Claude Code

Claude Code includes a hidden autoDreamEnabled preference that activates background memory consolidation. When enabled, Claude Code periodically spawns a subagent to review and clean up your memory files — automatically.

Enabling Auto-Dream

Add the following to your Claude Code settings:

# User-level (applies to all projects)
~/.claude/settings.json

# Project-level (applies to one project)
.claude/settings.json

{
  "preferences": {
    "autoDreamEnabled": true
  }
}

See settings.example.json for a complete example.

What Happens When It Runs

When auto-dream is active, Claude Code will:

1. Detect memory staleness — After enough sessions have passed, the system identifies that consolidation is needed
2. Spawn a background subagent — A lightweight agent runs outside your main conversation context
3. Review memory files — The subagent reads your MEMORY.md index and all referenced memory files
4. Consolidate — Duplicates are merged, stale entries pruned, and related items grouped
5. Update MEMORY.md — The index is rewritten with consolidated pointers

You will not see the dream agent running. It operates silently in the background.

What It Consolidates

Action	Examples
Merge	Five "project status" entries → one current entry
Prune	Completed one-time tasks, superseded decisions
Rewrite	Vague descriptions → specific, actionable entries
Preserve	User preferences, feedback, active project context

Verifying It Works

After enabling, check your memory directory after several sessions:

# Check memory file modification times
ls -lt ~/.claude/projects/*/memory/

# Look at MEMORY.md for consolidation evidence
cat ~/.claude/projects/*/memory/MEMORY.md

Signs auto-dream has run:

• Memory files have been modified outside your session times
• MEMORY.md is more concise than expected
• Duplicate entries have been merged

Troubleshooting

Auto-dream doesn't seem to run:

• Verify the setting is in the correct settings.json (user vs project level)
• The feature requires a sufficient number of memory files to trigger
• It runs on Claude's schedule, not on every session

Memories were incorrectly pruned:

• Auto-dream is conservative by default, but it can make mistakes
• Re-add important context in your next session — the system will learn
• Consider the OpenClaw version if you need full control over consolidation rules

Setting not recognized:

• Ensure you're on a recent version of Claude Code
• The setting key is autoDreamEnabled (camelCase, under preferences)

Limitations

• No control over consolidation rules (black box)
• No log of what was changed
• Cannot customize the schedule
• Cannot target specific memory files

If you need more control, see the OpenClaw version which provides full customization via DREAM.md.

Technical Details

See how-it-works.md for a technical deep-dive into how auto-dream was discovered and how it operates.