memory-defrag · basicmachines-co — Claude Code skill: what it does, how to install

What memory-defrag does

memory-defrag audits a Basic Memory project for notes that have grown across several topics, repeat the same facts, contain stale work, or disagree with other notes. Its audit uses bm_find, bm_project, and bm_search to inspect the project, review recent activity, search one topic, and find due commitments that may still be hanging around.

The skill writes a plan before changing anything. The plan can propose focused notes, consolidated facts, dated changes backed by a source, or items that need review. Splitting, preserving source notes, and updating status can be applied directly; deletion, merging, dropping facts, and resolving an undated contradiction require explicit permission. Before an edit, it reads the note as JSON and passes expected_checksum, then records what happened in the plan.

memory-defrag handles note content, while memory-curate handles links, relations, and tags. Raw meeting notes, daily logs, and captures are kept. That matters when the project contains conflicting records: unless a dated source explains the change, the skill leaves both claims in the plan for review.