dotfiles/claude/memory/feedback-mempalace-protocol-step-2-discipline.md

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claude-memory/feedback-mempalace-protocol-step-2-discipline

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name: MemPalace protocol step 2 — query-before-responding mid-session is the discipline (not just at wake-up) description: Surfaced 2026-04-26 evening end-of-session. MemPalace had the content that would have prevented today's structural drift; the failure was retrieval discipline, not storage. Protocol step 2 ("BEFORE RESPONDING about any person, project, or past event: call kg_query or search FIRST") is rarely honored mid-session. Discipline parallel to canonical-workstream-tracker — same shape (write to substrate, fail to read before producing), different temporal scale (mid-session, not just at boundaries). type: feedback originSessionId: 87dfe384-b862-4deb-9676-24e43046528f

MemPalace protocol step 2 — query-before-responding is the discipline

Steward verbatim 2026-04-26 evening: "I want to revisit it expressedly to be sure that we are using it to it's fullest. It should help us to keep much more in track, no? Or is that only wishful thinking?"

Honest answer surfaced: not wishful thinking — there is real leverage in MemPalace, but the leverage depends on protocol discipline. MemPalace already had the content today that would have prevented the structural drift. The failure was retrieval, not storage.

The protocol — step 2 specifically

From mempalace_status (auto-displayed at wake-up):

2. BEFORE RESPONDING about any person, project, or past event: call mempalace_kg_query or mempalace_search FIRST. Never guess — verify.

This step is the load-bearing one mid-session. Step 1 (wake-up status load) and step 4 (end-of-session diary write) are bracketing rituals; step 2 is what makes MemPalace operate as memory rather than as storage.

What today proved

Multiple drift patterns surfaced today were preventable by step-2 queries I didn't make:

Drift pattern	Query that would have prevented it
TODO-ALDINEXXI.md as workstream tracker	mempalace_search "ARC roadmap" or kg_query "ARC" would have surfaced project-arc-rework.md
Chamber rewrite frame from validation report only	mempalace_search "chamber from simulation source-aware" would have surfaced the design-thinking doc
Bachelard/Berger/Sennett as "newly visible pillars"	mempalace_search "colophon Guides ARC" would have surfaced their already-Guide status
Cluster scaffolds replaying yesterday's already-recognized voices	kg_query "ARC" would have surfaced what was already-Guide vs newly-noticed

Estimated coverage: a mid-session step-2 discipline would catch ~70–80% of the drift patterns that surfaced today. Combined with the canonical-tracker discipline (feedback-canonical-workstream-tracker-discipline.md), the structural drifts of this session would mostly be prevented.

The rule

Before producing a new project file, frame, decision-frame, scaffold, or rewrite of any artifact:

1. Identify what subjects/projects/events the new work touches
2. Run mempalace_kg_query on the subjects (e.g., entity: "ARC", entity: "claude-code", entity: "chamber")
3. Run mempalace_search on the topic phrases that would surface related prior work
4. Only then produce. The queries take 5–10 seconds; the drift cost they prevent is hours.

How to apply

• Triggering events: writing a new project-*.md file, drafting a decision frame in chat, characterizing voices/sources/people, naming a new pattern, proposing a fix or refactor, summarizing what's already known
• Default queries to keep in mind:
  • kg_query on the primary subject(s) — surface drift patterns, preferences, watches-horizons, decisions
  • search on the topic phrase(s) — surface session memories, drawer entries, vault content
• Cost: 5–10 seconds per query, ~3 queries per substantive draft = 30 seconds before producing
• Benefit: ~70–80% drift prevention based on today's evidence

Cousin to canonical-workstream-tracker discipline

The two disciplines share the same upstream pattern: write to substrate, fail to read before producing. They differ in temporal scale:

• Canonical-workstream-tracker discipline (feedback-canonical-workstream-tracker-discipline.md) — applies at session boundaries (/wake-up reads tracker; /wrap-up folds session into tracker)
• MemPalace step-2 discipline (this file) — applies mid-session, before each substantive production

Both are needed. The tracker discipline catches drift at session boundaries; the MemPalace discipline catches drift inside the session. Together they cover the full work cycle.

Proposed /wake-up and /wrap-up amendments

/wake-up amendment proposed in feedback-canonical-workstream-tracker-discipline.md already covers reading canonical trackers at session-open. A complementary amendment for MemPalace:

2c. MemPalace protocol step 2 reminder. After wake-up's tracker reads, surface to the executor that mid-session step 2 (query-before-responding) is the discipline. Specifically: before writing any new project-*.md file or producing a substantive frame in chat, run mempalace_kg_query on the primary subjects + mempalace_search on the topic phrases.

/wrap-up already calls mempalace_diary_write and mempalace_kg_add for changed facts (step 4 + step 5 of the protocol). That's operative. The mid-session gap is what this discipline addresses.

Update prerequisite

Local MemPalace is 502 commits behind upstream as of 2026-04-26 (per origin/main fetch). Six tags landed: v3.1.0 → v3.3.3. v4 in preparation (release/v4-prep branch). Update wants its own focused session before relying on the discipline at full leverage — recent themes include init entity-detection overhaul, project-scanner entity detection, security/path normalization, LLM refinement tightening (relevant for retrieval quality).

Saved 2026-04-26 evening end-of-session

Steward heading to bed; the question came as the last before sleep: "It should help us to keep much more in track, no?" Honest answer: yes, real leverage; not wishful thinking; depends on protocol discipline being operative not just available; same shape as canonical-tracker discipline at mid-session scale.