Skip to content

Project Memory

PatchPal automatically loads project context from ~/.patchpal/<repo-name>/MEMORY.md at startup. Use this file to store project-specific information, technical decisions, conventions, and known issues that persist across sessions. The agent can read and update this file to maintain continuity.

What to Store in MEMORY.md

  • Project context: What this project is and what it does
  • Important decisions: Technical choices and why they were made
  • Key facts: Deployment info, database details, API endpoints
  • Known issues: Bugs to fix, technical debt, TODOs
  • Team conventions: Code style preferences, workflow guidelines

How It Works

When you start PatchPal in a git repository, it automatically: 1. Detects the repository name 2. Looks for ~/.patchpal/<repo-name>/MEMORY.md 3. Loads the content into the agent's context 4. Makes it available for reference throughout the session

The agent can also read and update MEMORY.md during a session to maintain continuity across multiple sessions.

Location

Memory files are stored per-repository in: 

~/.patchpal/<repo-name>/MEMORY.md

For example, if you're working in a repository named patchpal, the memory file is at: 

~/.patchpal/patchpal/MEMORY.md

Availability

Project memory is available in: - CLI mode: Loaded automatically at startup - Python API: Loaded automatically when agent is created - Autopilot mode: Available throughout autonomous execution

Example MEMORY.md

# Project Notes

This file persists across PatchPal sessions.

## Project Context
This is a REST API for managing user accounts built with FastAPI.

## Important Decisions
- Using PostgreSQL for the database (MySQL had performance issues)
- JWT tokens expire after 24 hours
- API rate limit: 100 requests per minute per IP

## Key Facts
- Production: https://api.example.com
- Database: PostgreSQL 14 on RDS
- Redis cache on ElastiCache

## Known Issues
- TODO: Add pagination to /users endpoint
- TODO: Implement proper error logging
- Technical debt: Refactor authentication module

## Team Conventions
- Use Black for code formatting
- All API endpoints require authentication except /health
- Write tests for all new endpoints