---
name: Read Working Memory
slug: read-working-memory-2
category: AI Engineering
description: Read Working Memory opens your current briefing so you can see active focus areas, priorities, unresolved flags, and recent knowledge changes. Use it at session start or when you need recent context before continuing work.
github: "https://github.com/nowledge-co/community/tree/main/nowledge-mem-claude-code-plugin/skills/read-working-memory"
language: Python
stars: 166
forks: 35
install: "npx degit https://github.com/nowledge-co/community/tree/main/nowledge-mem-claude-code-plugin/skills/read-working-memory ~/.claude/skills/read-working-memory"
installs_to: ~/.claude/skills/read-working-memory
source_path: nowledge-mem-claude-code-plugin/skills/read-working-memory/SKILL.md
collection_size: 25
category_size: 3670
collection_url: "https://dirskills.com/collections/nowledge-co/community"
added: 2026-09-08T05:34:51.777Z
last_synced: 2026-09-08T05:34:51.777Z
canonical_url: "https://dirskills.com/skills/read-working-memory-2"
---

# Read Working Memory

Read Working Memory opens your current briefing so you can see active focus areas, priorities, unresolved flags, and recent knowledge changes. Use it at session start or when you need recent context before continuing work.

**Install:**

```bash
npx degit https://github.com/nowledge-co/community/tree/main/nowledge-mem-claude-code-plugin/skills/read-working-memory ~/.claude/skills/read-working-memory
```

## README

# Read Working Memory

> Start every relevant session with context. Claude Code hooks prefer Context Bundle when available: owner identity, AI Identity, active scope, active rules, and Working Memory. Grok Build loads the same context through this skill because it discards passive hook stdout. Working Memory alone is the lighter fallback.

## When to Use

**At session start or the first relevant Grok Build turn:**

- Beginning of a new conversation
- Returning to a project after a break
- When context about recent work would help

**During session:**

- User asks "what am I working on?" or "what's my context?"
- User references recent priorities or decisions
- Need to understand what's been happening across tools

**Skip when:**

- Already loaded this session
- User explicitly wants a fresh start
- Working on an isolated, context-independent task

## Usage

Prefer Context Bundle for startup context:

```bash
nmem --json context --source-app claude-code
# In Grok Build:
nmem --json context --source-app grok
```

Read Working Memory alone when you only need current priorities:

```bash
nmem wm read
```

Only add `--space "<space name>"` when the user or environment explicitly provided that existing Mem space (for example `NMEM_SPACE`). Never infer a space from the current folder, git repository, branch, or project name. Multi-agent orchestrators can set `NMEM_AGENT_ID="<agent-slug>"` before launching Claude Code or Grok Build so hooks read the right AI Identity automatically. Add `NMEM_SPACE` only when that whole run should override the identity's default space. Use `NMEM_HOST_AGENT_ID` only for advanced external aliases.

Fallback for local-only (when nmem is not installed):

```bash
cat ~/ai-now/memory.md
```

This fallback is only for older local-only **Default-space** setups.

### What You'll Find

The Working Memory briefing contains:

- **Active Focus Areas** — Topics you're currently engaged with, ranked by recent activity
- **Priorities** — Items flagged as important or needing attention
- **Unresolved Flags** — Contradictions, stale information, or items needing verification
- **Recent Activity** — What changed in your knowledge base since the last briefing
- **Deep Links** — References to specific memories for further exploration

### How to Use This Context

1. **Read once at session start** — in Grok Build, run this skill on the first relevant turn; don't re-read unless asked
2. **Reference naturally** — mention relevant context when it connects to the current task
3. **Avoid duplicate reads** — if Context Bundle was already injected and includes Working Memory, do not read Working Memory again
4. **Don't overwhelm** — share only the parts relevant to what the user is working on
5. **Cross-tool continuity** — insights saved in other tools (Cursor, Claude Code, Grok Build, Codex) appear here

## Managed Skills

Nowledge Mem can hold managed skills: proven procedures for recurring, multi-step work. If the task is procedural and the Nowledge Mem MCP server exposes `find_skills`, check for a matching skill before starting. When looking for skills, always use `find_skills` first; do not search the filesystem or memory for skills. If one matches, read and follow its `SKILL.md`, then report the outcome with `report_skill_outcome` when the task is done.

If MCP is unavailable but `nmem` is present, use:

```bash
nmem skills match "<task>"
nmem skills show <skill_id>
nmem skills outcome <skill_id> --version <version> --outcome completed
```

Do this for recurring or procedural work, not for every question.

## Troubleshooting

If `nmem` is not in PATH: `pip install nmem-cli`, `pipx install nmem-cli`, or on Arch Linux `yay -S nmem-cli` / `paru -S nmem-cli`

If Nowledge Mem is on a remote server, run `nmem config client set url https://...` and `nmem config client set api-key ...` once on this machine, or use `NMEM_API_URL` / `NMEM_API_KEY` for a temporary override.