Claude Code memory: what carries over between sessions

Claude Code memory is two kinds of files on your disk that carry things from one session to the next: CLAUDE.md files that you write, and auto memory notes that Claude writes for itself, as of 2 October 2026. Each session begins with a fresh context window and both are loaded at its start (Anthropic, How Claude remembers your project). Anything that was said only in the chat does not come back.

What loads when a session starts?

Anthropic describes the two systems as complementary, and both load at the start of every conversation (Anthropic). They differ in who writes them and how much of them loads.

Every cell is from Anthropic's memory documentation, read 2 October 2026.

To see which files actually loaded in the session you are in, run /context and look under Memory files. /memory lists every memory file and opens the one you pick.

Where does auto memory live, and what does it save?

Each project gets a folder at ~/.claude/projects/<project>/memory/, holding a MEMORY.md index and one topic file per memory (Anthropic). Claude saves four kinds of note: who you are and how you like to work, corrections you gave, ongoing work and decisions it cannot read from the code, and where to find things outside the project. It skips anything the code or your CLAUDE.md already says.

Only the index loads at the start. Topic files are read when Claude decides it needs them, and anything past line 200 or 25KB of the index is dropped on the next load. The folder is also machine-local, so a second computer starts with none of it (Anthropic).

Auto memory is on by default in local sessions. You can switch it off in /memory, with "autoMemoryEnabled": false in a project's settings, or with the environment variable CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_AUTO_MEMORY=1.

Why does it still seem to forget?

Three things in Anthropic's own description explain most of it. Claude treats both systems as context and follows them as instructions it can weigh, so a rule in CLAUDE.md can still be skipped; Anthropic points to a PreToolUse hook when an action must be blocked whatever Claude decides (Anthropic). Claude also chooses what goes into auto memory, and does not save something every session. And a long CLAUDE.md costs context and lowers adherence, which is why the same page suggests keeping each file under 200 lines.

The plan for the week is the piece that slips through most often. It is too fluid for CLAUDE.md, and auto memory saves it only if Claude judges it worth keeping. Long sessions add one more gap: when the chat is compacted, the project-root CLAUDE.md is read again from disk, while instructions given only in conversation survive only as part of the summary (Anthropic, What survives compaction).

Our guide to Claude Code hooks covers the hook route, and how to write a CLAUDE.md covers the file itself.

What do Claude Code users do about it?

We counted posts and comments in r/ClaudeCode and r/ClaudeAI from the 30 days to 2 October 2026 that matched this question. 14 of 72 distinct people across 3 threads keep the project's state in files outside the chat, which each new session is told to read (thread 1, thread 2, thread 3).

The setups vary in detail. One commenter keeps a STATE.md for where things stand, a dated LOG.md and a DECISIONS.md, and says of chat summaries: "What gets lost is the why, and chat summaries are bad at keeping it" (Reddit thread). Another, in the same thread, recommends three files, CLAUDE.md, HANDOFF.md and MEMORY.md, that every new session reads before it starts work. A third poster ran 20 fresh sessions on one codebase and reports that 7 of 10 without context repeated a bug that had already been rejected, against 0 of 10 with Markdown notes kept in git (Reddit post). That is the poster's own test, and we have not repeated it.

A smaller group, 4 of the same 72 people across 3 threads, run a separate memory tool or server instead (thread 1, thread 2, thread 3). Four people across four threads raised the cold start itself, each new session beginning with nothing from the last (Reddit post).

How do you make the next session start warm?

Put the rules that never change in CLAUDE.md. /init writes a first version from your codebase, and you trim it from there. When you want Claude to keep a preference, say so in plain words, such as "remember that the API tests need a local Redis", and it goes into auto memory. Ask for "add this to CLAUDE.md" when it should be a rule instead (Anthropic).

For the moving parts, keep one short state file: what you are doing, what you decided and why, and the next step. Import it from CLAUDE.md with @path/to/state.md, since imported files load at launch with the file that names them, and update it the moment a decision is made. Then check with /context that it loaded.

Common questions

Does Claude Code remember previous conversations?

No. Each session starts with a fresh context window. What carries over is CLAUDE.md and auto memory, both read from disk at the start (Anthropic).

Where is Claude Code memory stored?

Auto memory sits in ~/.claude/projects/<project>/memory/ on your own computer, and is not shared with other machines. CLAUDE.md sits in your project, in ~/.claude/, or in an organisation-wide location.

How do I turn auto memory off?

Use the toggle in /memory, set autoMemoryEnabled to false in a project's settings, or set CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_AUTO_MEMORY=1.

Sources

1. Anthropic, How Claude remembers your project checked 2 October 2026
2. Anthropic, What survives compaction checked 2 October 2026