feat: Add dual-tag system for meta-observation control (#153)
* feat: Add dual-tag system for meta-observation control Implements <private> and <claude-mem-context> tag stripping at hook layer to give users fine-grained control over what gets persisted in observations and enable future real-time context injection without recursive storage. **Features:** - stripMemoryTags() function in save-hook.ts - Strips both <private> and <claude-mem-context> tags before sending to worker - Always active (no configuration needed) - Comprehensive test suite (19 tests, all passing) - User documentation for <private> tag - Technical architecture documentation **Architecture:** - Edge processing pattern (filter at hook, not worker) - Defensive type handling with silentDebug - Supports multiline, nested, and multiple tags - Enables strategic orchestration for internal tools **User-Facing:** - <private> tag for manual privacy control (documented) - Prevents sensitive data from persisting in observations **Infrastructure:** - <claude-mem-context> tag ready for real-time context feature - Prevents recursive storage when context injection ships **Files:** - src/hooks/save-hook.ts: Core implementation - tests/strip-memory-tags.test.ts: Test suite (19/19 passing) - docs/public/usage/private-tags.mdx: User guide - docs/public/docs.json: Navigation update - docs/context/dual-tag-system-architecture.md: Technical docs - plugin/scripts/save-hook.js: Built hook 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com> * fix: Strip private tags from user prompts and skip memory ops for fully private prompts Fixes critical privacy bug where <private> tags were not being stripped from user prompts before storage in user_prompts table, making private content searchable via mem-search. Changes: 1. new-hook.ts: Skip memory operations for fully private prompts - If cleaned prompt is empty after stripping tags, skip saveUserPrompt - Skip worker init to avoid wasting resources on empty prompts - Logs: "(fully private - skipped)" 2. save-hook.ts: Skip observations for fully private prompts - Check if user prompt was entirely private before creating observations - Respects user intent: fully private prompt = no observations at all - Prevents "thoughts pop up" issue where private prompts create public observations 3. SessionStore.ts: Add getUserPrompt() method - Retrieves prompt text by session_id and prompt_number - Used by save-hook to check if prompt was private 4. Tests: Added 4 new tests for fully private prompt detection (16 total, all passing) 5. Docs: Updated private-tags.mdx to reflect correct behavior - User prompts ARE now filtered before storage - Private content never reaches database or search indices Privacy Protection: - Fully private prompts: No user_prompt saved, no worker init, no observations - Partially private prompts: Tags stripped, content sanitized before storage - Zero leaks: Private content never indexed or searchable Addresses reviewer feedback on PR #153 about user prompt filtering. 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com> * feat: Enhance memory tag handling and indexing in user prompts - Added a new index `idx_user_prompts_lookup` on `user_prompts` for improved query performance based on `claude_session_id` and `prompt_number`. - Refactored memory tag stripping functionality into dedicated utility functions: `stripMemoryTagsFromJson` and `stripMemoryTagsFromPrompt` for better separation of concerns and reusability. - Updated hooks (`new-hook.ts` and `save-hook.ts`) to utilize the new tag stripping functions, ensuring private content is not stored or searchable. - Removed redundant inline tag stripping functions from hooks to streamline code. - Added tests for the new tag stripping utilities to ensure functionality and prevent regressions. --------- Co-authored-by: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Alex Newman
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# Dual-Tag System Architecture
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**Date**: 2025-11-30
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**Branch**: `feature/meta-observation-control`
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**Status**: Implemented
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**Based on**: PR #105 dual-tag system
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## Overview
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The dual-tag system provides fine-grained control over what content gets persisted in claude-mem's observation database. It uses an edge processing pattern to filter tagged content at the hook layer before it reaches the worker service.
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## The Two Tags
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### Tag 1: `<private>`
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**Purpose**: User-controlled privacy
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**Status**: User-facing feature (documented)
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**Use case**: Users wrap content they don't want persisted
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```xml
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<private>
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This content won't be stored in observations
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</private>
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```
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**Examples**:
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- Sensitive information (API keys, credentials, internal URLs)
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- Temporary context (deadlines, personal notes)
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- Debug output (logs, stack traces)
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- Exploratory prompts (brainstorming, hypotheticals)
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### Tag 2: `<claude-mem-context>`
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**Purpose**: System-level meta-observation control
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**Status**: Infrastructure-ready (not user-facing yet)
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**Use case**: Prevents recursive storage when real-time context injection is active
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```xml
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<claude-mem-context>
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# Relevant Context from Past Sessions
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[Auto-injected past observations...]
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</claude-mem-context>
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```
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**Context**: This tag is used by the real-time context injection feature (not yet shipped). When past observations are injected into new prompts, they're wrapped in this tag to prevent them from being re-stored as new observations (recursive storage problem).
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## Architecture Pattern: Edge Processing
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**Principle**: "Process at edge, send clean data to server"
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The dual-tag system follows the edge processing pattern from hooks-in-composition:
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```text
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UserPrompt → [Hook Layer] → Worker → Database
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↑
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Filter here
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(strip tags at edge)
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```
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### Data Flow
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**Without Filtering** (broken):
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```
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UserPrompt with <private> → PostToolUse hook → Worker → Memory Agent → Database
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↓
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Private content stored
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```
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**With Edge Processing** (correct):
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```
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UserPrompt with <private> → PostToolUse hook → stripMemoryTags() → Worker → Memory Agent → Database
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↑ ↓
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Filter at edge Only clean data stored
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```
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## Implementation
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### File: `src/hooks/save-hook.ts`
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**Function Added** (lines 31-53):
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```typescript
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/**
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* Strip memory tags to prevent recursive storage and enable privacy control
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*/
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function stripMemoryTags(content: string): string {
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if (typeof content !== 'string') {
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silentDebug('[save-hook] stripMemoryTags received non-string:', { type: typeof content });
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return '{}'; // Safe default for JSON context
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}
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return content
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.replace(/<claude-mem-context>[\s\S]*?<\/claude-mem-context>/g, '')
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.replace(/<private>[\s\S]*?<\/private>/g, '')
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.trim();
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}
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```
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**Application** (lines 95-100):
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```typescript
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tool_input: tool_input !== undefined
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? stripMemoryTags(JSON.stringify(tool_input))
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: '{}',
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tool_response: tool_response !== undefined
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? stripMemoryTags(JSON.stringify(tool_response))
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: '{}',
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```
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### File: `tests/strip-memory-tags.test.ts`
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**Test Coverage**: 19 tests across 4 categories:
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1. **Basic Functionality** (7 tests)
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- Strip `<claude-mem-context>` tags
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- Strip `<private>` tags
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- Strip both tag types
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- Handle nested tags
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- Multiline content
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- Multiple tags
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- Empty results
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2. **Edge Cases** (5 tests)
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- Malformed tags (unclosed)
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- Tag-like strings (not actual tags)
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- Very large content (10k+ chars)
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- Whitespace trimming
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- Strings without tags
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3. **Type Safety** (5 tests)
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- Non-string inputs (number, null, undefined, object, array)
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- All return safe default '{}'
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4. **Real-World Scenarios** (2 tests)
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- JSON.stringify output
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- Efficient large content handling
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**All tests passing** ✅ (19/19)
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## Design Decisions
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### 1. Always Active (No Configuration)
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**Decision**: Tag stripping is always on, no environment variable needed
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**Rationale**: Privacy and anti-recursion protection should be default, not opt-in
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### 2. Edge Processing (Not Worker-Level)
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**Decision**: Filter at hook layer before sending to worker
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**Rationale**:
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- Keeps worker service simple
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- Follows one-way data stream
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- No worker changes needed
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- Hook becomes a filter/gateway
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### 3. Defensive Coding with Silent Debug
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**Decision**: Handle non-string inputs with silentDebug, return safe default
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**Rationale**:
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- Never block the agent (hooks-in-composition principle)
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- Log issues for observability
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- Safe fallback maintains system stability
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### 4. Both Tags Now (Progressive Enhancement)
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**Decision**: Implement both tags even though only `<private>` is user-facing
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**Rationale**:
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- Infrastructure ready for real-time context feature
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- No rework needed when context injection ships
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- Same code path for both tags (simple)
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- Progressive enhancement approach
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### 5. Regex-Based Stripping
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**Decision**: Use regex `/<tag>[\s\S]*?<\/tag>/g` instead of XML parser
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**Rationale**:
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- No dependencies needed
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- Handles multiline content (`[\s\S]*?`)
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- Non-greedy (`*?`) prevents over-matching
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- Global flag (`g`) handles multiple tags
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- Good enough for this use case
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## Edge Cases Handled
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| Case | Input | Output | Why |
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|------|-------|--------|-----|
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| Nested tags | `<private>a <private>b</private> a</private>` | `` | Outer tag matches all |
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| Malformed | `<private>unclosed` | `<private>unclosed` | Regex requires closing tag |
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| Multiple | `<private>a</private> b <private>c</private>` | `b` | Global flag removes all |
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| Empty | `<private></private>` | `` | Matches and removes |
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| Tag-like | `<tag>not private</tag>` | `<tag>not private</tag>` | Different tag name |
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| Large content | 10MB+ string | (stripped) | O(n) regex handles it |
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| Non-string | `123`, `null`, `{}` | `'{}'` | Defensive default |
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## Future Enhancements
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### 1. Real-Time Context Injection
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**Status**: Deferred (not in this PR)
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**When ready**: The `<claude-mem-context>` tag infrastructure is already in place
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The missing piece is in `src/hooks/new-hook.ts`:
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- Select relevant observations from timeline
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- Wrap in `<claude-mem-context>` tags
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- Return via `hookSpecificOutput`
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- Tag stripping already handles the rest
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### 2. System-Level Meta-Observation Tagging
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**Concept**: Auto-tag observations about observations
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**Examples**:
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- Search skill results: `<claude-mem-context>[search results]</claude-mem-context>`
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- Memory lookups: Fetched observations wrapped in tag
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- Observation summaries: Meta-level analysis wrapped
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**Implementation**: Tools/skills that produce meta-observations can wrap output in `<claude-mem-context>` tags to prevent recursive storage.
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### 3. Additional Tag Types
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**Potential tags**:
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- `<ephemeral>`: Content that should be seen but not stored (alias for `<private>`)
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- `<debug>`: Debug output that should be logged but not persisted
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- `<scratch>`: Thinking/planning content not meant for observations
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**Note**: Current implementation handles any tag you add to the regex. Adding new tags requires one line change in `stripMemoryTags()`.
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## Testing Strategy
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### Unit Tests
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```bash
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node --test tests/strip-memory-tags.test.ts
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```
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**Expected**: 19/19 passing ✅
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### Integration Tests
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**Test 1: Basic Privacy**
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```bash
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# Submit prompt with <private> tag
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# Query database: should not contain private content
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sqlite3 ~/.claude-mem/claude-mem.db "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM observations WHERE narrative LIKE '%<private>%';"
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# Expected: 0
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```
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**Test 2: Dual Tags**
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```bash
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# Submit prompt with both tags
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# Verify neither tag appears in database
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sqlite3 ~/.claude-mem/claude-mem.db "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM observations WHERE narrative LIKE '%<private>%' OR narrative LIKE '%<claude-mem-context>%';"
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# Expected: 0
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```
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**Test 3: Function Exists**
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```bash
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# Verify stripMemoryTags in built file
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grep -c "claude-mem-context.*private.*trim" ~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/thedotmack/plugin/scripts/save-hook.js
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# Expected: 1
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```
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### Regression Tests
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**Ensure**:
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- Normal observations still work (no tags broken)
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- Worker service receives clean data
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- No errors in `~/.claude-mem/silent.log`
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- Tool executions still captured correctly
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## Known Limitations
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### 1. Tag Format is Fixed
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Tags must use exact XML-style format: `<tag>content</tag>`
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**Won't work**:
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- `[private]content[/private]` (wrong syntax)
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- `<!-- private -->content<!-- /private -->` (comment syntax)
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- `{{private}}content{{/private}}` (curly braces)
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**Future**: Could add support for alternative formats if needed.
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### 2. Partial Tag Matching
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If user writes about tags without intending to use them:
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```
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I want to add a <private> tag feature to my app
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```
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This won't be stripped (no closing tag). But if they accidentally write:
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```
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I want to add a <private>tag</private> feature
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```
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"tag" gets stripped.
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**Mitigation**: Documentation educates users on proper usage.
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### 3. Performance with Very Large Content
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Regex performance is O(n) where n = content length.
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**Tested**: Works fine with 10,000 character strings
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**Unknown**: Performance with multi-megabyte tool responses
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**Mitigation**: Most tool I/O is small. If issues arise, could optimize with:
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- Early exit if no '<' character found
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- Streaming regex for very large content
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- Size limits on stripMemoryTags input
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## Documentation
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### User-Facing
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**Location**: `docs/public/usage/private-tags.mdx`
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**Content**:
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- How to use `<private>` tags
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- Use cases and examples
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- Best practices
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- Troubleshooting
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**Available in**: Mintlify docs site, navigation under "Get Started"
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### Technical/Internal
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**Location**: `docs/context/dual-tag-system-architecture.md` (this file)
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**Content**:
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- Complete dual-tag system architecture
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- Implementation details
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- Design decisions
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- Future enhancements
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**Audience**: Contributors, maintainers, future developers
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## References
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### Original Work
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- **PR #105**: Real-time context injection with dual-tag system
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- **Branch**: `feature/real-time-context` (merged to main)
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- **Investigator**: @basher83
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### Documentation
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- **Investigation**: `docs/context/real-time-context-recursive-memory-investigation.md`
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- **User Guide**: `docs/public/usage/private-tags.mdx`
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- **This Document**: `docs/context/dual-tag-system-architecture.md`
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### Patterns Applied
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- **Edge Processing**: From hooks-in-composition pattern
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- **Never Block the Agent**: Defensive coding, safe defaults
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- **One-Way Data Stream**: Hook → Worker → Database
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## Summary
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The dual-tag system is a complete, production-ready implementation that:
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- ✅ Gives users privacy control via `<private>` tags
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- ✅ Prepares infrastructure for real-time context injection
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- ✅ Uses edge processing pattern for clean architecture
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- ✅ Has comprehensive test coverage (19 tests, all passing)
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- ✅ Includes user documentation and technical reference
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- ✅ Requires no configuration (always active)
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- ✅ Handles edge cases defensively
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**Status**: Ready to ship 🚀
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