Memory Fundamentals
Without memory every chat is a first meeting. Users expect the agent to remember preferences and past work.
A stranger on every call vs a colleague who remembers your last three projects.
Visual Workflows
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Overview
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Where a fact lives
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This turn sits in working memory. The session keeps a buffer. Last month lives in a store.
Key Takeaways
- 1.Memory is how an agent keeps facts across turns and sessions. Three tiers: working (now), short-term (session), long-term (store)
- 2.What to save, when to fetch, and what to forget are design choices. Memory costs tokens and latency — it is never free.
- 3.Working memory is the context window. Short-term is the session buffer.
- 4.Long-term is a store you retrieve from. Design all three or the agent will feel new every time.
Learn elsewhere
- →Context window limits — Phase 1
- →Vector stores for retrieval — Phase 3 RAG
Real Example
Scenario
A PM agent remembers you like Kanban, sprint 12 slipped, and the team uses Jira — loaded at the start of each session.
What you would do
In Agent Memory, apply Memory Fundamentals to this scenario: A PM agent remembers you like Kanban, sprint 12 slipped, and the team uses Jira — loaded at the start of each session. Identify the inputs, run the technique, validate the output, and note one thing you would monitor in production.
Commands
Commands to Remember
Working = context windowShort-term = this sessionLong-term = persisted storeMemory costs tokens
Cheat Sheet
Quick recap
quick ref- •Three tiers, not one blob
- •Save / fetch / forget are explicit
- •Memory is not free
- •No memory = stranger every turn
Common Mistakes
- ✕Dumping all history into every prompt
- ✕Storing secrets in long-term memory
- ✕Never expiring stale facts