DeepRecall

Pure-Python recursive memory recall for persistent AI agents. Manager→workers→synthesis RLM loop — no Deno, no fast-rlm, just HTTP calls to any OpenAI-compatible LLM.

DeepRecall v2 — OpenClaw Skill

Pure-Python recursive memory for persistent AI agents. Implements the Anamnesis Architecture: "The soul stays small, the mind scales forever."

Description

DeepRecall gives AI agents infinite memory by recursively querying their own memory files through a manager→workers→synthesis RLM loop — entirely in Python. No Deno runtime, no fast-rlm subprocess, no vector database. Just markdown files and HTTP calls to any OpenAI-compatible LLM endpoint.

When the agent needs to recall something, DeepRecall:

1. Scans the workspace for memory files (scoped by category)
2. Indexes file metadata — headers, topics, dates, people
3. Manager selects the most relevant files from the index
4. Workers (parallel) extract exact verbatim quotes from each file
5. Synthesis combines quotes into a cited, grounded answer

Workers are constrained by anti-hallucination prompts to return only verbatim quotes. The synthesis step cites every claim with (filename:line).

Installation

bash

pip install deep-recall

Or install from source:

bash

git clone https://github.com/Stefan27-4/DeepRecall
cd DeepRecall && pip install .

Dependencies

• httpx (preferred) or requests — HTTP client for LLM calls
• PyYAML — config parsing
• Python ≥ 3.10
• An LLM provider configured in OpenClaw

v2 breaking change: Deno and fast-rlm are no longer required. The entire RLM loop runs in-process as pure Python.

Quick Start

python

from deep_recall import recall

result = recall("What did we decide about the project architecture?")
print(result)

API

recall(query, scope, workspace, verbose, config_overrides) → str

The primary entry point. Runs the full manager→workers→synthesis loop.

python

from deep_recall import recall

result = recall(
    "Find all mentions of budget discussions",
    scope="memory",          # "memory" | "identity" | "project" | "all"
    verbose=True,            # print progress to stdout
    config_overrides={
        "max_files": 5,      # max files the manager can select
    },
)

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
query	str	(required)	What to recall / search for
scope	str	"memory"	File scope — see Scopes
workspace	Path | None	auto-detect	Override workspace path
verbose	bool	False	Print provider, model, file selection info
config_overrides	dict | None	None	Override max_files and other settings

Returns: A string containing the recalled information with source citations, or a [DeepRecall] status message if no files/results were found.

---

recall_quick(query, verbose) → str

Fast, cheap recall scoped to identity files. Best for simple lookups.

python

from deep_recall import recall_quick

name = recall_quick("What is my human's name?")

Equivalent to recall(query, scope="identity", config_overrides={"max_files": 2}).

---

recall_deep(query, verbose) → str

Thorough recall across all workspace files. Best for cross-referencing.

python

from deep_recall import recall_deep

summary = recall_deep("Summarize all decisions from March")

Equivalent to recall(query, scope="all", config_overrides={"max_files": 5}).

---

CLI

bash

python deep_recall.py <query> [scope]

# Examples
python deep_recall.py "What was the first project we worked on?"
python deep_recall.py "Find budget discussions" all

Scopes

Scopes control which files DeepRecall searches. Narrower scopes are faster and cheaper.

Scope	Files Included	Speed	Cost	Use Case
identity	SOUL.md, IDENTITY.md, MEMORY.md, USER.md, TOOLS.md, HEARTBEAT.md, AGENTS.md	⚡ Fastest	Cheapest	"What's my name?"
memory	Identity files + memory/LONG_TERM.md + memory/*.md daily logs	🔄 Fast	Low	"What did we do last week?"
project	All readable workspace files (skips binaries, node_modules, .git)	🐢 Slower	Medium	"Find that config change"
all	Identity + memory + project (everything)	🐌 Slowest	Highest	"Search everything"

File Categories

DeepRecall classifies discovered files into categories:

• soul — SOUL.md, IDENTITY.md — who the agent IS (always in context)
• mind — MEMORY.md, USER.md, TOOLS.md, HEARTBEAT.md, AGENTS.md — compact orientation
• long-term — memory/LONG_TERM.md — full detailed memories, grows forever
• daily-log — memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md — raw daily logs
• workspace — everything else (project files, configs, docs)

Configuration

DeepRecall reads your existing OpenClaw setup — no additional config files needed.

Provider Resolution

Provider, API key, and model are resolved automatically from:

1. ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json — primary model setting
2. ~/.openclaw/agents/main/agent/models.json — provider base URLs
3. ~/.openclaw/credentials/ — cached tokens (e.g. GitHub Copilot)
4. Environment variables — fallback (ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, OPENAI_API_KEY, GOOGLE_API_KEY, etc. (18+ providers supported, all optional))

Supported Providers (20+)

Anthropic · OpenAI · Google (Gemini) · GitHub Copilot · OpenRouter · Ollama · DeepSeek · Mistral · Together · Groq · Fireworks · Cohere · Perplexity · SambaNova · Cerebras · xAI · Minimax · Zhipu (GLM) · Moonshot (Kimi) · Qwen

Auto Model Pairing

The manager and synthesis steps use your primary model. Workers use a cheaper sub-agent model automatically:

Primary Model	Worker Model
Claude Opus 4 / 4.6	Claude Sonnet 4
Claude Sonnet 4 / 4.5	Claude Haiku 3.5
GPT-4o / GPT-4	GPT-4o-mini
Gemini 2.5 Pro	Gemini 2.0 Flash
DeepSeek Reasoner	DeepSeek Chat
Llama 3.1 70B	Llama 3.1 8B

config_overrides

Pass overrides via the config_overrides parameter:

python

recall("query", config_overrides={
    "max_files": 5,       # max files manager can select (default: 3)
})

Skill Files

File	Purpose
deep_recall.py	Public API — recall, recall_quick, recall_deep, RLM loop
provider_bridge.py	Resolves LLM provider, API key, base URL from OpenClaw config
model_pairs.py	Maps primary models to cheaper worker models
memory_scanner.py	Discovers and categorises workspace files by scope
memory_indexer.py	Builds a structured Memory Index (topics, people, timeline)
__init__.py	Package exports

Memory Layout

Recommended workspace structure for the Anamnesis Architecture:

text

~/.openclaw/workspace/
├── SOUL.md              # Identity — always in context, never grows
├── IDENTITY.md          # Core agent facts
├── MEMORY.md            # Compact index (~100 lines), auto-loaded each session
├── USER.md              # About the human
├── AGENTS.md            # Agent behavior rules
├── TOOLS.md             # Tool-specific notes
└── memory/
    ├── LONG_TERM.md     # Full memories — grows forever, searched via DeepRecall
    ├── 2026-03-05.md    # Daily raw log
    ├── 2026-03-04.md
    └── ...

⚠️ Privacy Notice

DeepRecall reads your workspace memory files and sends their contents to your configured LLM provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, etc.) to perform recall. This is how it works — there is no local-only mode.

What gets sent:

• File metadata (names, headings, topics) → to the manager LLM
• Full file contents of selected files → to worker LLMs
• This may include personal notes, daily logs, project files

What is NOT sent:

• API keys and credentials (read locally for auth, never in prompts)
• Files outside your workspace

Credentials used locally:

• ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json and ~/.openclaw/credentials/* — to resolve your LLM provider
• Env vars (ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, OPENAI_API_KEY, GOOGLE_API_KEY, etc. (18+ providers supported, all optional)) — as fallback if no OpenClaw config found

Recommended Memory Architecture

DeepRecall works best with a two-tier memory system:

Tier 1: MEMORY.md (The Index)

• Auto-loaded every session — keep it SMALL (~100 lines)
• Contains: quick reference facts, active projects, key metrics, a table of contents pointing to LONG_TERM.md sections
• Think of it as your orientation file — "what do I need to know right now?"
• If it grows past ~120 lines, move details to LONG_TERM.md

Tier 2: memory/LONG_TERM.md (The Encyclopedia)

• Never auto-loaded — searched via DeepRecall when needed
• Contains: full context, decisions with reasoning, timestamps, bugs with fixes, architecture details
• Grows forever — never delete, only append
• The devil is in the details — "the diary entry, not the Wikipedia summary"

Tier 3: memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md (Daily Logs)

• Raw notes of what happened each day
• Distilled into LONG_TERM.md at end of day

Nightly Sync Routine

At the end of each day (or via cron/heartbeat):

1. Read today's daily log
2. Append key events, decisions, lessons, bugs, metrics to LONG_TERM.md
3. Update MEMORY.md index table if new topics appeared

⚠️ Setting this up? Ask your human before restructuring existing memory files. Show them this recommendation and let them decide how to organize their agent's memory.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.