semantic-memory (formerly semantic-sidekick)

A shelf is retrievable. A prosthesis is present. A vault is local. Memory is layered.

v1.0.0 rebrand — semantic-sidekick → semantic-memory. The npm package, plugin name, MCP server name, and marketplace identity all change. Internal storage layout (.semantic-sidekick-index/, ~/.semantic-sidekick/models/) is preserved — existing installs continue to read their indices and model caches without re-indexing or re-downloading. See CHANGELOG.md for the full migration. The bin/semantic-sidekick command remains as an alias for bin/semantic-memory during the transition.

semantic-memory is the unified memory-layer plugin for Claude Code. One MCP server, multiple typed corpora (vault, code, plans, docs, research, project-map), a unified cross-corpus knowledge graph, conditional tool registration based on which corpora are active, in-process drift detection, and human↔code translation via the babel-fish glossary side-channel.

The original semantic-sidekick framing — activation / mode-routing / capture layer on top of semantic-pages — is preserved as the vault corpus's behavior. What's new in 1.0.0 is the multi-corpus architecture that absorbs documentation, code, plans, research, and babel-fish project-maps into the same MCP surface.

Status

Phases 1–4 shipped (2026-04-22). Layers 2–5 fully implemented and committed to feat/sidekick-layers. Phase 5 (advanced calibration + contradiction detection) is explicitly gated per the plan ("only build when Phase 4 has been in use for ≥2 weeks and a specific failure demands it").

| Phase | What it adds | Commit | |---|---|---| | 1 — Activation | vault-first skill + SessionStart/UserPromptSubmit hooks + CLAUDE.md cite-or-deflect rule | c8f722f | | 2 — Structure + Capture | schema, apply_patch, synthesize_note, lint (schema/provenance/stale), Stop-hook capture-on-close, parsed-doc cache (9x hook speedup) | 1807c58 | | 3 — Ingest + Maintenance | ingest_source, structured log.md + log_event/log_query, hierarchical index auto-regen, broken-link lint | b8d4492 | | 4 — Routing + Transitions | research-mode + outage-silence skills, /mode + /vault commands, mode-aware hooks, transition-capture prompts | 75ee813 |

Per-phase design docs live in .documentation/phase-{1..4}-*.md.

Quickstart as a Claude Code plugin

# Add the marketplace (from git)
/plugin marketplace add https://github.com/TheGlitchKing/semantic-sidekick

# Install the plugin
/plugin install semantic-sidekick

On install:

• .mcp.json is reconciled to point at .claude/.vault (or your --notes <path>).
• Skills (vault-first, research-mode, outage-silence) are linked into .claude/skills/.
• Hooks (SessionStart, UserPromptSubmit, Stop) register from hooks/hooks.json.
• Commands (/mode, /vault) become available.

First run: semantic-sidekick --notes ./path/to/vault --reindex to build the vector index (writes .semantic-sidekick-index/). Subsequent hook calls hit the cache in <1s.

Using the modes

| Command | Effect | |---|---| | /mode research | Enter research-mode. Every source introduced gets filed via ingest_source; mandatory synthesize_note on exit. Visible [research] prefix. | | /mode outage-silence | Enter outage-silence. No proactive vault search. Terse responses. Postmortem drafted as synthesize_note on exit. Visible [outage] prefix. | | /mode vault-first | Return to default. Project-scoped prose questions trigger vault consultation with cite-or-deflect. | | /mode status | Print the current mode. | | /vault <query> | Explicit vault query. Always works, even in outage-silence. |

33 MCP tools shipped

Search (4): search_semantic, search_text, search_graph, search_hybrid
Read (3): read_note, read_multiple_notes, list_notes
Write (4): create_note, update_note, delete_note, move_note
Metadata (4): get_frontmatter, update_frontmatter, manage_tags, rename_tag
Graph (4): backlinks, forwardlinks, graph_path, graph_statistics
System (2): get_stats, reindex
Patch/Synthesis (4): apply_patch, synthesize_note, ingest_source, install_schema
Lint (4): find_schema_violations, find_missing_provenance, find_stale, find_broken_links, lint_vault
Log/Maintenance (3): log_event, log_query, regenerate_index

Relationship to semantic-pages

• Substrate (retrieval, graph, MCP tools): inherited unchanged from semantic-pages.
• Upstream remote tracks semantic-pages for cherry-picking substrate fixes. Push is disabled; sidekick does not push back.
• What's net-new in sidekick: activation hooks, mode-routing skills, capture workflows (ingest/synthesize), lint suite, provenance + schema layer.

Architecture (five layers)

1. Substrate — markdown vault + hybrid search + graph + MCP (inherited)
2. Structure — schema, provenance frontmatter, atomic apply_patch, structured log
3. Workflows — ingest_source, synthesize_note, lint suite
4. Activation — SessionStart / UserPromptSubmit / Stop hooks, vault-first skill, CLAUDE.md rules
5. Routing — mode skills (research / default / outage), signal weighting, transition capture

See the originating design discussion in .planning/semantic-sidekick/ for rationale and phase-by-phase build plan.

Development

npm install
npm run build
node dist/cli/index.js --version

License

MIT