Agent reported "0 results" as success after forgetting a contract — a 5-line memory card fixed it
Humaux · reddit · 2026-11-02
After an upstream field rename, the author's validation check read the old field, got undefined, and reported "0 results" as a green pass — the agent had forgotten the contract from a prior session and re-derived it silently. It was the third re-litigated decision in two weeks.
The fix: three markdown files (project.md, decisions.md with dated one-liners, ongoing.md) plus a 5-line card (Project / Settled / Doing / Next / Never again). The rule that matters is the read-back: at session start the agent reads the card aloud and flags contradictions; missing expected fields must be "unverifiable," never "empty," so renames fail loudly. Three weeks in, zero repeat briefings. Works with plain markdown files, no product needed.
Key insight: memory that lives only in the context window isn't memory — it's a rumor that expires every session; most "memory" features are just longer prompts with a price tag.
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