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memory-lifecycle · basicmachines-co — Claude Code skill: archive notes, keep links

A Basic Memory skill that moves notes between status folders, updates frontmatter, and archives instead of deleting.

Install into Claude Code · Skills CLI (Vercel) All methods and platforms ↓ 
npx skills add basicmachines-co/basic-memory-skills --skill memory-lifecycle -a claude-code
Open on GitHub

What memory-lifecycle does

This skill handles status transitions for entities in Basic Memory. Say that something is done, cancelled or on hold, and it locates the note, moves the file into a folder like archive/ or completed/, then updates the status field in frontmatter. The order matters: move_note runs first, edit_note second. If the edit fails, the file is already in the right place.

Archive, never delete — that is the rule the skill follows. Deleting a note drops it from the knowledge graph along with its observations and relations, so the skill reserves deletion for typos and real duplicates. Permalinks survive a move, which means [[wiki-links]] and memory:// URLs keep resolving. Reverting a mistaken archive is the same move in reverse.

Some status changes need no move at all. Paused or blocked items stay in active/ with only a frontmatter edit. When several notes match a request, or the target folder is unclear, the skill asks instead of guessing. Folder names come from your own structure, so a clear status scheme pays off before you start.

What it helps with

  • move a finished task into completed/ without breaking its links
  • bring back a note that was archived by mistake
  • sync the frontmatter status after relocating a file
  • clean up stale active notes that are no longer relevant
  • tell a partially finished item apart from a closed one

Example prompts for the agent

  • The quarterly report is done, archive it
  • I closed the migration task by accident — move it back to active
  • Go through my active notes and tell me what should be archived

How to install memory-lifecycle

1Skills CLI (Vercel)

npx skills add basicmachines-co/basic-memory-skills --skill memory-lifecycle -a claude-code

2Manually: put the files in place

~/.claude/skills/memory-lifecycle/SKILL.md

Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/memory-lifecycle/

Step by step, with commands for each platform: How to install skills in Claude Code: five ways

Questions about memory-lifecycle

How do I install memory-lifecycle in Claude?

Run npx skills add basicmachines-co/basic-memory-skills --skill memory-lifecycle -a claude-code. The skill lands in ~/.claude/skills/memory-lifecycle/SKILL.md.

What does memory-lifecycle do?

It manages status transitions in Basic Memory: moving notes between folders, editing frontmatter, and handling edge cases such as an entity that is already archived.

Does archiving delete my notes?

No. The skill moves the file rather than removing it, so observations, relations and history stay in the knowledge graph. Deletion is limited to typos and duplicates.

Similar skills

All skills for Agent setup: memory, context, orchestration →

memory-lifecycle by other authors comes first.

memory-lifecycle basicmachines-co Automates note status transitions in Basic Memory. It archives completed work into appropriate folders and updates frontmatter without deleting records. CX Codex +1 1,200installs memory-curate basicmachines-co Curates your Basic Memory knowledge graph by connecting orphan notes, proposing typed relations, merging duplicates, and building hub indexes. Useful when accumulated notes become disorganized. CX Codex +1 1,300installs memory-notes basicmachines-co Guides coding agents on structuring markdown notes for Basic Memory knowledge graphs. It covers YAML metadata, categorized observations, and wiki-style note relations. CX Codex +1 1,300installs para-memory-files paperclipai Skill for storing knowledge and facts across IA coder sessions. Organizes memory by the PARA method: projects, areas, resources, and archives in separate files, with vector and keyword search. CX Codex +1 1,800installs memory-intake nhadaututtheky Turns messy notes and conversations into typed memories with tags, priority and expiry. Useful when raw input needs to be filed instead of dumped. CX Codex +1 766installs memory-systems guanyang A skill for picking an agent memory architecture: storage layers, frameworks like Mem0 and Zep, retrieval strategies and benchmarks. CX Codex +1 393installs mempalace-recall MemPalace Instructs the agent to query MemPalace before answering questions about past decisions, projects, or people. Prevents model hallucinations when facts are already stored. CX Codex +1 1,400installs

From the same set4

memory-ingest Turns meeting transcripts, chat logs and pasted documents into structured Basic Memory notes. Useful when raw text needs to become entities and relations. CX Codex +1 541installs memory-reflect A background skill that reviews recent sessions and daily notes, pulls out what matters and folds it into long-term memory. Runs on a schedule or on demand. CX Codex +1 746installs memory-defrag Splits bloated memory files, merges duplicates, drops stale entries. Run it on a schedule or when things get messy. CX Codex +1 632installs

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