migrating-memory

Migrating Memory

This skill helps migrate memory blocks from an existing agent to a new agent, similar to macOS Migration Assistant for AI agents.

Requires Memory Filesystem (memfs)

This workflow is memfs-first. If memfs is enabled, do not use the legacy block commands — they can conflict with file-based edits.

To check: Look for a memory_filesystem block in your system prompt. If it shows a tree structure starting with /memory/ including a system/ directory, memfs is enabled.

To enable: Ask the user to run /memfs enable, then reload the CLI.

When to Use This Skill

• User is setting up a new agent that should inherit memory from an existing one
• User wants to share memory blocks across multiple agents
• User is replacing an old agent with a new one
• User mentions they have an existing agent with useful memory

Migration Method (memfs-first)

Export → Copy → Sync

This is the recommended flow:

1. Export the source agent's memfs to a temp directory

   letta memory export --agent <source-agent-id> --out /tmp/letta-memory-<source-agent-id>
   

2. Copy the files you want into your own memfs

   • system/ = attached blocks (always loaded)
   • root = detached blocks

   Example:

   cp -r /tmp/letta-memory-agent-abc123/system/project ~/.letta/agents/$LETTA_AGENT_ID/memory/system/
   cp /tmp/letta-memory-agent-abc123/notes.md ~/.letta/agents/$LETTA_AGENT_ID/memory/
   

3. Commit and push the memory repo

   cd ~/.letta/agents/$LETTA_AGENT_ID/memory
   git add system/project notes.md
   git commit -m "Import memory from source agent"
   git push
   

This gives you full control over what you bring across and keeps everything consistent with memfs.

If MemFS Is Disabled

The legacy block-level CLI commands have been removed. Enable MemFS first, then use the export → copy → sync workflow above.

If you run into duplicate filenames while copying memory files, rename the incoming file or merge its contents manually before committing.

Workflow

Step 1: Identify Source Agent

Ask the user for the source agent's ID (e.g., agent-abc123).

If they don't know the ID, invoke the finding-agents skill to search:

Skill({ skill: "finding-agents" })

Example: "What's the ID of the agent you want to migrate memory from?"

Example: Migrating Project Memory

Scenario: You're a new agent and want to inherit memory from an existing agent "ProjectX-v1".

1. Get source agent ID from user: User provides: agent-abc123

2. Export their memfs:

   letta memory export --agent agent-abc123 --out /tmp/letta-memory-agent-abc123
   

3. Copy the relevant files into your memfs:

   cp -r /tmp/letta-memory-agent-abc123/system/project ~/.letta/agents/$LETTA_AGENT_ID/memory/system/
   

4. Commit and push:

   cd ~/.letta/agents/$LETTA_AGENT_ID/memory
   git add system/project
   git commit -m "Import project memory"
   git push