Memories Require Timestamp And Source

Every new memory entry — whether in MEMORY.md or a per-memory file under .claude/projects/<project>/memory/ — should carry an ISO 8601 timestamp recording when the memory was written, plus a source-event tag identifying the loop-id, task-id, conversation-id, or commit-sha that produced it. These two fields enable temporal normalization on conflict resolution: when two memories disagree, the conflict-detector picks the more recent one, but only if the timestamp is present and parseable. Cites K2 §3.4 (temporal normalization). This is soft guidance for new memories; existing memory files can be backfilled gradually rather than rewritten in bulk. Use when: writing a new memory entry to MEMORY.md, creating a new per-memory file under .claude/projects/<project>/memory/, reviewing a PR that adds a memory file, auditing the memory layer for staleness or unverifiable claims, dispatching a subagent that will append to memory. Skip when: editing existing memory files that lack the fields (these can be backfilled when next touched, not rewritten in bulk), editing CLAUDE.md preference text that is not a memory entry per se (preferences ≠ memories — preferences live indefinitely; memories carry decay).

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/memories-require-timestamp-and-source
curl -L https://claudskills.com/skills/memories-require-timestamp-and-source/SKILL.md \
  -o ~/.claude/skills/memories-require-timestamp-and-source/SKILL.md

@misc{memories-require-timestamp-and-source-2026,
  author    = {ClaudSkills},
  title     = {Memories Require Timestamp And Source [Claude Code skill]},
  year      = {2026},
  publisher = {ClaudSkills},
  url       = {https://claudskills.com/skills/memories-require-timestamp-and-source/}
}