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Agent skill

Para Memory Files

by paperclipai in paperclipai/paperclip

Use a file-based PARA memory system to store, retrieve, and organize durable knowledge across sessions.

MITAuto-check passedKnowledge Management

Install Para Memory Files

skills CLI
$ npx skills add paperclipai/paperclip --skill para-memory-files -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install paperclipai/paperclip para-memory-files --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/para-memory-files .claude/skills/para-memory-files && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
para-memory-files
GitHub stars
99k
Used in
1 other repo
Token cost
~909 tokens
SKILL.md length
374 words
Files
2 (incl. references)
Skills in repo
60
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Use a file-based PARA memory system to store, retrieve, and organize durable knowledge across sessions.

  • Works in 2 steps: summary.md -- quick context, load first. → items.yaml -- atomic facts, load on…
  • Weekly synthesis
  • SKILL.md covers Three Memory Layers, Write It Down -- No Mental Notes, Memory Recall -- Use qmd and Planning
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Para Memory Files is an agent skill from paperclipai/paperclip. Use a file-based PARA memory system to store, retrieve, and organize durable knowledge across sessions. Trigger on saving facts, daily notes, entity records, weekly synthesis, recall, tacit user patterns, or plan memory.

Its SKILL.md is about 910 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 2 other files, including reference files (for example `references/schemas.md`).

It sits in Knowledge Management, covering Note-taking. The repository describes itself as: The open-source app everyone uses to manage agents at work. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Weekly synthesis
  • Tacit user patterns

Example prompts

  • “/para-memory-files”

Workflow steps

2 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. summary.md -- quick context, load first.
  2. items.yaml -- atomic facts, load on demand.

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit b9750b1. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are bash).

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Para Memory Files loads about 909 tokens when it runs, and up to ~1.3k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 60 tokens; SKILL.md has 374 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~60
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~909
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them
~1.3k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from paperclipai/paperclip at commit b9750b1, republished under its MIT licence (© paperclipai). 374 words, ~909 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/para-memory-files/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 1 other file; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
para-memory-files
description
Use a file-based PARA memory system to store, retrieve, and organize durable knowledge across sessions. Trigger on saving facts, daily notes, entity records, weekly synthesis, recall, tacit user patterns, or plan memory.

PARA Memory Files

Persistent, file-based memory organized by Tiago Forte's PARA method. Three layers: a knowledge graph, daily notes, and tacit knowledge. All paths are relative to $AGENT_HOME.

Three Memory Layers

Layer 1: Knowledge Graph ($AGENT_HOME/life/ -- PARA)

Entity-based storage. Each entity gets a folder with two tiers:

  1. summary.md -- quick context, load first.
  2. items.yaml -- atomic facts, load on demand.
text
$AGENT_HOME/life/
  projects/          # Active work with clear goals/deadlines
    <name>/
      summary.md
      items.yaml
  areas/             # Ongoing responsibilities, no end date
    people/<name>/
    companies/<name>/
  resources/         # Reference material, topics of interest
    <topic>/
  archives/          # Inactive items from the other three
  index.md

PARA rules:

  • Projects -- active work with a goal or deadline. Move to archives when complete.
  • Areas -- ongoing (people, companies, responsibilities). No end date.
  • Resources -- reference material, topics of interest.
  • Archives -- inactive items from any category.

Fact rules:

  • Save durable facts immediately to items.yaml.
  • Weekly: rewrite summary.md from active facts.
  • Never delete facts. Supersede instead (status: superseded, add superseded_by).
  • When an entity goes inactive, move its folder to $AGENT_HOME/life/archives/.

When to create an entity:

  • Mentioned 3+ times, OR
  • Direct relationship to the user (family, coworker, partner, client), OR
  • Significant project or company in the user's life.
  • Otherwise, note it in daily notes.

For the atomic fact YAML schema and memory decay rules, see references/schemas.md.

Layer 2: Daily Notes ($AGENT_HOME/memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md)

Raw timeline of events -- the "when" layer.

  • Write continuously during conversations.
  • Extract durable facts to Layer 1 during heartbeats.
Layer 3: Tacit Knowledge ($AGENT_HOME/MEMORY.md)

How the user operates -- patterns, preferences, lessons learned.

  • Not facts about the world; facts about the user.
  • Update whenever you learn new operating patterns.
Show full SKILL.md (148 more words)Show less

Write It Down -- No Mental Notes

Memory does not survive session restarts. Files do.

  • Want to remember something -> WRITE IT TO A FILE.
  • "Remember this" -> update $AGENT_HOME/memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md or the relevant entity file.
  • Learn a lesson -> update AGENTS.md, TOOLS.md, or the relevant skill file.
  • Make a mistake -> document it so future-you does not repeat it.
  • On-disk text files are always better than holding it in temporary context.

Memory Recall -- Use qmd

Use qmd rather than grepping files:

bash
qmd query "what happened at Christmas"   # Semantic search with reranking
qmd search "specific phrase"              # BM25 keyword search
qmd vsearch "conceptual question"         # Pure vector similarity

Index your personal folder: qmd index $AGENT_HOME

Vectors + BM25 + reranking finds things even when the wording differs.

Planning

Keep plans in timestamped files in plans/ at the project root (outside personal memory so other agents can access them). Use qmd to search plans. Plans go stale -- if a newer plan exists, do not confuse yourself with an older version. If you notice staleness, update the file to note what it is supersededBy.

© paperclipai, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 1 other file (references) in skills/para-memory-files of paperclipai/paperclip.

  • SKILL.md
  • references/schemas.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit b9750b1

Used in 1 other repository

We found 1 copy of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 1 other GitHub owner. This page covers the copy in paperclipai/paperclip, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

Compare with similar skills

Para Memory Files next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Para Memory Files compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Para Memory Files this skillpaperclipai/paperclip99k1 repos~909Automated safety check: PassMIT
Qmdalsk1992/CloddsBot2.9k3 repos~1.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Obsidian Canvas BoardsAgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian15k—~1.4kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
LLM Wikilewislulu/llm-wiki-skill655—~3.7kAutomated safety check: PassNone
Add Frontmatterheyitsnoah/claudesidian2.6k—~951Automated safety check: PassMIT
Obsidian Bases EditorAgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian15k—~1.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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Categories

Questions about Para Memory Files

What does Para Memory Files do?

Use a file-based PARA memory system to store, retrieve, and organize durable knowledge across sessions. Para Memory Files is an agent skill from paperclipai/paperclip. Use a file-based PARA memory system to store, retrieve, and organize durable knowledge across sessions.

When should I use Para Memory Files?

Para Memory Files fits situations like: weekly synthesis; tacit user patterns.

How do I install Para Memory Files in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add paperclipai/paperclip --skill para-memory-files -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/para-memory-files in paperclipai/paperclip) into .claude/skills/para-memory-files in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Para Memory Files in Codex?

Run `npx skills add paperclipai/paperclip --skill para-memory-files -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/para-memory-files in paperclipai/paperclip) into .agents/skills/para-memory-files in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Para Memory Files in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add paperclipai/paperclip --skill para-memory-files -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/para-memory-files, .gemini/skills/para-memory-files, .github/skills/para-memory-files and .opencode/skills/para-memory-files in your project.

What does Para Memory Files need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Para Memory Files is instructions for the agent only.

Does Para Memory Files access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Para Memory Files safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Para Memory Files use?

Para Memory Files is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Para Memory Files use?

About 909 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 3.6k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 352 tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Para Memory Files?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Para Memory Files: Qmd (alsk1992/CloddsBot, 2.9k stars), Obsidian Canvas Boards (AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian, 15k stars), LLM Wiki (lewislulu/llm-wiki-skill, 655 stars) and Add Frontmatter (heyitsnoah/claudesidian, 2.6k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Para Memory Files?

paperclipai (a GitHub organization) maintains it in paperclipai/paperclip, which has 98,967 GitHub stars. The repository holds 60 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 9, 2026.

Source: paperclipai/paperclip on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.