Tree Ring Memory Claude Code Plugin

August 25, 2026 ยท View on GitHub

Tree Ring Memory is a local-first memory lifecycle practice for Claude Code agents.

This plugin packages one Claude Code skill plus a few explicit slash commands that teach agents when to recall, write, audit, consolidate, and forget project memory using the open-source Tree Ring Memory CLI.

It does not run a background service, scrape chats, capture transcripts, install hooks, or ship a networked MCP server. The active agent chooses when a memory action is useful, source-linked, and privacy-safe.

What It Adds

  • Recall before context-dependent project work.
  • Concise memory writes for validated decisions, lessons, warnings, and user preferences.
  • Evidence-backed outcomes through tree-ring evidence.
  • Explicit forgetting, redaction, and supersession guidance.
  • DOX and Revolve adapter usage with dry-run-first guardrails.
  • Same-host multi-agent identity, idempotency, filtered fan-in, and optional coordinator write-policy guidance.
  • Receipt-backed harness readiness that distinguishes configured bridges from observed use in a fresh Claude Code session.
  • Verified project-local CLI bootstrap and scope-preserving update guidance.

Install Tree Ring Memory

From the actual project root, after the user has authorized Tree Ring setup:

Download the official version-pinned v0.15.0/install.sh to a temporary file, verify its SHA-256 is ef0d5eb8f09cbe2e4c3abe80ee9a98a56759c89ad4ddd103d6c68314cd653ade, inspect it, then run these commands from the project root:

sh <verified-installer-path> --project --init --release latest --no-animation
.tree-ring/bin/tree-ring --root .tree-ring integrations status --verbose

Do not pipe a network response directly to a shell.

The plugin requires Tree Ring Memory v0.15.0 or newer:

tree-ring --version
tree-ring integrations status --help

Before a current binary upgrades a pre-v0.13 store to schema v3, stop every Tree Ring process, checkpoint and back up the complete store, and upgrade every CLI, plugin, and bundled worker. Do not use a v0.12 writer against schema v3; all mixed-version operation is unsupported.

If the CLI is missing or older, the plugin may bootstrap or update it when the user's request already authorizes Tree Ring setup. Otherwise it explains the exact operation and asks before downloading or changing software. Use tree-ring update --check for a read-only release check and, with update authorization, tree-ring update to preserve the active install scope. It does not edit shell configuration, change global scope, or claim that a memory action ran without the required authorization and observed command output.

For other install paths, use the canonical project README: https://github.com/TerminallyLazy/Tree-Ring-Memory#install

Install The Plugin

Add this repository as a Claude Code plugin marketplace:

/plugin marketplace add TerminallyLazy/tree-ring-memory-claude-plugin
/plugin install tree-ring-memory@tree-ring-memory

After installation, Claude Code can use:

/tree-ring-memory:tree-ring-memory
/tree-ring-memory:tree-ring-recall
/tree-ring-memory:tree-ring-capture
/tree-ring-memory:tree-ring-audit
/tree-ring-memory:tree-ring-status
/tree-ring-memory:tree-ring-dox-sync
/tree-ring-memory:tree-ring-certify
/tree-ring-memory:tree-ring-update

Use

Ask Claude Code:

Use Tree Ring Memory to recall durable project context before editing.
Use Tree Ring Memory to capture this validated lesson without storing a transcript.
Use Tree Ring Memory to audit stale or sensitive memory before closeout.
Preview DOX contract summaries and sync only concise, source-linked guidance.
Generate harness certification evidence without claiming full release certification.

The skill looks for project-local .tree-ring/SKILL.md and .tree-ring/CLI.md first. If they are absent, it falls back to the public CLI commands documented in the main framework repository.

For DOX projects, the plugin reads the applicable AGENTS.md chain before edits and keeps those live contracts authoritative. /tree-ring-memory:tree-ring-dox-sync previews the local adapter output before any persistence and never rewrites the source contracts.

/tree-ring-memory:tree-ring-certify uses the installed CLI for harness or recall-quality evidence. The larger scripts/certify-tree-ring.sh suite remains exclusive to a complete Tree Ring framework source checkout; it is not bundled with this plugin.

Receipt-Backed Harness Readiness

For a new project, start with:

tree-ring init
tree-ring integrations status

Configuration is not activation proof. A harness is active only after a fresh, matching receipt shows scoped recall and safe context injection from a new session. States such as configured-awaiting-proof, needs-trust, needs-plugin, needs-project-mount, needs-user-review, and unsupported remain explicitly non-active. The /tree-ring-memory:tree-ring-status command reports the exact state without modifying trust, bridges, or receipts.

For fan-out/fan-in, the supported shared-root boundary is cooperative Tree Ring processes on one host and a local filesystem. Identity and scope route memory; they are not read access-control boundaries. Cross-host and network-filesystem workflows need per-host stores plus explicit, source-preserving fan-in.

Canonical Project

Security

This plugin ships instructions only. It does not include remote MCP servers, webhooks, analytics, credentials, or networked runtime code.

Coordinated mode uses a one-time capability only through TREE_RING_COORDINATOR_TOKEN. Keep it out of prompts, command arguments, memory, logs, source references, and ordinary worker environments.

See PRIVACY.md, TERMS.md, and SECURITY.md for data handling, use terms, and disclosures.