slm-recall — Search & Retrieve Memory

Retrieve stored facts, decisions, and past context from SuperLocalMemory using multi-channel retrieval. The golden rule: recall before you remember.

When to use recall vs search vs fetch vs list_recent

Use recall as the default. search is a fallback for zero-result recall on a known exact term. fetch is for when you already know the ID.

Recall-before-remember discipline

Before storing anything new, always call recall first. If a near-duplicate fact already exists, call update_memory(fact_id, content) to refine it rather than creating a duplicate. Duplicates degrade retrieval quality for every future session.

MCP-first workflow

1. Standard recall

recall(
  query="authentication strategy decision",
  limit=20,            # default 20; reduce to 5 for quick pre-task checks
  session_id="<sid>",  # pass the session_id returned by session_init
  fast=False,          # default False; True skips SpreadingActivation channel
)

Real response shape (--json equivalent):

{
  "success": true,
  "results": [
    {
      "fact_id": "f8a2bc91",
      "content": "Decided to use JWT with 1h expiry for API auth (2026-06-10)",
      "score": 0.87,
      "confidence": 0.91,
      "trust_score": 0.84,
      "fact_type": "decision",
      "channel_scores": {
        "semantic": 0.88,
        "lexical": 0.61,
        "temporal": 0.72,
        "structural": 0.55
      }
    }
  ],
  "count": 1,
  "query_type": "semantic",
  "channel_weights": {
    "semantic": 0.4,
    "lexical": 0.2,
    "temporal": 0.2,
    "structural": 0.2
  },
  "retrieval_time_ms": 134,
  "no_confident_match": false
}

Always check `no_confident_match`. When true, no result cleared the evidence floor. Do not invent a memory — tell the user nothing was found and offer to search more broadly or store a new fact.

2. Passing session_id

Pass the session_id returned by session_init. It threads engagement signals through to the ranker so each recall contributes to improving retrieval for your project over time. Omitting it degrades the learning loop — recall works correctly, but feedback is not attributed to the session.

3. Fast mode

Use fast=True for pre-tool-call checks where sub-second response matters. This skips the SpreadingActivation channel. The remaining channels — semantic, lexical, temporal, and structural — still run.

recall(query="rate limiting approach", limit=5, session_id="<sid>", fast=True)

4. Keyword fallback via search

When recall returns zero results on a specific term, try search:

search(query="BM25 indexing", limit=10, profile_id="")

profile_id="" uses the active profile. Response has success, results, and count but no channel_scores or query_type.

5. Pull full detail for a known fact

fetch(fact_ids="f8a2bc91,d4c1e203")

Returns the full record for each ID: entities, lifecycle, access_count, importance, observation_date, referenced_date. Use this when the recall summary (120-char truncation in list_recent) is not enough.

6. Browse recent memories

list_recent(limit=20, profile_id="")

Returns facts newest-first. Content is truncated to 120 chars. Use fetch once you have the fact_id for full content.

How multi-channel retrieval works

recall runs four channels in parallel — semantic vector similarity, lexical BM25, temporal recency, and structural/graph — then fuses them with Reciprocal Rank Fusion (RRF) and applies a reranker. The channel_weights field in the response shows how each channel contributed for that query. Weights adapt over time based on engagement signals attributed via session_id.

To inspect per-channel scores for a real query against your own data:

slm trace "<query>" [--limit N] [--json]

No benchmark numbers are cited here; performance is workload-dependent.

CLI fallback (when MCP is unavailable)

# Multi-channel semantic recall
slm recall "<query>" [--limit N] [--fast] [--json]

# Opt into shared/global facts for one query (v3.6.15 — off by default)
slm recall "<query>" --include-global --include-shared

# Keyword/FTS5 search (alias: slm search)
slm search "<query>" [--limit N] [--json]

# Per-channel score breakdown
slm trace "<query>" [--limit N] [--json]

# Browse recent memories
slm list [--limit N] [--json]

Flags verified in source (main.py):

• slm recall: --limit, --fast, --json, --include-global / --no-global, --include-shared / --no-shared
• slm search: --limit, --json
• slm trace: --limit, --json
• slm list: --limit / -n, --json

Multi-scope (v3.6.15, opt-in): recall is shared-OFF by default — it returns only this profile's facts. Pass --include-global / --include-shared (or the MCP include_global / include_shared args) to opt in for a query, or set the defaults in your mode_a/b/c.json config. See docs/shared-memory.md.

Flags that do NOT exist (fabricated in old skills — never write these): --min-score, --format, --project, --tags on recall or search.

Never fabricate a memory

If results is empty or no_confident_match is true, report it plainly. Never construct a response as if a memory was found when it was not. The user trusts that what you surface came from the store.

SuperLocalMemory v3.6.18 · Qualixar · AGPL-3.0-or-later