# Example 05: Memory System

**Capability:** Claude Code maintains persistent memory across sessions through a
hierarchy of markdown files. What is written in one session is available in the next.

**OpenClaw equivalent:** Daily markdown logs + MEMORY.md + vector search (SQLite-vec).

---

## How the Hierarchy Works

Claude Code loads context in this order, from broadest to narrowest:

1. `~/.claude/CLAUDE.md` - global preferences, always loaded
2. `CLAUDE.md` in the project root - project-specific config, always loaded
3. `memory/MEMORY.md` - session state, loaded if referenced in CLAUDE.md
4. `.claude/` managed memory - auto-updated by Claude when `--memory` is active

The file loaded earlier provides the frame. Later files narrow it.

---

## The Prompt

```
Read this project's CLAUDE.md and summarize what you learn about the project
in three bullet points.

Then create a file at memory/project-notes.md with:
- Today's date as a header
- The three-bullet summary
- A note that says "Memory system demonstrated successfully"

Finally, explain in one paragraph how this file will be available in the
next Claude Code session without re-reading CLAUDE.md.
```

---

## What Happens

Claude Code will:

1. Use Read to load `CLAUDE.md` from the project root
2. Synthesize the project context into three bullets
3. Use Write to create `memory/project-notes.md`
4. Explain how CLAUDE.md references cause files to be auto-loaded

---

## Expected Output

Claude creates `memory/project-notes.md` and then explains how memory works.
The file will look like:

```markdown
# March 26, 2026

- This is a companion repo comparing OpenClaw and Claude Code capabilities
- It contains 13 examples, agents, skills, hooks, and documentation
- The project maps 22 OpenClaw features to Claude Code equivalents

Memory system demonstrated successfully.
```

Claude will then explain something like:

> "This file is inside the `memory/` directory, which is referenced in
> CLAUDE.md. Because Claude Code loads CLAUDE.md at every session start,
> and CLAUDE.md mentions the memory directory, files here persist across
> sessions without any extra setup."

**How you know it worked:**
- `memory/project-notes.md` exists and contains today's date
- The three bullets accurately summarize what CLAUDE.md says
- Claude's explanation mentions the CLAUDE.md hierarchy

---

## Why This Matters

OpenClaw uses SQLite-vec for semantic memory search across sessions. Claude Code
uses structured markdown with explicit file references. Both achieve persistence.
The markdown approach is more inspectable: you can read, edit, and version control
every piece of memory Claude has about your project.

The `memory/MEMORY.md` file in this repo shows the pattern at scale.