decisions and `ugrep` / `bfs` answer the current code state, so on a trigger carrying a code-search column, run both in parallel.

| Trigger              | Signal                                     | Code search to run alongside |
| -------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------- |
| Temporal reference   | 「前に」「あの時」 past events / decisions | -                            |
| Structural echo      | Current problem mirrors a past situation   | The current similar code     |
| Repetition           | 「また同じ」 recurring mistake             | -                            |
| Vague back-reference | 「あの件」 past work without specifics     | -                            |
| Module first contact | First edit to a file/module this session   | Module name, key identifiers |

## Commands

On module first contact, reach for `--file`. It narrows to the sessions that touched that file, which lands closer than a full-text search on the module name.

| Purpose           | Command                                                     |
| ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| Search            | `recall search "query"`. Shorthand: `recall "query"`        |
| Last N days       | `recall search "query" --days N`                            |
| Project filter    | `recall search "query" --project <path>`                    |
| File filter       | `recall search "query" --file <path>`                       |
| Source filter     | `recall search "query" --source claude` or `--source codex` |
| Limit results     | `recall search "query" --limit N`. Default 10, max 100      |
| Show session      | `recall show <session-id>`                                  |
| Status            | `recall status`                                             |
| Incremental index | `recall index`                                              |
| Full rebuild      | `recall rebuild`                                            |

## Pitfalls

Write bilingual queries upfront (e.g. `recall "認証 auth"`). FTS5 trigram tokenization cannot match JA terms of 2 chars or fewer; 認証 and 依存 hit 0. Embeddings do not bridge EN⇄JA (thkt/recall#51). Including both languages covers each search path.

recall does not expand queries (caller-is-LLM, thkt/recall#25). Hybrid search returns nearest neighbors, so a poor query yields low-relevance results rather than 0 hits. When results are empty or low-relevance, rewrite the query yourself and retry once: synonyms, EN⇄JA variants, related concept terms.

## The help output is authoritative

Options, filters and exit codes live in `recall --help` and `recall <subcommand> --help`. Where help and memory differ, help is right.