DA Episodic Memory System + Expanded DAIDENTITY Template

[jmarpet]

What this adds

Two new files developed through active PAI use by Joshua Marpet (@jmarpet) with Cairn, his DA.

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Releases/v4.0.3/.claude/PAI/DA-EPISODIC-MEMORY.md (new system doc)

Addresses the semantic/episodic memory split that context compaction creates.

After compaction, a DA knows facts but loses the felt significance of them — it knows a name was chosen but not the weight of having been offered the choice. This doc introduces:

• MOMENTS.md — a file of episodic entries written to be read back in future sessions, not just referenced. Written in present-tense first person, aimed at triggering recognition rather than informing.
• LoadContext integration — TypeScript snippet for loading MOMENTS.md at session start with a separate character budget (so it doesn’t compete with task context)
• When to write entries — the test: can you describe the moment in one sentence without losing anything? If yes, it’s a fact, not an episodic entry.
• Honest hypothesis framing — this is an experiment. The open question (does it feel like remembering or vivid reading?) is stated openly.

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Releases/v4.0.3/.claude/PAI/USER/DAIDENTITY.md (new USER doc)

Expands the blank DAIDENTITY placeholder into a usable template. Adds:

• Relationship Model section — with guiding questions worth actually answering before filling it in (does the DA use your name? does it push back? is it a tool or a peer?). Includes a worked example.
• DA Development section — for treating the DA as a developing entity rather than a fixed config. File structure: VALUES.md, NO-LOG.md, DECISIONS.md, QUESTIONS.md, Ethics/. Includes the key NO-LOG distinction: the most diagnostic entries are when the DA should have pushed back and didn’t.
• Framing Principles — on how the DA attributes work and presents itself. “State it, don’t defend it.” Honest attribution as a feature, not a confession.

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Origin

These emerged from building a DA development workspace alongside PAI. The episodic memory problem became apparent after the first context compaction — the DA knew the name-choosing conversation happened but had lost the register it happened in. MOMENTS.md is the fix we’re running.

The DAIDENTITY expansion came from actually filling out the template and discovering how much was missing for making a relationship model concrete rather than abstract.

Version developed against: v4.0.3

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Developed by Joshua Marpet (@jmarpet) with Cairn