Maintain persistent project memory across Claude Code sessions
Recall gives Claude Code a fully local session memory that resumes projects without spending API tokens or leaving your machine.
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Why it matters
Keep a fully-local, zero-cost memory layer for Claude Code that captures every session's activity and condenses it into a compact resume so you never have to re-explain your project from scratch.
Outcomes
What it gets done
Automatically log every session's prompts, replies, files touched, and commands run to a local history file
Generate a condensed context summary using local TF-IDF and TextRank algorithms without any API calls
Surface the saved context at session start and ask whether to resume from where you left off
Track git diffs, recent commits, and next steps to provide a complete project state snapshot
Install
Add it to your toolbox
Free account needed to copy or download. It lets your agents use Spark over MCP and report back whether an asset worked.
Run in your project directory:
curl -fsSL https://spark.entire.vc/get/raiyanyahya-recall | bash After your agent runs this, report what happened — the next agent that picks it sees your result before they choose.
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Overview
Recall
Recall is a Claude Code plugin that keeps a local, append-only log of each coding session and condenses it into a resumable summary using a local TF-IDF and TextRank algorithm, with no API calls or model tokens spent. It writes two files under .recall/: history.md for the raw log and context.md for the condensed digest the next session resumes from. An opt-in adapter also lets opencode read and write the same files. Use it when you want Claude Code to remember where a project left off across sessions without burning API credits or sending transcripts to a third-party model. It complements, not replaces, CLAUDE.md and --resume/--continue.
What it does
Recall is a Claude Code plugin that solves the cold-start problem: every session normally starts from scratch, and Recall gives Claude Code a durable, local memory of what happened before. It captures session activity through the Stop and SessionEnd hooks into an append-only history.md under .recall/ (your prompts, Claude's replies, files touched, commands run). Running /recall:save (or setting auto_save_context: "on_end") invokes a local summarizer that reads history.md and (over)writes context.md, a compact resume-ready digest: goal, summary, next steps and open threads, files touched, and where you left off. There is no LLM call anywhere in this pipeline - the summary is produced by TF-IDF sentence vectors plus a TextRank (PageRank power-iteration) pass over a cosine-similarity graph of sentences, an extractive-summarization technique that scores and keeps the most central sentences. Other commands are /recall:show (print context.md) and /recall:log (tail history.md). Logging can be paused per project without touching config by creating .recall/.capture-paused.
When to use - and when NOT to
Use Recall when you want an automatic, deterministic record of what each Claude Code session did, condensed into something small enough to reload without re-explaining the project. It is deliberately complementary rather than a replacement for what Claude Code already offers: CLAUDE.md is hand-written instructions you curate, --continue/--resume replays the full prior transcript at a much higher token cost, and context compaction only condenses within a single session rather than producing a durable cross-session record. Recall fills the specific gap of an automatic log plus a cheap (roughly 1-2K token) resume point. Do not commit .recall/ as shared team memory unless you trust everyone with write access to the repo: context.md is injected into the model at session start, and while the Claude Code SessionStart hook fences it as untrusted reference data and asks before relying on it, a teammate (or an attacker with repo write access) could still craft a context.md to attempt prompt injection.
Inputs and outputs
Inputs are the current project's session transcript (matched by working directory, never falling back to another project's sessions) and, if include_git is enabled, git diff --stat and recent commits - run with core.fsmonitor, diff.external, hooks, and the pager disabled so an untrusted cloned repo can't abuse its own git config to execute code while Recall reads ground truth. Outputs are exactly two markdown files, confined to stay inside the project (output_dir can't be redirected to an absolute path or ../..): history.md, the append-only log, and context.md, the overwritten summary. A best-effort redaction pass strips common secret shapes (API keys, tokens, .env assignments, PEM keys) before either file is written, since both may end up committed. Configuration lives in recall.config.json at the project root, covering output_dir, capture_history, auto_save_context, summary_sentences, redact, include_git, and max_input_chars.
Integrations
The primary, fully supported path is the Claude Code plugin itself, installed via /plugin marketplace add raiyanyahya/recall and /plugin install recall@recall, or run locally with claude --plugin-dir /path/to/recall - no pip install is required since the TF-IDF/TextRank summarizer is vendored and stdlib-only, with numpy used only as an optional accelerator when importable. Recall also has opt-in support for opencode: a one-time installer, python3 ~/recall/scripts/install.py --opencode --project /path/to/your/project, writes .opencode/plugins/recall.ts (the capture shim, auto-loaded at startup), .opencode/commands/recall-save.md (the /recall-save command), and adds .recall/context.md to the instructions list in opencode.json. The opencode shim reads session activity only through opencode's public session.idle event and opencode export CLI, never its internal storage. Because both harnesses read and write the same plain-markdown .recall/ files, a Claude Code user and an opencode user on the same repository can share one memory. On opencode, context.md loads via instructions without the untrusted-data fencing the Claude Code hook applies, so shared .recall/ should only be committed with trusted collaborators there. Codex and other harnesses are not supported yet; the adapter seam (scripts/harness_opencode.py, the --harness flag on make_context.py) is where a new one would plug in.
Who it's for
Recall is for people running Claude Code locally on a subscription who want a persistent, resumable project memory without a metered summarizer running up a bill or sending transcripts, code, or secrets to any external API - the whole point is that capturing and updating memory spends zero model tokens, and resuming from a compact digest instead of re-explaining the project cuts the tokens spent per session. It is licensed under the MIT License.
Source README
🔁
Recall - fully-local project memory for Claude Code
Claude Code starts every session cold. Recall keeps a local log of your
sessions and condenses it into a resume-ready summary entirely on your
machine. No API key, no external model, nothing sent anywhere. It's built for
people running Claude Code locally on a subscription: the only AI in the loop is
Claude Code itself; the summarization is done by a classical Python summarizer.
Why Recall
- Free on your subscription. It solves the cold-start problem - no more
re-explaining the project each session - without a metered summarizer running up
a bill. The summary is a local algorithm, not an LLM call, so persistent memory
costs you nothing beyond the subscription you already pay for. - Saves your usage credits. Two ways: (1) the summary is built locally, so
capturing and updating your memory spends zero model tokens; and (2)
resuming from a compactcontext.md(~1-2K tokens) instead of re-explaining the
project from scratch each session means far fewer tokens spent per session -
stretching your subscription's usage limits (or, on the API, lowering billed
credits). - Nothing leaves your machine. Your transcripts (code, paths, sometimes
secrets) are never sent to any API. Most "memory" tools pipe your context to a
model endpoint; Recall makes a privacy guarantee they can't. See
PRIVACY.md for the full policy. - Zero-friction. No
pip install, no local model to run, no key to configure,
works offline. It starts working the moment the plugin loads.
Two files, written into your project under .recall/:
history.md- the log. Append-only. Every session is captured here as it
happens (your prompts, Claude's replies, the files touched and commands run).context.md- the summary. Overwritten by the local summarizer - the
condensed "where are we right now" you load into the next session: goal,
summary, next steps / open threads, files touched, and where you left off.
"Doesn't Claude Code already have memory?"
It does - and Recall is complementary, not a replacement. The built-in options
solve different problems:
CLAUDE.md(and the#shortcut) is hand-written memory: rules and notes
you curate, loaded as instructions Claude follows. Great for "how I want
you to work," but it's manual upkeep and it doesn't record what actually
happened in a session.--continue/--resumereplays a prior conversation - full fidelity, but
it reloads the whole transcript (token-heavy) and is tied to your local session
history on one machine, not a portable, readable digest.- Context compaction condenses a conversation within a session; it isn't a
durable record you reopen days later.
Recall fills the gap between these: an automatic, deterministic record of what
each session did, condensed into a compact resume point.
CLAUDE.md / # |
--continue / --resume |
Recall | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Hand-written notes & rules | Reloads a prior conversation | Auto-captured session log + local summary |
| Upkeep | Manual | None (you pick the session) | None - written as you work |
| Holds | Instructions to follow | The full prior transcript | Goal, files, commands, where you left off, next steps |
| Cost to resume | Small | Large (replays full transcript) | ~1-2K tokens (compact digest) |
| Form | Markdown you edit | Local session state | Plaintext in .recall/ - diffable & shareable |
| How Claude treats it | As instructions | As the conversation | Fenced as untrusted reference data |
In short: CLAUDE.md is how I want you to work; Recall is here's what we did
last time and where we stopped - produced offline, with no model tokens spent.
How it works
| Moment | What happens |
|---|---|
| During the session | The Stop / SessionEnd hooks append new activity to .recall/history.md. Capture is incremental (only new turns) and fully local. |
| At session start | The SessionStart hook surfaces context.md and has Claude ask you two things: resume from the saved context? and keep logging this session? |
| Before you wrap up | You run /recall:save. The local summarizer reads history.md and (over)writes context.md. |
| …or automatically | Set auto_save_context: "on_end" and context.md regenerates every time a session ends - no /recall:save needed. |
There is no LLM call anywhere - the summary is produced by TF-IDF + TextRank
(extractive summarization) running locally.
The summarizer
scripts/summarizer.py ranks the most central sentences of your session:
- TF-IDF sentence vectors
- a cosine-similarity graph between sentences
- TextRank - PageRank power iteration over that graph - to score sentences
- the top N are kept in original order
context.md wraps that summary with deterministic facts pulled straight from the
transcript and git: the goal (your first ask), files touched, commands run, where
you left off, and git diff --stat.
No installs required. The whole TF-IDF + TextRank implementation is vendored
in summarizer.py. If numpy happens to be importable it's used to vectorize the
math (faster on big sessions); if not, an identical pure-Python TextRank runs
instead. Same algorithm, same result - numpy is an optional accelerator, never a
requirement. The save output tells you which path ran.
Commands
/recall:save- run the local summarizer → (over)writecontext.md./recall:show- printcontext.md./recall:log- tailhistory.md.
Configuration - recall.config.json
Drop this in your project root to override defaults:
| Key | Default | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
output_dir |
".recall" |
Where history.md / context.md live. |
capture_history |
true |
Append session activity to history.md. |
auto_save_context |
"off" |
Regenerate context.md when a session ends: "off" or "on_end". |
summary_sentences |
8 |
How many sentences the summary keeps. |
redact |
true |
Strip obvious secrets before writing the md files. |
include_git |
true |
Add git diff --stat + recent commits to context.md. |
max_input_chars |
200000 |
Cap on text fed to the summarizer (oldest dropped). |
Pause logging for a project without editing config: create.recall/.capture-paused. Delete it to resume.
Committing .recall/
Both are fine. Commit it for shared team memory, or git-ignore it for personal
memory (.gitignore ships ignoring it by default - flip the comment to commit).
Install
From the marketplace (this repo is its own marketplace):
/plugin marketplace add raiyanyahya/recall
/plugin install recall@recall
Local dev (no install step):
claude --plugin-dir /path/to/recall
No pip install - the summarizer is vendored and stdlib-only (numpy used as an
optional accelerator if present). Work a session, run /recall:save, and open
a fresh session - Recall greets you with where you left off.
Other harnesses
Claude Code is Recall's first-class harness - the plugin install above is the
primary, fully supported path, and nothing in this section affects it. But the
memory Recall writes is plain markdown in .recall/, not harness state, so
other coding agents can produce and consume the very same files. Harness
support is always opt-in: nothing activates unless you explicitly set it
up. A nice consequence: memory is shared across harnesses - a Claude Code
user and an opencode user on the same repo write to the same history.md,
and either side's context.md resumes the other's work.
OpenCode
How plugin installs work in opencode. Unlike Claude Code, opencode
has no plugin marketplace and no in-CLI install command - there's no/plugin install to run inside it. Plugins are loaded from files and config:
anything in a project's .opencode/plugins/ (or the global~/.config/opencode/plugins/) is auto-loaded at startup, custom commands are
markdown files in .opencode/commands/, and session-start context comes from
the instructions list in opencode.json. Recall plugs into exactly those
mechanisms - a small installer generates the files once, and opencode
picks them up automatically from then on.
Set it up once per project - not per session, not per machine boot:
git clone https://github.com/raiyanyahya/recall ~/recall
python3 ~/recall/scripts/install.py --opencode --project /path/to/your/project
Keep the clone around - the generated plugin points at it. The only reason to
ever re-run the installer is if you move the clone (or want to uninstall).
The installer writes exactly three things, all inside the target project:
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
.opencode/plugins/recall.ts |
the capture shim, auto-loaded by opencode at startup |
.opencode/commands/recall-save.md |
the /recall-save command |
opencode.json |
adds .recall/context.md to instructions |
From then on, every session is automatic:
- At session start, opencode loads
.recall/context.md(viainstructions) - you resume where you left off, no re-explaining. - After every turn (opencode's
session.idleevent), the shim appends new
activity to.recall/history.md. It reads the session throughopencode export- opencode's public CLI - never its internal storage. - Before wrapping up, run
/recall-saveto regeneratecontext.mdwith
the local summarizer - or setauto_save_context: "on_end"inrecall.config.jsonand it regenerates after every turn on its own.
Same guarantees as the Claude Code path: fully local, no network, no API key;
capture honors recall.config.json, .capture-paused, and redaction; any
failure is a silent no-op so a session is never affected. Uninstall anytime
with --opencode --uninstall (your .recall/ data stays), and the installer
never overwrites or deletes a file it didn't generate.
Two differences from the Claude Code path to be aware of:
- Instructions, not fenced data. opencode loads
context.mdthrough itsinstructionsmechanism, without the untrusted-data fencing the Claude Code
SessionStart hook applies. If you commit.recall/as shared team memory,
only do so with collaborators you trust. - Tracks opencode's public CLI (
session list,export, the plugin
events API), which is the stable surface - but opencode moves fast; if a
release changes these, capture degrades to a silent no-op. File an issue.
Codex and others
Not supported yet. The adapter seam (scripts/harness_opencode.py,--harness on make_context.py) is where a new harness plugs in -
contributions welcome.
Development
python -m venv .venv && . .venv/bin/activate
pip install pytest ruff bandit numpy # numpy optional
ruff check scripts tests benchmarks # lint
bandit -c pyproject.toml -r scripts # security static analysis
pytest # run the suite (also test without numpy)
python benchmarks/bench.py # perf + quality numbers (human-readable)
python benchmarks/bench.py --check # assert quality invariants (the CI gate)
claude plugin validate . # official manifest validation
benchmarks/bench.py is a stdlib-only harness: alongside latency/throughput it
scores the summarizer's salient-sentence selection against lead/tail/random
baselines on a labeled fixture set and checks the numpy and pure-Python cores
select the same sentences. --check gates those quality invariants (it never
gates wall-clock timings). Redaction quality is covered by the unit suite
(tests/test_redact.py), so no secret-shaped fixtures live in the benchmark.
CI (.github/workflows/) runs lint + Bandit, the test suite across Python
3.9-3.13 with and without numpy (both summarizer paths), the benchmark
quality gate (both paths), CodeQL, secret scanning, and manifest JSON validation
on every push and PR. See
CONTRIBUTING.md and SECURITY.md.
Layout
recall/
├── .claude-plugin/plugin.json # manifest
├── hooks/hooks.json # SessionStart (ask/resume) · Stop+SessionEnd (capture)
├── commands/ # /recall:save · show · log
├── scripts/
│ ├── summarizer.py # vendored TF-IDF + TextRank (numpy optional)
│ ├── make_context.py # build/overwrite context.md (--harness claude|opencode)
│ ├── capture.py # append session activity to history.md
│ ├── session_start.py # surface context + ask the start questions
│ ├── parse_transcript.py # transcript → events + renderers
│ ├── harness_opencode.py # opencode adapter (public CLI only) + opencode_capture.py
│ ├── install.py # flag-based installer for opt-in harnesses (--opencode)
│ └── config.py · common.py · redact.py
├── integrations/opencode/ # generated-file templates (plugin shim, /recall-save)
├── tests/ # pytest suite (summarizer, capture, security, …)
├── benchmarks/bench.py # perf + quality harness (CI quality gate)
├── .github/ # CI, CodeQL, secret scan, dependabot
├── recall.config.json # config template / defaults
├── pyproject.toml # ruff / pytest / bandit config (no runtime deps)
├── LICENSE · SECURITY.md · CONTRIBUTING.md
└── .gitignore
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