User Guide¶
This page covers every part of the HackLM Memory UI. For first-time setup, see Getting Started. For the storeMemory / queryMemory tool reference, see API Reference.
Status Bar¶
The status bar item sits in the bottom-left corner of VS Code.
- Default:
⊕ Memory - With memories:
⊕ Memory (N)— N is the total count across all categories
Click it to open the Control Panel.
Memories View¶
The Memories panel lives in the Explorer sidebar (the file tree on the left). Expand it by clicking Memories in the Explorer.
Categories¶
Memories are grouped into five categories: Instruction, Quirk, Preference, Decision, and Security. Each appears as a collapsible row with a count of stored entries. An empty category shows "empty".
For what each category is for and which file it maps to, see API Reference → Memory Categories.
Memory entries¶
Click a category to expand it. Each entry shows:
- Label — the full memory content
- Description — the slug in brackets (e.g.
[esbuild-bundler]), if one was set - Tooltip — hover to see category, slug, and content together
Click an entry to open the source .md file in the editor and jump to that line.
Empty state¶
When no memories exist, the panel shows:
No memories stored yet. Copilot will save insights here as you chat.
A [Open Control Panel] link appears below it.
Toolbar buttons¶
The row of icon buttons at the top of the Memories panel:
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Refresh | Reloads the tree from disk |
| Run Cleanup | Merges duplicates and prunes stale entries |
| Review Session | Runs a gap analysis and suggests new memories to save |
| Control Panel | Opens the Control Panel Quick Pick |
Entry context menu¶
Right-click any memory entry for these options:
- Open Memory Entry — opens the source file at that line
- Delete Memory — removes the entry after confirmation
A trash-can icon also appears inline on hover. Click it to delete directly.
Control Panel¶
Open it by clicking the status bar item, clicking the menu icon in the Memories toolbar, or running HackLM Memory: Open Control Panel from the Command Palette.
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Browse Memories | Opens a searchable list of all stored entries |
| Delete Memory | Prompts you to pick an entry and delete it |
| Run Cleanup | Merges duplicates, prunes stale entries; results go to the Output channel |
| Reinitialize Files | Regenerates .github/copilot-instructions.md from scratch |
| Configure Memory System | Opens the Settings panel (see below) |
| Open Memory Folder | Reveals the .memory/ folder in the Explorer |
Settings panel¶
Select Configure Memory System in the Control Panel to open the nested settings picker:
| Option | What it configures |
|---|---|
| Language Model | The model family used for cleanup and gap analysis (saved globally) |
| Auto-Cleanup Frequency | Run cleanup automatically every N store operations, 1–100 (saved globally) |
| Category Size Limits | Max entries per category before the oldest are pruned, 1–50 (saved per workspace) |
Additional Commands¶
All Control Panel actions are also available in the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P) — type HackLM to filter. Two commands have no equivalent in the Control Panel:
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
View Statistics |
Prints total count, health summary, and file paths to the Output channel |
Open Getting Started |
Opens the built-in walkthrough |
Settings¶
All settings are under hacklm-memory.*. Open them in Settings UI (Ctrl+,) and search for hacklm-memory, or configure them through the Control Panel.
| Setting | Default | Scope | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
lmFamily |
gpt-5-mini |
Global | Model family for cleanup and gap analysis |
autoCleanupFrequency |
10 |
Global | Auto-cleanup after every N store operations |
autoApproveStore |
false |
Global | Skip the confirmation prompt when saving memories |
manageInstructionFile |
true |
Global | Allow the extension to manage the <!-- hacklm-memory --> block in .github/copilot-instructions.md |
categoryLimit.Instruction |
30 |
Workspace | Max entries in the Instruction category |
categoryLimit.Quirk |
40 |
Workspace | Max entries in the Quirk category |
categoryLimit.Preference |
40 |
Workspace | Max entries in the Preference category |
categoryLimit.Decision |
40 |
Workspace | Max entries in the Decision category |
categoryLimit.Security |
30 |
Workspace | Max entries in the Security category |
Built-in Walkthrough¶
A step-by-step walkthrough is built into VS Code. Open it from Help → Get Started and search for HackLM Memory, or run HackLM Memory: Open Getting Started from the Command Palette.
The walkthrough covers installation, opening the Memories view, storing your first memory, and configuring the language model.