> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.4minds.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Memory

> SYMI can remember information from your conversations and bring it back into a later session — not just replay what you said recently, but recall things from days or weeks ago.

<Note>
  Memory is about information SYMI recalls. Your actual files live in your [Persistent Workspace](/symi/persistent-workspace). The two work together but serve different purposes.
</Note>

## Overview

Within a single conversation, SYMI naturally has access to what you've just said — that's ordinary conversational context. Memory is different: it's how SYMI carries information *forward*, so a preference, a decision, or a fact from an earlier conversation can still inform a much later one.

SYMI's memory is file-based rather than a hidden database. That means the durable record of what SYMI remembers is something you can, in principle, read — it isn't opaque.

## What SYMI remembers

As you use SYMI, it can build up several kinds of durable memory:

* **Summaries of past conversations.** A compressed account of what was discussed and decided, so an old conversation doesn't need to be replayed in full to be useful later.
* **Standing facts and preferences.** Things worth carrying forward on their own, independent of any one conversation.
* **Your own notes.** You can maintain a memory file yourself, in your own words. SYMI treats this as ground truth and won't rewrite it on its own.

## Keeping memory accurate

Memory is meant to be a helpful record, not an unchangeable one. A few things to know:

* **Newer information wins.** If you correct something you said earlier — "actually, that meeting is at 10am, not 9am" — SYMI treats your current statement as authoritative, even if an older note said something else.
* **You can tell SYMI to remember or forget something directly.** Asking SYMI to remember a preference, or to forget something it noted previously, updates what it retains.
* **A newly saved memory may take a short time to become searchable.** If you ask SYMI to remember something and immediately ask it to recall that exact fact, there can be a brief delay before it's fully indexed.

<Tip>
  If SYMI seems to be working from outdated information, just correct it in the conversation. Your current statement takes precedence over anything recalled from memory.
</Tip>

## Memory vs. recent conversation

It's worth keeping these two ideas separate, since they're easy to conflate:

| | Recent conversation | Memory |
| - | - | - |
| **What it covers** | The active conversation you're currently having | Information from past sessions, potentially much older |
| **How it's retrieved** | Replayed directly as part of the conversation | Searched and selectively recalled based on relevance to your current request |
| **Can it be edited by you?** | N/A — it's just the conversation | Yes, for your own notes; SYMI's derived summaries are not user-edited |

A detail that follows from this: something appearing in your chat history doesn't automatically mean SYMI's memory has "learned" it. If it matters for the long run, it's worth confirming SYMI has actually retained it — or telling it explicitly to remember.

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Persistent Workspace" icon="folder" href="/symi/persistent-workspace">
    See what files persist across sessions, separate from memory.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Security & Isolation" icon="shield" href="/symi/security-and-isolation">
    Understand how your memory and workspace stay private to your account.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>