Flow Next Memory Migrate

---
name: flow-next-memory-migrate
description: Migrate legacy flat .flow/memory files to the categorized YAML schema. One-time ceremony. Use when asked to migrate flow memory.
user-invocable: false
allowed-tools: Read, Bash, Grep, Glob, Write, Edit, Task
---

# /flow-next:memory-migrate — agent-native legacy migration

Older flow-next versions stored memory as three flat markdown files: `.flow/memory/pitfalls.md`, `conventions.md`, `decisions.md`. Each held lessons with ad-hoc headings and no schema, either separated by `---` or appended under `## <date> <source> [<type>]` headers; `memory list-legacy` returns one entry per lesson in both formats. The categorized schema (track / category / module / tags / status frontmatter, one entry per file). Existing flat files persisted but became invisible to `memory list`, `memory search`, and `flow-next-audit` because there's no frontmatter to scope or stale-flag.

This skill IS the migration. The host agent (Claude Code / Codex / Droid) reads each legacy entry, applies the mechanical default `(track, category)` from the source filename, overrides only when the entry's content warrants, and writes a categorized entry via `flowctl memory add`. Optional autofix mode accepts every mechanical default and marks ambiguous entries as `needs-review` in the report.

There is no Python classifier subprocess, no `codex`/`copilot` dispatch, no fast-model probability scoring. The host agent is already an LLM with full repo context and does the work directly. flowctl provides only thin parsing + persistence plumbing (`memory list-legacy --json`, existing `memory add`).

**Read [workflow.md](workflow.md) for the full phase-by-phase execution. Read [phases.md](phases.md) for the (track, category) decision tree with mechanical baseline + override examples.**

Read [working-rules.md](../../references/working-rules.md) first unless you already have this run; it holds for every step of this skill.

## Preamble

**CRITICAL: flowctl is BUNDLED — NOT installed globally.** `which flowctl` will fail (expected). Define once; subsequent blocks (here and in `workflow.md`) use `$FLOWCTL`:

```bash
FLOWCTL="${CODEX_HOME:-$HOME/.codex}/scripts/flowctl"
[ -x "$FLOWCTL" ] || FLOWCTL="<plugin-root>/scripts/flowctl"   # <plugin-root> = the directory two levels above this skill's SKILL.md file (the harness gave you that file's absolute path when the skill loaded); substitute it literally
[ -x "$FLOWCTL" ] || FLOWCTL=".flow/bin/flowctl"
```

**Inline skill (no `context: fork`)** — `plain-text numbered prompt` must stay reachable across phases. Subagents can't call plain-text numbered prompts (Claude Code issues #12890, #34592). Phase 1 (Classify) needs user choice on ambiguous entries in interactive mode; Phase 4 (Cleanup) needs consent before renaming originals.

## Mode Detection

Parse `$ARGUMENTS` for the literal token `mode:autofix`. If present, strip it from the arguments — the remainder is the scope hint (a legacy filename like `pitfalls.md` to narrow the run, or empty to migrate all).

```bash
RAW_ARGS="$ARGUMENTS"
MODE="interactive"
if [[ "$RAW_ARGS" == *"mode:autofix"* ]]; then
  MODE="autofix"
  # Strip token, collapse whitespace, trim.
  SCOPE_HINT=$(printf "%s" "$RAW_ARGS" | sed 's/mode:autofix//' | tr -s ' ' | sed 's/^ //;s/ $//')
else
  SCOPE_HINT="$RAW_ARGS"
fi
```

| Mode | When | Behavior |
|------|------|----------|
| **Interactive** (default) | User is at the terminal | Ask via plain-text numbered prompt when an entry's content suggests overriding the mechanical default; confirm Phase 4 cleanup; show triage summary before writes |
| **Autofix** (`mode:autofix` in arguments) | Autonomous or batch usage | No user questions. Apply mechanical defaults for every entry. Override only when the agent has high-confidence evidence from the entry body. Mark genuinely ambiguous entries as `needs-review` in the report. Default-decline Phase 4 cleanup. Print full report |

### Autofix mode rules

- **No user questions.** Never call the plain-text numbered prompt.
- **Process every legacy entry in scope.** No scope-narrowing question. If no scope hint was provided, migrate all three legacy files.
- **Mechanical default wins on borderline.** Override only when the entry body unambiguously points at a different `(track, category)` (e.g. an entry titled "race condition in worker pool" inside `pitfalls.md` clearly warrants `bug/runtime-errors` over the mechanical `bug/build-errors`).
- **Ambiguous → mechanical default + log as `needs-review`.** Genuine "could be A or B" cases take the mechanical default and surface in the report so the user can re-classify later.
- **Default-decline Phase 4 cleanup.** Originals stay in place. Surface the rename suggestion as a recommendation in the report.
- **Always print the full report.** The report is the sole deliverable — there is no user to ask follow-ups.

## Interaction Principles (interactive mode only)

In autofix mode, skip user questions entirely and apply the rules above.

In interactive mode, follow these principles:

**Ask the user via plain text.** Render the options below as a numbered list `1.` … `N.`, followed by a final option `N+1. Other — type your own answer`. Print the question, then the numbered list, then **stop and wait for the user's next message before continuing**. Parse the reply as: a bare number `1`–`N+1` → that option; the literal text of an option label → that option; free text after `Other` → custom answer.

- Ask via `plain-text numbered prompt`. Never silently skip the question.
- Prefer **multiple choice** when natural options exist.
- Lead with the **recommended option** (always the mechanical default unless the body warrants otherwise) and a one-sentence rationale.
- Do **not** ask the user to make decisions before the entry has been read — Phase 1 reads first, asks second.
- Group obvious mechanical-default migrations together for batched confirmation. Present overrides and ambiguous cases one at a time.

The goal is automated migration with human oversight on judgment calls — not a question for every entry.

## Subagent dispatch (mostly N/A)

This skill runs almost entirely on the main thread. Phase 1's "one entry per prompt turn" rule means classification iterates serially in the orchestrator — there is no investigation step independent enough to dispatch in parallel. Cross-platform tool naming (`Task` on Claude Code, `spawn_agent` on Codex, platform-equivalent on Droid) is documented here only for the rare case where the agent needs to spawn a focused investigation subagent (e.g. resolving an ambiguous override by reading a referenced file): keep such dispatches read-only (Read / Grep / Glob), do not let subagents call `flowctl memory add` directly, and merge results back on the main thread before Phase 2.

## Forbidden

- **Migrating files outside `MEMORY_LEGACY_FILES`** (`pitfalls.md`, `conventions.md`, `decisions.md` at `.flow/memory/` root). Any other `.md` at the memory root is user data — leave it alone.
- **Migrating entries inside categorized directories** (`.flow/memory/{bug,knowledge}/<category>/*.md`). Those are already migrated; re-running on them is a bug.
- **Auto-deleting legacy flat files.** Phase 4 renames originals to `.flow/memory/_migrated/<filename>.bak` for traceability — never `rm`. User can `git rm` later if they want.
- **Inventing flowctl subcommands** beyond the shipped `memory list-legacy`. Phase 2 writes via existing `flowctl memory add`. Mechanical map is documented in phases.md so the agent doesn't need to call a flowctl helper for it.
- **Batch-classifying multiple entries in a single prompt turn.** Phase 1 enforces one entry per prompt turn. Agents under context pressure batch-classify in-prompt and silently skip entries (practice-scout flagged this real failure mode).
- **Setting `context: fork`** — plain-text numbered prompt must stay reachable.
- **Re-running on already-migrated files.** Phase 0 checks `.flow/memory/_migrated/<filename>.bak` and skips with an "already migrated" log line.

## Workflow

Execute the phases in [workflow.md](workflow.md) in order:

0. **Detect & enumerate** — run `flowctl memory list-legacy --json`, check `_migrated/` for prior runs, apply scope hint, decide interaction path.
1. **Classify (one entry per prompt turn)** — for each entry: read title + body + filename context, default to mechanical `(track, category)`, override only with body-driven evidence. Interactive: ask on ambiguity. Autofix: take mechanical default + log `needs-review`.
2. **Write categorized entries** — invoke `flowctl memory add --track <t> --category <c> --title "..." --body-file <tmpfile>` per classified entry. Slug uniqueness handled by existing helper.
3. **Verify + Report** — re-read newly created entries, print summary (legacy files processed, entries migrated, overrides, needs-review).
4. **Optional cleanup** — interactive: ask whether to rename originals to `.flow/memory/_migrated/<filename>.bak`. Autofix: default-decline + surface as recommendation. On first cleanup, write `.flow/memory/_migrated/.gitignore` containing `*` (self-ignoring directory pattern). **Legacy originals are renamed, never deleted** — a run that removed a legacy file has broken this.

## Output rules

The full report is the deliverable — print it as markdown to stdout. Do not summarize internally and emit a one-liner.

The report's exact shape lives in one place — [workflow.md](workflow.md) §3.2 (summary skeleton) and §3.3 (the autofix Applied / Recommended split). Render it from there; this file does not restate it.

What the report must carry either way: files processed, entries migrated, overrides, needs-review, plus per-entry detail (id, source filename, mechanical default, final classification, override rationale) and, for each `needs-review` entry, why the agent could not decide.

**Done when:** the full report reached stdout as markdown. A run that summarized internally and emitted a one-liner has broken this.