failure-memory (記憶)
Unified skill for failure detection, observation recording, memory search, and pattern convergence. Consolidates 10 granular skills into a single coherent memory system.
Trigger: 失敗発生 (failure occurred)
Source skills: failure-tracker, observation-recorder, memory-search, topic-tagger, failure-detector, evidence-tier, effectiveness-metrics, pattern-convergence-detector, positive-framer, contextual-injection
Installation
openclaw install leegitw/failure-memory
Dependencies: leegitw/context-verifier (for file change detection)
# Install with dependencies
openclaw install leegitw/context-verifier
openclaw install leegitw/failure-memory
Standalone usage: This skill can function independently for basic failure tracking. For full lifecycle management, install the complete suite (see Neon Agentic Suite).
Data handling: This skill operates within your agent's trust boundary. When triggered,
it uses your agent's configured model for failure detection and pattern recording. No external APIs
or third-party services are called. Results are written to .learnings/ in your workspace.
What This Solves
AI systems often make the same mistakes repeatedly — deleting working code, missing edge cases, forgetting context. This skill turns failures into learning by:
- Detecting failures when they happen (not after)
- Recording observations with R/C/D counters (Recurrence/Confirmations/Disconfirmations)
- Finding patterns within the workspace's
.learnings/directory - Promoting to constraints when evidence threshold is met
The insight: Systems learn better from consequences than instructions. A failure that happened teaches more than a rule that might apply.
Scope note: Pattern detection operates within the current workspace only. Observations are stored in
.learnings/and searched locally. No cross-project data access occurs.
Usage
/fm <sub-command> [arguments]
Sub-Commands
| Command | CJK | Logic | Trigger |
|---|---|---|---|
/fm detect | 検出 | fail∈{test,user,API}→record | Next Steps (auto) |
/fm record | 記録 | pattern→obs, R++∨C++∨D++ | Next Steps (auto) |
/fm search | 索引 | query(pattern∨tag∨slug)→obs[] | Explicit |
/fm classify | 分類 | obs→tier∈{N=1:弱,N=2:中,N≥3:強} | Explicit |
/fm status | 状態 | eligible:R≥3∧C≥2, recent:30d | Explicit |
/fm refactor | 整理 | obs[]→merge∨split∨restructure | Explicit |
/fm converge | 収束 | pattern[]→detect(similarity≥0.8) | Explicit |
Arguments
/fm detect
| Argument | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| type | Yes | Failure type: test, user, api, error |
| context | No | Additional context for the failure |
/fm record
| Argument | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| pattern | Yes | Pattern description or observation ID |
| counter | No | Counter to increment: R (default), C, or D |
/fm search
| Argument | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| query | Yes | Search pattern, tag, or slug |
| status | No | Filter by status: pending, eligible, all (default) |
/fm classify
| Argument | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| observation | Yes | Observation ID or pattern |
/fm status
| Argument | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| --eligible | No | Show only eligible observations (R≥3 ∧ C≥2) |
| --recent | No | Show only observations from last 30 days |
/fm refactor
| Argument | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| observations | Yes | Comma-separated observation IDs |
| action | Yes | Action: merge, split, restructure |
/fm converge
| Argument | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| --threshold | No | Similarity threshold (default: 0.8) |
Detection Triggers
These patterns indicate when /fm detect should be invoked (user or orchestrator triggers):
| Pattern | Source | Action |
|---|---|---|
test.exit_code != 0 | Tool output | /fm detect test |
| "Actually...", "No, that's wrong" | User message | /fm record correction |
| "I meant...", "Not X, Y" | User message | /fm record correction |
| API 4xx/5xx response | Tool output | /fm detect api |
| "error:", "failed", "Exception" | Tool output | /fm detect error |
| Deployment rollback | CI/CD output | /fm detect deployment |
| Database migration failed | Tool output | /fm detect migration |
Example: API Failure Detection
[DETECTED] api failure
Pattern: payment-api-timeout
Context: Payment API returned 504 after 30s
Observation: OBS-20260215-002
R: 1 → 3
Status: Eligible for constraint (R≥3)
Example: Deployment Failure Detection
[DETECTED] deployment failure
Pattern: staging-healthcheck-fail
Context: Staging deployment failed health check on /api/health
Observation: OBS-20260215-003
R: 1 → 2
Status: Monitoring (R<3)
Core Logic
R/C/D Counters
| Counter | Meaning | Updated By |
|---|---|---|
| R (Recurrence) | Auto-detected occurrences | /fm detect, /fm record |
| C (Confirmations) | Human-verified true positives | Human via /fm record C |
| D (Disconfirmations) | Human-verified false positives | Human via /fm record D |
Evidence Tiers
| Tier | Criteria | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 弱 (weak) | N=1 | Single occurrence, may be noise |
| 中 (emerging) | N=2 | Pattern emerging, monitor |
| 強 (strong) | N≥3 | Established pattern, actionable |
Slug Taxonomy
Observations are tagged with slugs: git-*, test-*, workflow-*, security-*, docs-*, quality-*
Metrics
prevention_rate: Failures prevented / Total potential failuresfalse_positive_rate: D / (C + D)
Output
/fm detect output
[DETECTED] test failure
Pattern: lint-before-commit
Observation: OBS-20260215-001
R: 1 → 2
Status: Monitoring (R<3)
/fm status output
=== Failure Memory Status ===
Eligible for constraint (R≥3 ∧ C≥2):
- OBS-20260210-003: lint-before-commit (R=4, C=2, D=0)
- OBS-20260212-007: test-before-push (R=3, C=3, D=1)
Recent (last 30d): 12 observations
Pending review: 3 observations
Configuration
Configuration is loaded from (in order of precedence):
.openclaw/failure-memory.yaml(OpenClaw standard).claude/failure-memory.yaml(Claude Code compatibility)- Defaults (built-in)
# .openclaw/failure-memory.yaml
detection:
auto_detect: true # Enable automatic failure detection
patterns: # Custom detection patterns
- "FATAL:"
- "CRITICAL:"
thresholds:
eligibility_R: 3 # Recurrence threshold (default: 3)
eligibility_C: 2 # Confirmation threshold (default: 2)
false_positive_max: 0.2 # Max D/(C+D) ratio (default: 0.2)
Integration
- Layer: Core
- Depends on: context-verifier (for file change detection)
- Used by: constraint-engine (for eligibility checks), governance (for state queries)
Failure Modes
| Condition | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Invalid sub-command | List available sub-commands |
| Missing observation ID | Error with usage example |
| No matches found | "No observations match query" |
| Duplicate detection | Increment R counter, don't create new observation |
Next Steps
After invoking this skill:
| Condition | Action |
|---|---|
| R incremented | Check eligibility: R≥3 ∧ C≥2 → notify user |
| R≥3 ∧ C≥2 | Suggest /ce generate for constraint |
| Pattern recurring | Link with See Also, bump priority |
| Always | Update .learnings/ERRORS.md or .learnings/LEARNINGS.md |
Workspace Files
This skill reads/writes:
.learnings/
├── ERRORS.md # [ERR-YYYYMMDD-XXX] command failures
├── LEARNINGS.md # [LRN-YYYYMMDD-XXX] corrections, best practices
└── observations/ # Individual observation files
└── OBS-YYYYMMDD-XXX.md
Security Considerations
What this skill accesses:
- Configuration files in
.openclaw/failure-memory.yamland.claude/failure-memory.yaml - Tool output and user messages in the current session (for failure detection)
- Its own workspace directory
.learnings/(read/write)
What this skill does NOT access:
- Files outside declared workspace paths
- System environment variables
- Other projects or sessions (observations are workspace-local)
- Network resources or external APIs
What this skill does NOT do:
- Send data to external services
- Access "across sessions and projects" beyond the current workspace
- Execute arbitrary code or run external commands
Data scope clarification:
- "Failure detection" scans tool output and user messages within the current agent session
- Observations are stored in
.learnings/within the current workspace only - No cross-project or cross-session data access occurs
- Pattern matching is local to the configured workspace
Detection trigger clarification:
The "Detection Triggers" table describes patterns that indicate when this skill should be
invoked. The agent can auto-invoke /fm detect when these patterns are detected, or users
can invoke manually. This enables true agentic behavior — failures are captured automatically.
Provenance note:
This skill is developed by Live Neon (https://github.com/live-neon/skills) and published
to ClawHub under the leegitw account. Both refer to the same maintainer.
Acceptance Criteria
-
/fm detectcreates or updates observation with R++ -
/fm recordsupports R, C, D counter updates -
/fm searchfinds observations by pattern, tag, or slug -
/fm classifyreturns correct tier based on N count -
/fm statusshows eligible observations -
/fm refactormerges/splits observations correctly -
/fm convergedetects similar patterns (≥0.8 similarity) - Detection triggers work for test failures, user corrections, API errors
- Workspace files follow self-improving-agent format
Consolidated from 10 skills as part of agentic skills consolidation (2026-02-15).