Auto memory should prompt before saving, not save silently

Status Fixed / completed
Maintainer reply None cached
Activity 4 comments · opened Mar 24, 2026 · closed Mar 24, 2026

Summary

Auto memory writes to ~/.claude/projects/<project>/memory/ without user confirmation, creating hidden state that influences future sessions. This should require an explicit opt-in prompt per save, similar to how CLAUDE.md edits require permission.

Problem

  • Auto memory is enabled by default and writes silently (no approval prompt)
  • A previous session's corrections or one-off context can subtly bias future sessions
  • Users may not realize why Claude is behaving a certain way, since the influencing state is hidden
  • Stale or incorrect memories accumulate without the user's awareness
  • This breaks the mental model of "fresh session, clean slate"

Proposal

Before saving an auto memory entry, prompt the user:

"I noticed [X]. Want me to save this for future sessions?"

This preserves the convenience of auto memory while giving users transparency and control — the same model already used for CLAUDE.md file edits.

Context

  • CLAUDE.md edits already go through the permission system — auto memory is the only persistence mechanism that bypasses it
  • The current workaround is "autoMemoryEnabled": false, but this is all-or-nothing
  • Claude Code is a developer tool; its users are well-equipped to make per-save decisions

View original on GitHub ↗

4 Comments

chopkins-schro · 6 months ago

Or at least offer a config option to opt-out of autosave, keep default autosave

github-actions[bot] · 6 months ago

Found 2 possible duplicate issues:

  1. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/38040
  2. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/34548

This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.

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chopkins-schro · 6 months ago
Found 2 possible duplicate issues: 1. No way to enforce approval on all file modifications #38040 2. [[FEATURE] Memory writes should be visible to the user in the terminal #34548](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/34548) This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days. If your issue is a duplicate, please close it and 👍 the existing issue instead To prevent auto-closure, add a comment or 👎 this comment 🤖 Generated with Claude Code

From my understanding this a more targeted concise issue, only applying to using changes to automatic session memory used based on past sessions, rather than a per-session approval of saving memory changes

github-actions[bot] · 6 months ago

This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.