How do I install the Claude Historian skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add vvkmnn/claude-historian 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 Claude Historian safe to use?

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

Which AI agents work with Claude Historian?

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 Claude Historian free to use?

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

Who published Claude Historian?

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

Claude Historian by vvkmnn — Agent Skill

Name: Claude Historian
Author: vvkmnn

File contents

Historian Plugin

Session memory. Use INSTEAD of grepping .jsonl files manually. Checks past sessions before redundant research, planning, or debugging.

Hooks

Hook	When	Action
PreToolUse(WebSearch/WebFetch)	Before web research	Checks `search(scope="similar")` first
PostToolUseFailure(Bash/Edit)	After tool errors	Suggests `search(scope="errors")`

Commands

Command	Description
`/search-historian <query>`	Search past sessions for solutions, decisions, context

MCP Tool: `search(query, scope)`

One tool, many scopes:

Scope	What It Finds	When to Use
`conversations`	Full-text across all sessions	General search
`similar`	Related past questions	Before web research
`errors`	How errors were previously fixed	After tool failures
`plans`	Past implementation plans	Before planning
`files`	File changes across sessions (needs `filepath`)	Before editing familiar files
`tools`	Successful tool workflows	Before launching agents
`sessions`	Recent work sessions	Browse history
`config`	.claude rules, skills, agents	Config troubleshooting
`tasks`	Task management data	Check past tasks
`memories`	Saved memories	Cross-session memory

MCP Tool: `inspect(session_id)`

Deep summary of a specific session with key insights.

Workflows

Before Planning

search(query="feature name", scope="plans")

Before Web Research

search(query="topic", scope="similar")

If found: use past results, skip web search.

After Errors

search(query="error message", scope="errors")

If found: apply previous solution.

General Search

search(query="topic", scope="conversations")
search(scope="files", filepath="path/to/file")
search(scope="sessions")

Sibling Synergy

With praetorian: historian gives raw session context, praetorian gives distilled insights. Check both.
With gladiator: historian finds past error solutions, gladiator records new ones.

---name: claude-historiandescription: Session history search — INVOKE before planning, before web research, after errors, or when looking for past conversation content. Use INSTEAD of manually grepping .jsonl session files.---# Historian PluginSession memory. Use INSTEAD of grepping .jsonl files manually. Checks past sessions before redundant research, planning, or debugging.## Hooks| Hook | When | Action ||------|------|--------|| **PreToolUse(WebSearch/WebFetch)** | Before web research | Checks `search(scope="similar")` first || **PostToolUseFailure(Bash/Edit)** | After tool errors | Suggests `search(scope="errors")` |## Commands| Command | Description ||---------|-------------|| `/search-historian <query>` | Search past sessions for solutions, decisions, context |## MCP Tool: `search(query, scope)`One tool, many scopes:| Scope | What It Finds | When to Use ||-------|---------------|-------------|| `conversations` | Full-text across all sessions | General search || `similar` | Related past questions | Before web research || `errors` | How errors were previously fixed | After tool failures || `plans` | Past implementation plans | Before planning || `files` | File changes across sessions (needs `filepath`) | Before editing familiar files || `tools` | Successful tool workflows | Before launching agents || `sessions` | Recent work sessions | Browse history || `config` | .claude rules, skills, agents | Config troubleshooting || `tasks` | Task management data | Check past tasks || `memories` | Saved memories | Cross-session memory |## MCP Tool: `inspect(session_id)`Deep summary of a specific session with key insights.## Workflows### Before Planning```search(query="feature name", scope="plans")```### Before Web Research```search(query="topic", scope="similar")```If found: use past results, skip web search.### After Errors```search(query="error message", scope="errors")```If found: apply previous solution.### General Search```search(query="topic", scope="conversations")search(scope="files", filepath="path/to/file")search(scope="sessions")```## Sibling Synergy- **With praetorian**: historian gives raw session context, praetorian gives distilled insights. Check both.- **With gladiator**: historian finds past error solutions, gladiator records new ones.

Frequently asked questions

Claude Historian