tota automatically extracts memories from your conversations and stores them in a local SQLite database with full-text search. Every session builds on what it learned before.
#Memory types
| Type | Description | Scope |
|---|---|---|
identity | Who you are — name, role, background, skills | Durable |
preference | How you like things done — style, format, tool choices | Durable |
goal | Something you're actively working toward | Durable |
project | A project goal, structure, stack, or constraint | Durable |
habit | Repeated patterns in how you work | Durable |
decision | A choice made and its rationale | Durable |
constraint | A hard limit, rule, or non-negotiable | Durable |
relationship | A person, team, or organization you work with | Durable |
episode | A notable event, milestone, or past outcome | Durable |
reflection | Auto-generated summaries tota creates by consolidating related memories | Durable |
#How it works
- Extract — After each response, tota scans the conversation for notable information
- Score — Assigns confidence, importance, and durability scores to candidates (min confidence: 0.55 to store)
- Merge — Near-duplicates (≥74% similarity) are consolidated into existing memories rather than stored twice
- Recall — Before responding, retrieves the most relevant memories via FTS5 full-text search
- Decay — Confidence degrades slowly over time for stale memories; confirmed memories gain confidence
All data is local: ~/.tota/memory/second-brain/. Nothing is sent to the cloud.
#Evidence kinds
Each memory record tracks how the information was learned:
| Evidence kind | Meaning |
|---|---|
direct | You stated it explicitly |
inferred | tota concluded it from conversation context |
manual | Added via the /memory menu or vault |
system | Set programmatically (e.g., from scheduled tasks) |
#Manage memories
Type /memory during any conversation to open the interactive memory manager:
- Overview — total count, learning status, profile summary
- Recent Memories — last 10 memories with confidence and evidence kind
- Search — full-text search across all memories
- Pause / Resume Learning — stop tota from storing new memories temporarily
- Clear All — permanently delete all stored memories
⚠️
Clear All is irreversible. All extracted memories will be deleted permanently.
#Conflict resolution
When tota encounters a new fact that contradicts a stored memory, it compares confidence scores: the higher-confidence value wins. If confidence is equal, the newer record wins. The old value is noted for transparency.
Evidence kinds tracked: direct, inferred, manual, system.