mem_context

Get recent memory context from previous sessions

Overview

Retrieve recent observations from previous coding sessions to understand what was done before. Unlike mem_search (which requires a query), this tool returns the most recent memories for a project or across all projects.

This is a core tool in the agent profile, always loaded in the MCP context.

Parameters

project · string

Filter observations by project name

Omit to retrieve context from all projects.

Example:

{
  "project": "my-api"
}

scope · string

Filter observations by visibility scope

Options:

• project (default) — project-scoped observations
• personal — cross-project personal knowledge

Example:

{
  "scope": "personal"
}

limit · number

Number of observations to retrieve

Default: 20

Returns the N most recent observations, ordered by creation timestamp.

Response

context · string

Formatted recent context with observations and statistics

The response includes:

1. Recent sessions — summary of the most recent coding sessions
2. Recent observations — chronological list of observations with:
   • Session ID
   • Type and title
   • Content preview (truncated)
   • Project and scope
   • Timestamp
3. Memory statistics — total sessions, observations, and projects

Example response:

=== Recent Sessions ===

Session: my-api (2026-03-01T14:00:00Z) — Added JWT authentication and refactored user service
Observations: 5

Session: engram (2026-02-28T09:30:00Z) — Fixed FTS5 search bugs and added deduplication
Observations: 3

=== Recent Observations ===

[#87] session-abc-123 | decision | Switched from sessions to JWT
**What**: Replaced express-session with jsonwebtoken for auth
**Why**: Session storage doesn't scale across multiple instances
...
Project: my-api | Scope: project | 2026-03-01T14:23:45Z

[#42] session-xyz-789 | bugfix | Fixed FTS5 syntax error on special chars
**What**: Wrapped each search term in quotes before passing to FTS5 MATCH
...
Project: engram | Scope: project | 2026-02-28T10:15:30Z

---
Memory stats: 12 sessions, 87 observations across projects: my-api, engram, frontend

If no memories exist:

No previous session memories found.

Usage Examples

Get Recent Context for Current Project

{
  "project": "my-api"
}

Returns the 20 most recent observations from the “my-api” project.

Get Context Across All Projects

{
  "limit": 10
}

Returns the 10 most recent observations from all projects.

Get Personal Knowledge Context

{
  "scope": "personal",
  "limit": 15
}

Returns the 15 most recent cross-project observations.

Large Context Window

{
  "project": "my-api",
  "limit": 50
}

Returns up to 50 recent observations (useful for deep context recovery).

When to Use

• Session start — get context about recent work when starting a new session
• Context recovery — understand what happened in previous sessions
• Onboarding — catch up on project history
• Resume work — recall where you left off

Difference from mem_search

Feature	mem_context	mem_search
Query	No query — returns most recent	Requires search query
Ordering	Chronological (newest first)	Relevance ranking (BM25)
Use case	”What happened recently?"	"Find specific information”
Session summaries	Includes session summaries	No session summaries
Stats	Includes memory statistics	No statistics

Use mem_context when you want recent chronological context. Use mem_search when you’re looking for something specific.

Session Summaries

The context includes session summaries created via mem_session_summary:

• Goal — what the session aimed to accomplish
• Discoveries — technical findings and gotchas
• Accomplished — completed tasks
• Relevant files — files changed or important for context

Session summaries provide high-level overviews, while individual observations contain detailed context.

Memory Statistics

The footer includes:

• Total sessions — number of coding sessions tracked
• Total observations — number of memories saved
• Projects — list of all projects with observations

Example:

Memory stats: 25 sessions, 143 observations across projects: my-api, engram, frontend, mobile-app

Performance

• Fast retrieval — simple ORDER BY created_at DESC LIMIT N query
• No full-text search — no FTS5 index lookup
• Minimal overhead — suitable for frequent calls

Token Efficiency

Context is formatted for readability but can be large:

• Default (20 observations): ~2000-4000 tokens
• Large (50 observations): ~5000-10000 tokens

Adjust the limit parameter based on your context window. Start with 10-20 observations and increase if needed.

Related Tools

• mem_search - Search for specific observations
• mem_session_summary - Save session summaries
• mem_save - Save new observations
• mem_timeline - View chronological context around a specific observation