My Project Has a Memory File So My Agent Doesn't Reread Everything. It Never Learned My Most-Used Script Existed.

Short summary

An automated Claude Code publishing pipeline relied on a hand-curated key_facts.md file to avoid rereading the repo each run. A drift-check script revealed a load-bearing recovery script (sync-main.sh) was missing from the file entirely, and the main publishing script was only mentioned as a parenthetical under a deleted predecessor. The author also discovered their checker missed extensionless git hooks due to a .py/.sh-only filter.

• •Curated agent memory files can silently drift from reality, hiding critical scripts from the agent's context
• •String-presence checks conflate 'mentioned somewhere' with 'discoverable in the right place'
• •Extensionless files like git hooks are invisible to extension-based file walkers

Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.