CrabTalkMemory
Local-only agent memory — remember, recall, and forget, all on your machine.
Everything your agent remembers stays on your machine. No cloud sync, no external storage, no data leaving your device. Memory is a set of local files that agents search, update, and reference across sessions.
Three operations
| Operation | What it does |
|---|---|
| Remember | Save information as a named entry |
| Recall | Search entries by keyword (BM25-ranked) |
| Forget | Delete an entry by name |
Agents use these as tools — they decide what to remember based on conversation context.
Storage
Entries live in ~/.crabtalk/memory/entries/<name>.md, each with YAML frontmatter:
---
name: project-architecture
description: Overview of the microservices layout
updated_at: 2026-03-21T10:00:00Z
---
The project uses three services: auth, api, and worker...BM25 search indexes the name, description, and content of every entry. Better descriptions mean better recall.
Auto-recall
Before each turn, the agent automatically recalls memories using the first 8 words of your message as a search query. Relevant entries are injected into context — the agent doesn't need to explicitly call recall for recent topics.
Special files
MEMORY.md — A curated overview that's injected into every system prompt. Think of it as the agent's working memory — a summary of what matters most.
Crab.md — The agent's identity and personality. Editable by default. This is how the default "crab" agent knows who it is.
Configuration
[system.memory]
recall_limit = 5 # max results per recall (default: 5)
soul_editable = true # whether Crab.md can be modified (default: true)Session summaries
When auto-compaction compresses a long conversation, the summary is saved to ~/.crabtalk/memory/sessions/. This preserves context from previous sessions without bloating active memory.
What's next
- Agents — auto-compaction and how agents use memory
- Configuration — memory settings in crab.toml