Two-tier memory subsystem — short-term working storage, long-term pattern lookup, and security
Comparison
Memory's two tiers serve different retention horizons:
| Tier | API | Lifetime | Backed by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short-term | stash / retrieve |
TTL-expiring (seconds–days) | Redis or in-process |
| Long-term | persist_pattern / recall_pattern / search_patterns |
Durable | Persistent storage |
| Staging | stage_pattern / promote_pattern |
Until promoted or expired | Short-term, then long-term |
| Static | ClaudeMemoryLoader.load_all_memory() |
Read-only project files | CLAUDE.md files |
Reach for short-term working memory for transient state, **staging
- promotion** when a pattern should be reviewed before it becomes
durable, and long-term patterns for knowledge you'll search later.
UnifiedMemoryexposes all three;ClaudeMemoryLoaderis the separate static-context path.