Cognition

Practical memory architecture for OpenClaw agents.

Cognition helps an agent remember what matters across sessions without turning memory into ceremony.

It gives you a staged adoption path for:

• daily logs
• durable knowledge
• commitments
• reusable procedures
• safe consolidation
• optional retrieval overlays

Start here

bash scripts/install.sh

Then adopt Cognition in 3 tiers.

Tier 1 — Core

Use this first. It is the smallest useful subset.

• memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md for daily session logs
• MEMORY.md for durable facts
• memory/bank/*.md for deeper detail
• memory/FUTURE_INTENTS.md for commitments
• protocol blocks from references/protocols.md

Tier 2 — Recommended

Add the learning loop once Core is normal behavior.

• nightly staged consolidation
• reusable procedures
• procedure registry
• importance tagging
• safe promotion rules (draft → reviewed → trusted)

Tier 3 — Advanced

Optional overlays only after Core + Recommended are already working.

• cross-references
• confidence tracking
• gap tracking
• retrieval logging
• weekly reflection
• hybrid retrieval tuning

Key design principle

Memory should be operational, not decorative.

Cognition keeps raw logs append-only, stages durable-memory updates before mutation, and treats optional overlays as optional.

Repository contents

• SKILL.md — lean runtime entrypoint
• references/architecture.md — core systems, overlays, retrieval tiers, file structure
• references/protocols.md — protocol blocks to merge into AGENTS.md
• references/consolidation-prompt.md — nightly staged consolidation prompt
• references/weekly-reflection-prompt.md — weekly reflection prompt
• references/config.md — advanced hybrid retrieval tuning
• references/cognitive-science.md — theory appendix
• scripts/install.sh — scaffold installer
• templates/ — starter files for intents, procedures, gap tracker, retrieval log, and overlays

Guardrails

• stage proposals before durable-memory mutation
• keep raw logs append-only
• keep MEMORY.md compact
• treat procedure promotion as earned
• log retrieval gaps instead of inventing certainty

License

MIT © Don Zurbrick