Adds a `hook_silent_save` mode (default `true` in new installs) where
the stop and precompact hooks write diary entries directly via the
Python API — no AI block, no MCP tool roundtrip, no possibility of the
AI forgetting or ignoring the save instruction.
**Two modes, controlled by `hook_silent_save` in `~/.mempalace/config.json`:**
1. **Silent mode** (default): Direct call to `tool_diary_write()`. Plain
text, no AI involved, deterministic. Save marker advances only after
the write is confirmed, so mid-save failures do not lose exchanges.
Shows `"✦ N memories woven into the palace"` as a systemMessage
notification so the user knows the save fired.
2. **Block mode** (legacy): Returns `{"decision": "block"}` asking the
AI to call the MCP tool chain. Non-deterministic — the AI may ignore,
summarize lossy, or fail. Kept for backward compatibility.
**Extras rolled in:**
- Block reasons name "MemPalace" explicitly and instruct the AI not to
write to Claude Code's native auto-memory (.md files) — prevents the
two memory systems from stepping on each other.
- Codex transcript handling (`event_msg` payloads) in
`_count_human_messages` + `_extract_recent_messages`.
- Tightened stopword leak in diary summaries; docstring polish; test
hermeticity fixes (per-test `STATE_DIR` patching).
**Tests:** hooks_cli tests cover silent-save path, save-marker
advancement after confirmed write only, and systemMessage formatting.
Rebased fresh on upstream/develop. Only touches files germane to the
feature (hooks_cli.py, tests, hooks/README.md, HOOKS_TUTORIAL.md) —
stale fork-local `.sh` wrapper and plugin manifest changes dropped.
The legacy hook scripts `hooks/mempal_save_hook.sh` and
`hooks/mempal_precompact_hook.sh` shell out to `python3` for JSON
parsing and transcript-message counting. On macOS GUI launches of
Claude Code — `open -a`, Spotlight, the dock — the harness inherits
`PATH` from launchd (`/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin`), which may not
contain a `python3` at all, or may contain only a system Python that
lacks what the hook needs. The hook then fails silently in the
background log where users never look.
`mempalace` auto-ingest itself is unaffected — #340 switched that
path to the `mempalace` CLI entry point, which pipx/uv install on a
stable global PATH.
This PR adds a `MEMPAL_PYTHON` environment variable that users can
set to point the hook at any Python 3 interpreter. Resolution order
applied at each `python3` invocation site inside the two hooks:
1. $MEMPAL_PYTHON (if set and executable)
2. $(command -v python3) on PATH
3. bare `python3` as a last resort
The interpreter does not need `mempalace` installed in it — only the
standard-library `json` and `sys` modules. The hook's `mempalace mine`
call runs via the CLI, independent of this override.
hooks/README.md documents the macOS GUI PATH issue and the
MEMPAL_PYTHON override. tests/test_hooks_shell.py adds 3 regression
tests (Linux/macOS only, POSIX bash):
- MEMPAL_PYTHON override wins over PATH (proved via a
marker-emitting shim that proxies to the real interpreter).
- Non-executable MEMPAL_PYTHON falls back to PATH rather than
crashing on permission denied.
- Unset MEMPAL_PYTHON resolves via PATH.
`hooks_cli.py` (the Python implementation invoked via
`mempalace hook run ...`) already uses `sys.executable` and is
therefore trivially correct — no changes needed there.
Supersedes abandoned branch `fix/hook-bugs`.
Co-Authored-By: MSL <232237854+milla-jovovich@users.noreply.github.com>
The save hook and precompact hook were telling the agent to write
diary entries, add drawers, and add KG triples IN THE CHAT WINDOW.
Every line written stays in conversation history and retransmits on
every subsequent turn — ~$1/session in wasted tokens.
Fix: hooks now say "saved in background, no action needed" and use
decision: allow instead of block. The agent continues working without
interruption. All filing happens via the background pipeline.
Also updated hooks README with:
- Known limitation: hooks require session restart after install
- Updated cost section: zero tokens, background-only
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
jp