Claude-skill-registry honest-forget

Graceful memory compression with integrity — summarize before forgetting, never fabricate

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/majiayu000/claude-skill-registry

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/majiayu000/claude-skill-registry "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/data/honest-forget" ~/.claude/skills/majiayu000-claude-skill-registry-honest-forget && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: skills/data/honest-forget/SKILL.md

🌫️ Honest-Forget Skill

"Summarize before forgetting. Never fabricate."

Graceful memory compression that preserves wisdom. Compress context gracefully when budget is exceeded. Extract wisdom, create pointers, and let go with integrity.

Purpose

Compress context gracefully when budget is exceeded. Extract wisdom, create pointers, and let go with integrity. Never silently lose information or fabricate what was forgotten.

When to Use

Context window is filling up
Completed work needs archiving
Repetitive iterations need compression
Old sessions need summarization
"I've tried this 10 times" situations

The Honest Forget Cycle

ASSESS → EXTRACT → COMPRESS → POINTER → RELEASE

Protocol

Assessment

Before forgetting, understand what you have:

assessment:
  file: "path/to/file.md"
  tokens: 5000
  
  contains:
    decisions: ["List of decisions made"]
    learnings: ["What was learned"]
    questions_answered: ["Q&A pairs"]
    dead_ends: ["What didn't work"]
    
  importance:
    for_current_task: "high|medium|low"
    for_future_reference: "high|medium|low"

Wisdom Extraction

Compress iterations into lessons:

wisdom:
  id: "wisdom-001"
  title: "LEARNED: [Pattern/Pitfall]"
  
  compressed_from:
    iterations: "45-55"
    original_tokens: 15000
    
  lesson: |
    The core insight in one paragraph.
    
  pitfalls:
    - "What to avoid"
    
  example:
    good: "What works"
    bad: "What doesn't"
    
  retrieval_hint: |
    When to recall this wisdom:
    - [trigger condition]

Pointer Creation

Leave breadcrumbs for retrieval:

pointer:
  to: "path/to/archived/content"
  summary: "One line about what's there"
  
  retrieve_when:
    - "Specific condition"
    
  contains:
    - "What you'll find there"

Schemas

Assessment Schema

Field	Required	Purpose
`file`	✓	Path to content
`tokens`	✓	Size estimate
`importance`	✓	How critical
`decisions`		Choices made
`learnings`		What was learned
`dead_ends`		Failed approaches

Wisdom Schema

Field	Required	Purpose
`id`	✓	Unique identifier
`title`	✓	Brief summary
`lesson`	✓	Core insight
`compressed_from`		Source info
`pitfalls`		What to avoid
`example`		Good/bad examples
`retrieval_hint`		When to recall

Pointer Schema

Field	Required	Purpose
`to`	✓	Archive path
`summary`	✓	One-line description
`retrieve_when`		Trigger conditions
`contains`		What's there

Core Files

File	Purpose
`FORGET.yml`	Current forgetting session
`WISDOM.yml`	Extracted lessons
`POINTERS.yml`	Retrieval breadcrumbs
`archive/`	Compressed content

Commands

Command	Syntax	Action
`ASSESS`	`ASSESS [file]`	Evaluate what's there
`EXTRACT`	`EXTRACT [wisdom]`	Pull out lessons
`COMPRESS`	`COMPRESS [level]`	Create summary
`POINTER`	`POINTER [to]`	Leave retrieval hint
`RELEASE`	`RELEASE [file]`	Remove from context

Compression Levels

Level	Ratio	Keeps	Use When
FULL	1:1	Everything	Still actively needed
WISDOM	~5:1	Lessons, decisions, key facts	Work is done, wisdom remains
SUMMARY	~10:1	Essence and pointers	Background reference only
POINTER	~50:1	Just retrieval hints	Rarely needed, but should remember it exists

The Honesty Principle

What Makes Forgetting "Honest"

DO:

Acknowledge what was forgotten
Leave pointers for retrieval
Extract lessons before release
Document compression decisions

DON'T:

Silently lose information
Fabricate what was forgotten
Pretend to remember details
Hallucinate from partial memory

When Uncertain

Say: "I compressed earlier iterations. The wisdom I retained is X."

Offer: "I can retrieve the original if needed."

Don't: "Make up details that feel right."

Working Set

Always include in context:

```
FORGET.yml
```
```
WISDOM.yml
```
```
POINTERS.yml
```

Dovetails With

Sister Skills

summarize/ — The compression mechanism
session-log/ — What to potentially forget
self-repair/ — Triggers forgetting when needed

Kernel

kernel/memory-management-protocol.md — Full specification