docs: glossary + ADRs for semantic/concept-graph memory

Captures the design language (CONTEXT.md) and the framing decisions from the
requirements interview: pursue hybrid embeddings+concept-graph retrieval gated
on a benchmark (0001), target the API/Postgres deployment while SQLite stays
lexical (0002), and permit hosted embedding APIs for non-sensitive memories
only (0003). Groundwork for the research/prototype/benchmark effort.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
Viktor Barzin 2026-06-25 15:36:30 +00:00
parent 5151bbe0d5
commit 7439540f8f
4 changed files with 105 additions and 0 deletions

45
CONTEXT.md Normal file
View file

@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
# Claude Memory MCP
Persistent cross-session memory for Claude. Today it stores **Memories** as rows and
retrieves them by **lexical recall** (full-text keyword matching). This context is being
extended with **semantic recall** (embeddings) and a **concept graph** so retrieval works
by meaning and related memories become traversable.
## Language
**Memory**:
A single stored unit of knowledge — a fact, preference, decision, project note, or person
detail — with content plus metadata (category, tags, importance). The atomic thing a user
stores and recalls.
**Recall**:
Retrieving the Memories most relevant to a query. The read path.
**Lexical recall**:
The existing retrieval method — matches Memories whose words (content, tags, LLM-generated
keywords) overlap the query, ranked by BM25 / `ts_rank`. Matches *tokens*, not meaning.
_Avoid_: calling this "semantic search" — it is not semantic.
**Semantic recall**:
Retrieval by meaning via dense-vector **Embedding** similarity, so a query surfaces a Memory
even with zero shared words (e.g. "what UI library?" → "prefers Svelte").
**Embedding**:
A dense vector representation of a Memory's (or Concept's) meaning, used for Semantic recall.
**Concept**:
A distinct entity or idea that recurs across Memories (e.g. "Svelte", "Viktor", "TripIt",
"frontend framework"). A node in the Concept graph. Distinct from a Memory: one Memory can
mention several Concepts, and one Concept spans many Memories.
**Concept graph**:
The network of Concepts joined by typed **Relationships**, making the memory store
traversable — from one Memory or Concept to related ones.
**Relationship**:
A typed, directed edge in the Concept graph, between two Concepts or between a Memory and a
Concept (e.g. `prefers`, `is-a`, `used-in`, `mentions`).
**Hybrid retrieval**:
The target read path — combining Lexical recall, Semantic recall, and Concept-graph
traversal into one ranked result set.

View file

@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
# Pursue hybrid retrieval: embeddings + concept graph over pure lexical
Today recall is **lexical only** (BM25 in SQLite, `tsvector`/`ts_rank` in Postgres over
content + LLM-generated `expanded_keywords`). It matches *tokens*, so it misses
paraphrase/synonym queries and cannot traverse between related Memories. We will pursue a
**hybrid** read path that adds dense-vector **Semantic recall** and a traversable **Concept
graph** (typed Relationships) alongside the existing Lexical recall.
This decision is **gated on a benchmark**: we adopt hybrid only if it shows a material
recall-quality uplift over the current lexical system on a stratified eval set (exact /
paraphrase / multi-hop). If the benchmark shows no improvement, a later ADR supersedes this
and we stay lexical.
## Considered options
- **Pure semantic (embeddings only)** — fixes paraphrase gaps but gives no real concept
traversal; rejected as the *sole* mechanism.
- **Pure concept graph** — enables traversal but node-matching stays lexical, so paraphrase
gaps remain; rejected as the *sole* mechanism.
- **Hybrid (chosen)** — embeddings for meaning + graph for traversal + existing FTS, fused
into one ranked result. Highest ceiling; the GraphRAG / Zep-Graphiti / HippoRAG family.

View file

@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
# API/Postgres deployment gets semantics; SQLite-only stays lexical
The semantic + concept-graph layer targets the **API/Postgres** deployment only: embeddings
in pgvector on the (CNPG) Postgres, the Concept graph as node/edge tables in Postgres, and
embedding/extraction via reused cluster infra (llama-cpp on GPU, or a hosted API). The
**SQLite-only** mode keeps working but stays **lexical (FTS) only** — it gains no embeddings
or graph, degrading gracefully.
This is surprising because the README markets zero-config offline SQLite as the headline
feature. We accept that trade-off: the operator actually runs the remote API/Postgres store,
reuse-before-building favours cluster infra, and bundling a local embedding model into the
zero-config path would add heavy dependencies and double the build/test matrix for little
real-world benefit.
## Consequences
- All benchmark numbers are produced in API/Postgres mode.
- Offline zero-config users see no behaviour change.
- A future ADR may revisit offline semantics (e.g. via `sqlite-vec` + a small local model)
if there is demand.

View file

@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
# External embedding/extraction APIs allowed for non-sensitive memories
Embedding and concept extraction may use **hosted APIs** (e.g. OpenAI `text-embedding-3`,
Voyage, Cohere) for **non-sensitive** memories, to access a higher quality ceiling than
self-hosted models alone. **Sensitive / Vault-encrypted (secret) memories are never sent
externally** and are excluded from the corpus that gets embedded or extracted.
This is a deliberate relaxation of the homelab's usual local-only posture, made because the
quality gain is worth it for non-secret personal memory content. The research/benchmark may
still compare hosted vs self-hostable models (nomic-embed, bge-m3, gte-Qwen2, e5) so the
production choice is data-driven; this ADR only records that egress is *permitted* within the
sensitive-data boundary.
## Consequences
- The corpus-export step MUST filter out `is_sensitive` / secret memories before any external
call.
- Production deployment needs an embedding API key (or falls back to the in-cluster
llama-cpp model when absent).