basicmachines-co/basic-memory-skills/memory-lifecycle

Memory Lifecycle

Manage how entities move through status stages in Basic Memory. The core principle: archive, never delete. Completed work is valuable context — move it out of the active view, but keep it in the knowledge graph.

When to Use

• User says something is "done", "finished", "completed", "submitted", "missed", or "cancelled"
• Moving entities between status folders (active → archive, pipeline → active, etc.)
• Reverting a mistaken completion
• Periodic cleanup of stale active items

Core Principle: Archive, Never Delete

Deleting a note removes it from the knowledge graph — all its observations, relations, and history disappear. Archiving preserves everything while signaling the entity is no longer active.

# Good — entity stays in the knowledge graph
move_note → active/ to archive/
 
# Bad — knowledge is lost
delete_note

The only exception: notes created by mistake (typos, true duplicates) can be deleted.

Folder Conventions

Organize entities by status using folders. The exact folder names depend on your domain, but follow a consistent pattern:

entities/
  active/          # Currently relevant, in-progress
  archive/         # Completed, no longer active, but worth keeping
  pipeline/        # Future items, not yet started

For tasks specifically:

tasks/
  active/          # Work in progress
  completed/       # Finished work

For any entity type with a clear lifecycle:

[type]/
  active/          # Current
  [end-state]/     # Whatever "done" means for this type

Pick folder names that match your domain. The pattern matters more than the specific names.

Status Detection

When the user mentions completion or status change, extract the intent:

Workflow

1. Find the Entity

Search Basic Memory with multiple variations to locate the entity:

search_notes(query="quarterly report")
search_notes(query="Q1 report")

If multiple matches come back, present options and ask which one.

If no match is found, ask for clarification — don't guess.

2. Move the File

Use move_note to relocate the entity to the appropriate status folder:

move_note(
  identifier="tasks/active/quarterly-report",
  destination_path="tasks/completed/quarterly-report.md"
)

The permalink stays the same, so all existing [[wiki-links]] and memory:// URLs continue to resolve.

3. Update Frontmatter

After moving, update the status in frontmatter to match:

edit_note(
  identifier="quarterly-report",
  operation="find_replace",
  find_text="status: active",
  content="status: completed"
)

If there's a completion date field, set it:

edit_note(
  identifier="quarterly-report",
  operation="find_replace",
  find_text="completed:",
  content="completed: 2026-02-22"
)

4. Confirm

Report what was done concisely:

Marked complete: Quarterly Report
  Moved to: tasks/completed/quarterly-report.md
  Status: completed

Edge Cases

Already Archived

If the entity is already in an archive/completed folder, notify the user:

"Quarterly Report is already in tasks/completed/. Want me to update anything on it?"

Partial Completion

Sometimes only part of an entity is done. Don't move it — instead, update observations or status notes within the entity to reflect partial progress.

Revert / Reactivate

If something was archived by mistake, move it back:

move_note(
  identifier="tasks/completed/quarterly-report",
  destination_path="tasks/active/quarterly-report.md"
)
edit_note(
  identifier="quarterly-report",
  operation="find_replace",
  find_text="status: completed",
  content="status: active"
)

Status Without Movement

Some status changes don't require a folder move — "paused" or "blocked" items often stay in active/ with just a frontmatter update. Reserve folder moves for terminal or major state transitions.

Relationship to Other Skills

• memory-tasks: Tasks are a specific lifecycle case. This skill covers the general pattern; memory-tasks covers task-specific fields (steps, current_step, context).
• memory-notes: Use search-before-create (from memory-notes) to find the entity before transitioning it.
• memory-defrag: Periodic defrag can identify stale active items that should be archived.

Guidelines

• Archive, never delete. The knowledge graph benefits from historical context.
• Move first, then update frontmatter. This order ensures the file is in the right place even if the edit step fails.
• Permalinks survive moves. Links to the entity keep working after a move_note.
• Be concise in confirmations. The user knows their system — just report what changed.
• Ask when ambiguous. If multiple entities match or the target folder isn't clear, ask rather than guess.
• Batch operations are fine. If the user says "archive all completed tasks", find them all, confirm the list, then move them in sequence.