Joakim Persson
72e7019101
1. 'mempalace init --yes' without a dir argument fails — 'dir' is
required. The semantics were wrong too: 'mempalace init' is
per-project (sets up mempalace.yaml + entity detection in a specific
directory), not a one-time global init. The palace itself is
created lazily on first write, so neither mempalace-session nor
mempalace-docs requires any init step.
Removed the misleading 'One-time palace init' block from README.md,
ARCHITECTURE.md, and SKILL.md. Added a clarifying note:
'mempalace init <dir>' is per-project and optional (needed only to
customize the wing name or entity detection before mempalace-docs).
2. install.sh's 'Skipping <name>: <dest> exists and is not our symlink'
warning gave no actionable guidance. On the Mac, a leftover
~/.local/bin/mempalace-docs (likely from the pre-split cli_utils
days) was blocking the new install and the user had no easy way
to know what to do about it.
Expanded the warning to:
- Show whether the blocker is a symlink (and what it points at) or
a real file.
- Print the exact 'rm && ./install.sh' fix line.
- Track skipped count separately and flag it in the closing
summary so a scrolling user doesn't miss it.
Added matching troubleshooting paragraph to the README 'Install
mempalace-toolkit' section explaining the skip behaviour and
pointing at the installer's own message for the fix.
Smoke-tested the new skip-warning code path by temporarily replacing
~/.local/bin/mempalace-docs with a foreign symlink and re-running
install.sh — output is clear, specific, and restores cleanly.
225 lines
14 KiB
Markdown
225 lines
14 KiB
Markdown
---
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name: opencode-mempalace-bridge
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description: Set up the producer side of MemPalace — feed opencode session history and project docs into the palace via the wrappers in the mempalace-toolkit repo. Use when provisioning a new machine, when the user asks how palace feeding works, when opencode sessions aren't showing up in searches, or when a project needs docs-only mining. Pairs with the `mempalace` skill (consumer side).
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---
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# Opencode ↔ MemPalace Bridge (producer side)
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## Overview
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The `mempalace` skill covers *using* the palace (search, diary, KG). This skill covers *feeding* it — specifically, how to wire opencode session history and project docs into the palace on a new machine or after a container recreate.
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**Authoritative source:** `/workspace/mempalace-toolkit/ARCHITECTURE.md` (also at the root of the `mempalace-toolkit` repo on gitea). When in doubt, read that file — it's the canonical spec. This skill is the short-form checklist.
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**Core idea:** two thin wrappers in `mempalace-toolkit/bin/` close gaps in the stock mempalace CLI:
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| Gap | Wrapper |
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| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------- |
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| `mempalace mine` floods the palace with source code we don't want | `mempalace-docs` |
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| `mempalace mine --mode convos` can't read opencode's SQLite DB | `mempalace-session` |
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Both follow the same **stage-to-cache-then-mine** idiom — they curate input into `~/.cache/…/<wing>/`, then delegate to `mempalace mine`.
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## When to Load This Skill
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- User asks "how does the palace get fed?" or mentions setting up mempalace on a new machine.
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- Opencode conversations are missing from palace searches (`wing_conversations` is empty or stale).
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- A project needs to be mined but you want *docs only, no source code*.
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- User asks about `mempalace-docs` or `mempalace-session`.
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- After a container recreate on a devbox — the wrappers need reinstall.
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- Planning to retire either wrapper once upstream PRs merge (see §6 of ARCHITECTURE.md).
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## Setup Recipe (new machine)
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Prerequisites: `opencode` installed with an active DB at `~/.local/share/opencode/opencode.db`, `mempalace` CLI v3.3.3+, Python 3 (stdlib `sqlite3` only — no extra deps).
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**If mempalace itself isn't installed yet**, suggest `uv tool install mempalace` (not `pip install mempalace` — it fights PEP 668 on modern distros and leaks deps into system site-packages). For a system-wide install on a container or shared box, set `UV_TOOL_DIR=/opt/uv-tools` + `UV_TOOL_BIN_DIR=/usr/local/bin` before `uv tool install`, and ship an MCP wrapper on `PATH` that exec's the venv's Python — otherwise MCP clients fail silently with `ModuleNotFoundError`. Full recipe in `mempalace-toolkit/README.md#installing-mempalace-itself-prerequisite`.
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```bash
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# 1. Clone mempalace-toolkit (holds the two wrappers in bin/)
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git clone ssh://git@gitea.jordbo.se:2222/joakimp/mempalace-toolkit.git ~/mempalace-toolkit
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cd ~/mempalace-toolkit
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# 2. Install — symlinks bin/* into ~/.local/bin, adds loader to rc file
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./install.sh
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# 3. Verify ~/.local/bin is on PATH
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which mempalace-session mempalace-docs
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# 4. Mine opencode session history into wing_conversations
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# (No global init needed — the palace is created lazily on first write.
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# `mempalace init <dir>` is per-project and optional.)
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mempalace-session --dry-run # preview: which sessions qualify?
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mempalace-session # do it (~20 min per 60 sessions)
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# 5. Mine project docs per project (docs only — no source code)
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# Optional: `mempalace init --yes <dir>` first to customize wing/entities
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mempalace-docs /workspace/my_project --dry-run
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mempalace-docs /workspace/my_project
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# 7. If a long-lived MCP session is open, reconnect it
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# (from inside the MCP client): mempalace_reconnect
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```
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### Containerized (devbox) specifics
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Named Docker volumes preserve state across container recreate:
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- `devbox-palace` → `~/.mempalace/palace`
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- `devbox-data` → `~/.local/share/opencode`
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Bind mount `/workspace/mempalace-toolkit` from the host — code survives recreate, syncs via gitea.
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**After container recreate:** `~/.local/bin` is ephemeral. Just re-run `./install.sh` (idempotent) — everything else already persists.
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## Key Operational Rules
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### Always dry-run first on a cold system
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```bash
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mempalace-session --dry-run # shows qualifying sessions
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mempalace-docs <dir> --dry-run # shows files that would be mined
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```
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A docs-heavy repo should produce ~5–10 drawers per file. >15 drawers/file on average = code leaked in; investigate.
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### Dedup is free — re-running is safe
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- `mempalace-docs`: dedup keyed on `source_file` path + `mtime`. Unchanged files skipped.
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- `mempalace-session`: dedup keyed on `source_file` path alone (no mtime check for convos). Staging filenames are deterministic per session (`<slug>_<id>.jsonl`), so re-runs skip already-filed sessions.
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Second run immediately after first → 0 new drawers, only the post-mine `repair` step runs (~5 min on 5k drawers).
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### Incremental catch-up
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```bash
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mempalace-session --since 2026-04-20 # only recent sessions
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mempalace-session --session ses_abc123 # one specific session
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```
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### Force re-mine
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```bash
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rm -rf ~/.cache/mempalace-session/<wing>/ # nukes staging dir
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mempalace-session # stages + mines fresh
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```
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Staging is ephemeral by design; the palace is the source of truth.
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## Operational Routine (when to invoke)
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Until upstream opencode session hooks land, **`mempalace-session` is the entire mechanism** that gets opencode conversations into the palace. If the user's opencode history isn't showing up in `mempalace_search`, the most likely cause is "`mempalace-session` hasn't been run recently".
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### Agent-level triggers
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Suggest invoking the tool when any of these apply:
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- User asks *"why can't you find our conversation from earlier?"* / *"you should remember this from last week"* → the palace may not have the opencode session yet. Check `mempalace_list_wings` for `wing_conversations`; if the last drawer there is older than the referenced conversation, run `mempalace-session`.
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- User mentions an upcoming **container recreate / system migration / OS reinstall** → suggest a full mine first as a backup checkpoint. The opencode DB normally survives via named volumes, but an explicit mine is cheap insurance.
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- User has just **set up a new machine** and asks about mempalace → part of the recipe is the initial backfill. Run `mempalace-session --dry-run` first to show scope, then the real mine.
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- User completed a **substantive session they want preserved past `/exit`** → offer a targeted `mempalace-session --session <id>` right then.
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- User asks *"how do I keep this up to date?"* → point at [`contrib/`](../../contrib/) (systemd timer or cron recipes).
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### Cadence guidance
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| Situation | Suggested cadence |
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|---|---|
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| Active devbox, daily opencode use | Weekly automated (systemd timer or cron) |
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| Occasional opencode user | Monthly manual or weekly automated |
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| Fresh machine / first setup | One-shot full backfill, then schedule |
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| "I'm about to rebuild the container" | Run now, as a checkpoint |
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| Automated daily mines | Pass `--no-repair` + schedule weekly repair separately |
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Don't suggest running more often than daily — the post-mine HNSW repair (~5 min on 5k drawers) dominates cost, and session growth is slow enough that daily is already overkill.
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### Relationship to the `mempalace` skill
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The consumer-side `mempalace` skill covers in-session habits (wake-up search, wind-down diary). `mempalace-session` is **between-session maintenance** — it runs when no agent session is active, typically automated. Both are needed:
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- Wake-up/wind-down → curated summaries (what mattered, what was decided)
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- `mempalace-session` → raw turns (the actual words exchanged)
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A machine running only one of these has half a memory. Agents loading the `mempalace` skill on an opencode machine should be aware this tool exists and point users at it if they ask about persistence.
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### Quick automation pitch
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If the user has a devbox and hasn't set up automation, offer it. Pick the scheduler that matches the OS:
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**Linux (systemd user timer):**
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```bash
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cd ~/mempalace-toolkit
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mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user
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cp contrib/systemd/*.{service,timer} ~/.config/systemd/user/
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systemctl --user daemon-reload
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systemctl --user enable --now mempalace-session.timer
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sudo loginctl enable-linger "$USER" # optional, for headless boxes
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```
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**macOS (launchd user agent):**
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```bash
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cd ~/mempalace-toolkit
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sed "s|USER|$USER|g" contrib/launchd/se.jordbo.mempalace-session.plist \
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> ~/Library/LaunchAgents/se.jordbo.mempalace-session.plist
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mkdir -p ~/Library/Logs
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launchctl bootstrap "gui/$(id -u)" ~/Library/LaunchAgents/se.jordbo.mempalace-session.plist
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launchctl enable "gui/$(id -u)/se.jordbo.mempalace-session"
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```
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**BSD or systemd-less Linux (cron):** see [`contrib/cron/`](../../contrib/cron/).
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Full install/verify/uninstall recipes for all three are in [`contrib/README.md`](../../contrib/README.md). All three default to weekly runs on Monday 03:00 local time.
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## Failure Modes & Fixes
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| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
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| ---------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
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| `mempalace-session: command not found` | `~/.local/bin` wiped (container recreate) | `cd ~/mempalace-toolkit && ./install.sh --yes` |
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| Sessions missing from palace | Fewer messages than `--min-messages` (default 3)| Lower threshold or `--session <id>` explicitly |
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| "Error finding id" on search after mining | Stale HNSW index | `mempalace repair --yes` + `mempalace_reconnect` |
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| Drawers doubled for a project | Someone ran raw `mempalace mine` alongside wrapper, or renamed wing mid-flight | Inspect `embedding_metadata` in `chroma.sqlite3`, purge duplicates by source prefix, then `mempalace repair` |
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| Post-mine ChromaDB search returns stale results in MCP | MCP server caches old index | Call `mempalace_reconnect` from MCP |
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| Opencode DB not at default path | Non-standard `XDG_DATA_HOME` or opencode config | `export OPENCODE_DB=/custom/path/opencode.db` or `--db` |
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## What to File Under Which Wing
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| Content type | Wing (convention) | Room | Tool |
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| ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | ---------------- | ----------------------- |
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| Opencode session transcripts | `wing_conversations` | auto (keyword) | `mempalace-session` |
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| Project docs (md, yaml, Dockerfile) | `wing_<project-name>` | auto | `mempalace-docs` |
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| Per-agent session diaries | `wing_<agent-name>` | `diary` | `mempalace_diary_write` (from the consumer-side `mempalace` skill) |
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| Ad-hoc verbatim facts | any | any | `mempalace_add_drawer` |
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## Cost Profile (reference)
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From a 10-day opencode corpus (140 sessions / 1491 msgs / 4656 parts):
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- Dry run: seconds.
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- Full mine: ~21 min wall / ~38 min user CPU → 2378 drawers from 62 qualifying sessions.
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- Dedup re-run: mine instant, repair ~5 min.
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Budget **~20 minutes per 60-session batch**. Scales roughly linearly with message count.
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## Anti-Patterns
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- **Don't run `mempalace mine` directly on a project.** Use `mempalace-docs` — otherwise source code floods the palace.
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- **Don't try to point `mempalace mine --mode convos` at `opencode.db` directly.** The convos miner reads files (txt/md/json/jsonl) only — no SQLite support. Use `mempalace-session` to export first.
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- **Don't delete staging dirs unnecessarily.** They're dedup anchors; deleting means a forced re-mine of everything in that wing.
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- **Don't forget `mempalace_reconnect`** after a mine from inside a live MCP session — otherwise search hits the stale index.
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- **Don't mine with `--min-messages 0` or `1`** — 78 out of 140 sessions in reference corpus were throwaway `/exit`'d sessions that would flood the palace with noise. Default 3 is sensible.
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## Upstream Roadmap (when to retire these wrappers)
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- **[MemPalace PR #1213](https://github.com/MemPalace/mempalace/pull/1213)** merges → `mempalace-docs` becomes redundant (exclude patterns in `mempalace.yaml`). Retire to thin shim or delete.
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- **Opencode session-stopping hooks merge** ([PR #16598](https://github.com/anomalyco/opencode/pull/16598) et al.) **AND** `hooks_cli.py` gains `opencode` harness → live auto-save works; `mempalace-session` becomes a manual-only backfill tool (cron / historic import).
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- **SQLite mode lands in `mempalace mine --mode convos`** → `mempalace-session` loses its reason to exist entirely.
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Check `ARCHITECTURE.md` §6 in `mempalace-toolkit/` for current upstream status before doing any retirement work.
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## See Also
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- `<mempalace-toolkit>/ARCHITECTURE.md` — **canonical spec** (diagrams, implementation notes, full troubleshooting).
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- `<mempalace-toolkit>/README.md` — per-tool usage reference.
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- `~/.agents/skills/mempalace/SKILL.md` — consumer-side skill (search, diary, KG) — *pair this skill with that one*.
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