Memory Matters

# Short-term memory = the messages array
messages = []

# Turn 1: User asks a question
messages.append({"role": "user", "content": "What is my account status?"})

# Turn 1: Agent responds + uses a tool
response = client.messages.create(messages=messages, ...)
messages.append({"role": "assistant", "content": response.content})

# Turn 2: User follows up — agent remembers Turn 1
messages.append({"role": "user", "content": "Can you upgrade it?"})
# Claude now sees the full history — it knows "it" = the account

The problem with short-term memory

When the messages array gets too long, it overflows the context window. When the session ends, the array is gone. The agent starts the next session knowing nothing about what happened before.

from supabase import create_client

supabase = create_client(url, key)

def save_memory(key, value, category="general"):
  """Save a fact to long-term memory"""
  supabase.table("agent_memory").upsert({
    "key": key,
    "value": value,
    "category": category,
    "updated_at": "now()"
  }).execute()

def recall_memory(key):
  """Retrieve a fact from long-term memory"""
  result = supabase.table("agent_memory").select("value")
    .eq("key", key).execute()
  return result.data[0]["value"] if result.data else None

def search_memory(category):
  """Search all memories in a category"""
  result = supabase.table("agent_memory").select("*")
    .eq("category", category)
    .order("updated_at", desc=True).execute()
  return result.data

# Using memory in the agent loop
def agent_with_memory(user_message):
  # Boot: load relevant memories into context
  past_interactions = search_memory("customer_issues")
  user_prefs = recall_memory("user.preferences")

  # Include memories in the system prompt
  context = f"""You have the following memories:
Past issues: {past_interactions}
User preferences: {user_prefs}"""

  response = client.messages.create(
    system=SYSTEM_PROMPT + "\n" + context,
    ...
  )

  # After resolving: save what was learned
  save_memory(
    "resolution.login_failure",
    "Cache clearing does not fix login issues. Root cause is usually expired OAuth token.",
    category="customer_issues"
  )