Memory Tool

The Memory tool lets Claude read and write files in a client-managed directory, giving agents persistent state across sessions without RAG infrastructure.

When to Use

• Agents that need to remember user preferences, project context, or past decisions
• Coding agents that accumulate knowledge about a codebase over sessions
• Support/assistant agents that build up a history per user
• Replacing "dump everything into system prompt" with structured persistent state

Core Concept

The Memory tool is a server-side tool (provided by Anthropic) that Claude can call to read, write, and list files in a directory you manage. The API gives the tool calls; your app executes them against real storage (local fs, S3, DB-backed fs).