Estratos

Scoped vs. tagged

Every memory is either scoped or tagged. Picking the right one is the main decision you make on each write, and it determines where the memory shows up when an agent retrieves a scope.

Scoped memories

A scoped memory attaches to one folder, addressed by its path. Reach for it when the knowledge is about a single, specific thing.

  • root.pennine-joinery.vat → "Pennine Joinery is on the VAT flat-rate scheme, rate 12%."
  • root.camden-roasters.year-end → "Year-end is 31 March; the client prefers management commentary in plain English."

A scoped memory surfaces only when an agent retrieves that folder's path (or a descendant, since retrieval walks from the root down).

In the app, scoped memories live on Memories › Scoped. Over MCP, an agent writes them with the remember tool, passing the path.

Tagged memories

A tagged memory attaches to a whole layer, and optionally to one segment value. Reach for it when you're capturing a standard, policy, or convention that should apply in many places at once.

  • Layer-wide — attach to the services layer with no value → "How the firm formats working papers" applies across every service, on every client.
  • Value-targeted — attach to services=vat → "The VAT sign-off checklist" applies to every VAT engagement, wherever it appears in the tree.

A layer only accepts tagged memories if it is not the structural root layer and its allow tagged setting is on (you'll see this per layer, and describe_hierarchy reports the effective value to agents). In the app, tagged memories live on Memories › Tagged. Over MCP, an agent writes them with remember_tagged, naming the layer by its slug and optionally a restricted_to value.

How to choose

Ask yourself Then use
Is this about one specific client, service, or engagement? Scoped on that folder
Is this a rule that applies to a whole category — every service, every client? Tagged, layer-wide
Is this a rule that applies wherever a value matches (every vat engagement)? Tagged, value-targeted

A useful heuristic: facts about a thing are scoped; rules that repeat are tagged. Writing a rule once as a tagged memory beats copying it onto every folder, and it keeps a single source of truth you can update in one place.

They combine at retrieval

You don't choose one or the other for a given scope — they layer. When an agent retrieves root.pennine-joinery.vat, it gets the scoped memories on that folder and the tagged rules that apply to the layers along the way, assembled into one bundle. See how retrieval works for the exact order.

Next steps