Feature request: confirmation gate for auto-memory writes (autoMemoryConfirmationRequired)

Resolved 💬 1 comment Opened Apr 24, 2026 by dav1do Closed May 28, 2026

Summary

Request a config option to require explicit user confirmation before auto-memory writes. Current options are binary: autoMemoryEnabled: true (Claude saves when it decides) or autoMemoryEnabled: false (no auto-memory at all). A middle ground is missing.

Problem

The auto-memory system writes based on Claude's in-session judgment. For users who curate their own rule files / CLAUDE.md, this default turns offhand conversational observations into persistent facts that affect every subsequent session. Patterns that become corrosive over time:

  • A one-off correction becomes a permanent conversation rule
  • A specific case observation gets codified into a universal heuristic
  • A casual ranking or characterization becomes the canonical view
  • Stale memories fire into new contexts as if still true

The prompt-level workaround (adding "don't auto-save without asking" to ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md) is context-level guidance, not a hard gate. Its reliability is the same as any CLAUDE.md rule adherence — see #37857 where Claude ignoring CLAUDE.md instructions is documented as recurring.

Related: #47959 documents the inverse failure (auto-memory deleting files without consent, 23 files lost). Underlying pattern is the same — memory operations happen without a user confirmation gate.

Proposed

\\\json
{
\"autoMemoryConfirmationRequired\": true
}
\
\\

When enabled, Claude proposes the save in-conversation (\"want me to save X as a memory?\") and must wait for explicit confirmation before calling the write. Harness-level gate, not prompt-level guidance. Same principle could apply to deletions, which would address #47959.

Use case

Disciplined users who maintain curated rule files / CLAUDE.md want the capability of saved memory when explicitly useful, but can't tolerate silent promotion of conversational observations to standing facts. Currently their only recourse is disabling auto-memory entirely (autoMemoryEnabled: false), losing the convenience path for \"yeah, save that one.\"

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