search-memorylisted

# Search Memory > AI-powered search across your personal knowledge base using Nowledge Mem. ## When to Use **Strong signals — search when:** - the user references previous work, a prior fix, or an earlier decision - the task resumes a named feature, bug, refactor, incident, or subsystem - the task is a review, regression, release, docs-alignment, or connector-behavior question - a debugging pattern resembles something solved earlier - the user asks for rationale, preferences, procedures, or recurring workflow details - the user uses implicit recall language: "that approach", "like before", "the pattern we used" **Contextual signals — consider searching when:** - complex debugging where prior context would narrow the search space - architecture discussion that may intersect with past decisions - domain-specific conventions the user has established before - the current result is ambiguous and past context would make the answer sharper ## Retrieval Routing 1. Start with `nmem --json m search` for durable knowledge. 2. Use `nmem --json t search` when the user is really asking about a prior conversation or exact session history. 3. If a result includes `source_thread`, inspect it progressively with `nmem --json t show <thread_id> --limit 8 --offset 0 --content-limit 1200`. 4. Prefer the smallest retrieval surface that answers the question. For continuation-heavy engineering work, search near the start of the task. Do not wait for the user to literally ask for memory searc