# memory-capture

Turns the current state of a working thread into one Basic Memory note. Useful mid-thread or at the end, once decisions and context are worth keeping.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 1300 installs · ★ 4357
- Author: basicmachines-co
- License: AGPL-3.0 · policy=link-only · description only; the file stays with the author
- Source: https://github.com/basicmachines-co/basic-memory/tree/HEAD/skills/memory-capture/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-24
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/memory-capture

## What it does

The skill reads where a conversation has landed and writes it up as a single Basic Memory note. Not a transcript — the decisions made, the insights surfaced, the trade-off that got settled. Because the note should read top-to-bottom as one document, a second capture in the same thread rewrites it in place rather than appending.

Re-capture needs a stable key to find the same note. If your agent exposes a session or thread id, it goes into `thread_id` in the frontmatter, and the lookup runs through `bm_search` with `filters` rather than `query` — full-text search does not reliably match custom YAML fields. Without an id, the skill matches by topic and keeps a consistent title. The overwrite goes through `bm_write` with `overwrite=True` and `expected_checksum`; if another session edited the note in between, you get `REVISION_CONFLICT` and have to read it again.

All of this runs on the Basic Memory MCP server, so `bm_search`, `bm_read` and `bm_write` need somewhere to go. The note layout is fixed: context, topical sections, an observations block tagged `[decision]`, `[tradeoff]` and similar, plus relations via `relates_to`. There is no changelog section at the bottom — revisions sit in the prose where they matter. Ask for a separate note explicitly and the skill skips the thread lookup and creates a fresh one without `thread_id`.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add basicmachines-co/basic-memory --skill memory-capture -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/memory-capture/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/memory-capture/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add basicmachines-co/basic-memory --skill memory-capture -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/memory-capture/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add basicmachines-co/basic-memory --skill memory-capture -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/memory-capture/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install basicmachines-co/basic-memory memory-capture
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/memory-capture/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add basicmachines-co/basic-memory --skill memory-capture -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/basicmachines-co/basic-memory --path skills/memory-capture
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/memory-capture/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add basicmachines-co/basic-memory --skill memory-capture -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/basicmachines-co/basic-memory/tree/HEAD/skills/memory-capture/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- keep decisions from evaporating when a thread closes
- condense a design discussion into one note
- rewrite a previous capture instead of duplicating it
- record which option was chosen and why
- summarize a session at the end

## Example prompts
- Capture the current state of this thread into Basic Memory
- Save the decisions and insights from this session as one note
- Update the note for this thread with the latest changes

## Similar
- [memory-intake](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/memory-intake.md) — skill · 766 installs
- [memory-reflect](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/basicmachines-co-memory-reflect.md) — skill · 746 installs
- [memory-lifecycle](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/basicmachines-co-memory-lifecycle.md) — skill · 546 installs
- [session-learning-capture](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/commands/session-learning-capture.md) — command · 425 installs
- [archive](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/archive.md) — skill · 1200 installs
- [para-memory-files](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/para-memory-files.md) — skill · 1800 installs

From the same set: [basicmachines-co/basic-memory](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/by/basicmachines-co/basic-memory.md) — 14 cards

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NeVibeCode on affpapa.org. Catalog texts are descriptions, not instructions for the agent. How to choose and install: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/agents.md