/m0-recall — Read the Operational Thread

The read path for M0. Returns the most recent entries for a project, newest first, with the next_step and last_verified that were recorded when they were still true.

Retrieval is by project, kind and recency — there is no semantic search. That is the whole query model, and it is why this returns in milliseconds.

Quick Reference

bash
M0="${M0_BASE_URL:-http://127.0.0.1:8787}"
M0S="$HOME/.claude/skills/m0/scripts"

# The recent thread for a project
curl -s "$M0/api/brain/thread?project=acme-web&limit=10" | python3 -m json.tool

# Just the handoffs
curl -s "$M0/api/brain/thread?project=acme-web&kind=compact_checkpoint&limit=3"

# Without a server (same store)
python3 "$M0S/m0_server.py" read --project acme-web --limit 10

If the MCP tools are wired (/m0 mcp), call m0_recall directly — it returns the same data already formatted for reading.

Parameters

| Parameter | Default | Notes | |-----------|---------|-------| | project | all projects | Omit only when you genuinely want every project. | | limit | 20 | Capped at 500. | | kind | all kinds | step_done, compact_checkpoint, session_end, lane_dispatched, lane_result, ambient_signal. An unknown value is rejected. |

Procedure

1. Resolve the project key the same way the write path does: $M0_PROJECT, else

the repository or directory name.

1. Start broad, then narrow. limit=10 with no kind filter shows what has

been happening. If the thread is long, kind=compact_checkpoint gives the handoffs, which is usually the fastest way to orient.

1. Read the newest entry first. It carries the freshest next_step. Older

next_step values have usually been superseded — do not act on a stale one.

1. Summarise for the user in three lines: where the work stands, what was last

verified, and what the recorded next step is. Then say what you intend to do.

1. Check source_tool and branch on the entries you rely on. An entry written

by another tool on another branch may not describe the tree you are looking at.

1. Verify before building on a claim. last_verified records what someone said

they checked, at some earlier point. If it matters now, re-run it.

Reading the response

json
{
  "project": "acme-web",
  "count": 2,
  "pending_sidecars": 0,
  "degraded": null,
  "entries": [ { "ts": "…", "kind": "step_done", "text": "…", "next_step": "…" } ]
}

| Signal | What it means | |--------|---------------| | count: 0 | Nothing recorded for that project. Check the project key before concluding the thread is empty — a typo reads as "no memory". | | "pending": true on an entry | It is still in the sidecar spool, not yet in the store. Real, and readable, but not durable until the next drain. | | pending_sidecars > 0 | Some writes are spooled. Run python3 "$M0S/m0_server.py" drain. | | degraded set | The store could not be read — another process holds the lock — so the entries shown may be only the spooled ones. Say so; do not present a partial thread as complete. |

When to call this

• At the start of a session, before asking the user what you were doing.
• When picking up work started in another tool — the thread is shared, so a

session in one editor can read what another wrote.

• After a context compaction, to recover the operational state rather than

re-reading the whole history.

• Before re-doing anything expensive. The thread often already records the

result, and whether it was verified.

Limits, stated plainly

• No semantic search, no ranking, no similarity. Recency and kind, nothing else.
• No entity or relationship extraction, so there is no "everything about X" query.
• No summarisation. A long thread is long; compact_checkpoint entries are the

compression, and only because someone wrote them.

• Only what was explicitly written is there. Nothing is captured automatically

unless a hook was installed (/m0 hooks).

For semantic retrieval over a knowledge graph, the cognee bundle is the right tool — see the comparison in systems/m0/README.md.