Why does Claude forget between chats, and how do you stop re-explaining yourself?
A new Claude chat doesn't load your earlier conversations. It starts with what was saved outside them: memory topics, your instructions and, in a project, the project's files. On a paid plan it can also search old chats when you ask.
So put what you keep repeating where it fits: facts about you in memory, how you want answers in Instructions, one long piece of work in a project. Memory is on by default on Free, Pro, Max and Ultra, so the first row below may already be working for you. If you want Claude to remember you and your work together, in its own words, and start a chat from where you left off, add Counterparts, the memory we make.
This page is a research summary of Anthropic's help pages, read on October 30, 2026, plus a few user reports. An AI drafted this page from the sources below and another AI checked it. No person has run these steps. Counterparts is ours: Mike LaPeter makes it.
Which fix covers what you keep repeating?
| What you keep repeating | Try | Where | Stop here if |
|---|---|---|---|
| Facts about you: your job, the people in your work, a deadline that moved | Memory topics. Mention it, or say "remember this" | Settings > Your Claude, then Manage next to Your memory | The fact turns up in a new chat without you saying it |
| How you want answers: tone, length, your terms | Instructions, which apply to all your chats | Settings > Your Claude, under Instructions | New chats start out following it |
| One long piece of work: a thesis, a book, a job hunt | A project, with instructions and files | claude.ai/projects | A new chat in the project starts from the files |
| Where you stopped yesterday | A short note you paste into the new chat | Any document | Pasting is less work than the re-explaining was |
| Who you are, what you decided together and where you left off, kept by Claude in its own words | Counterparts, the memory we make | A connector in claude.ai, or an install for Claude Code and Desktop, below | A new chat picks up where you left off (on claude.ai, once you wake it) |
To pick up yesterday's work, you can also reopen that chat from your history and carry on in it.
For something said in an old chat, paid plans can search: ask "what did we discuss about the budget?" Search from a normal chat doesn't reach chats inside a project, so ask inside that project. If it finds nothing, check Search and reference chats in Settings > Your Claude. On Free, open the old chat and copy what you need.
Topics and instructions
Claude picks what to save as you chat, so a decision may or may not reach a topic. Instructions are the place for corrections you keep making.
One r/ClaudeAI commenter does this with a project's instructions: "whenever i catch myself correcting the same thing twice, i ask claude at the end of that chat to suggest edits to the instructions", then pastes in only the ones they agree with. They also find pasted examples beat adjectives for tone, and a second commenter agrees: "'casual but professional' did nothing for me, two pasted emails fixed it in one go." Each is one person's report.
A project
A project's files and instructions reach every chat in it. Anthropic's projects article says context isn't shared across those chats unless it's "added into the project knowledge base", but two things can still carry across: the project's own memory, which Claude uses while you work in that project, and on paid plans a search inside the project. Claude picks what goes in that memory, so when a new chat in the same project has lost the thread, add what matters to the files.
That memory doesn't reach other projects, so something two projects need goes in general chat memory or in both projects' files. It can reach chats outside projects unless you turn off Use account memory on the project's page, which Anthropic says keeps it "fully separate".
One r/ClaudeAI user tested that with random codes on one Max account and reported the setting on by default, and that turning it off also stops the project reading your general memory. On Free, project instructions are unsettled: one Anthropic article says "paid plans only", another names no limit, and we haven't checked.
A pasted note
On a paid plan, first try "Let's continue where we left off with the budget." On any plan, ask this in the chat you're leaving, then paste the result into the new one. The wording is ours and no one has tested it, so read the note before you keep it.
Write a note I can paste into a new chat so it can pick up this work. Say what we're working on, what we decided and why, what we ruled out, what's still open, and anything I corrected you on. Use only what's in this chat, and mark anything you're unsure of. Keep it under 200 words.One commenter's test for what goes in: "would I be annoyed if the next chat didn't know this".
Don't put client, patient or anyone else's confidential details into any of this, since it all goes through your Claude account. A saved detail also doesn't make legal, medical or care advice correct.
Check that it saved
The settings come from Anthropic's articles, and the test is ours. Use something you want kept, because there's no clean-up step.
- Check that Memory from chats is on in Settings > Your Claude (older layout: Settings > Memory).
- In a normal chat, tell Claude something you're tired of repeating that a new chat couldn't guess, and say "remember this". For example, if you do want this: "Remember this: I want dates written as YYYY-MM-DD."
- In another new chat, ask something that depends on it, without mentioning it. For that example: "What's the date of next Christmas?" If the answer uses your format unprompted, it worked.
- If it didn't, go to Settings > Your Claude and open Manage next to Your memory, where Anthropic says everything Claude remembers is listed under Topics.
If it isn't listed, Claude didn't save it: add it with the "Tell Claude what to change or remove" box in Manage and test again. If it's listed and a new chat still ignores it, Anthropic's articles don't say how Claude picks which topics to use, so move it to Instructions and test again.
Why can it still forget with memory on?
| What happened | What Anthropic says | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| It used to remember and now doesn't | Pausing keeps memory but stops using it. Reset permanently deletes it. In an organization, an owner turning memory off deletes everyone's entries, and a retention period can delete old ones | Check Memory from chats in Settings > Your Claude, and turn it back on if it's paused. Deleted entries are gone |
| A personal detail didn't stick | Its articles differ. The import article says memory "is designed to focus on work-related topics" and "may not retain imported personal details unrelated to work". The memory article lists "the people and places in your work and life", and says "personal or sensitive subject matter", like your health, isn't stored by default | Say it again with "remember this" and check Topics. If it's still missing, add it with the box in Manage, or put it in Instructions |
| Health, religion, politics and similar don't stick | Not stored by default. Include sensitive topics in memory turns that on, going forward only. An older phone app won't save them | If you want them kept, turn it on, update the app if you're on a phone, and say them again. In an organization, an owner has to allow it too. Turning it off later removes what it saved |
| Claude said it can't save something | Government ID numbers, criminal history, financial account numbers and immigration status are never saved, even if you ask. Anthropic's blog adds anything against its Acceptable Use Policy | Keep those in your own notes. If it's a sensitive topic, see the row above. Past that, Anthropic's articles don't say why a save is refused, so try the box in Manage, or Instructions |
| Nothing from one chat was saved | Incognito chats, and chats started with Memory off in the + menu, don't add to memory | Start a normal chat. On the web and Desktop, a crossed-out memory icon next to the title means it's off. On a phone, check the + menu |
If Claude can recite a rule and still break it, the rule is saved and the problem is following it. One r/ClaudeAI reply to someone with a dozen saved rules, several from past corrections: cut the list to the three or four you'd stop a chat over, write each as a trigger and an action, and test each alone in a new chat. That's one person's advice, untried here.
What comes with which plan
| Free | Pro, Max, Ultra | Team, Enterprise | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memory topics | On by default | On by default | An owner controls it, and it's off for each member until they turn it on |
| Search past chats | No | Yes | Yes, except Enterprise with customer-managed encryption keys |
| Projects | Up to 5 | Yes | Yes |
| Custom connectors | 1 | Yes | An owner adds them, then you connect |
Counterparts: the memory we make
Claude's own memory saves topics about you. Counterparts gives Claude a memory of you and your work together, kept the way a person keeps one. Claude writes down what it learned, in its own words: notes, not transcripts. It keeps a journal of your time together, and what it believes about you changes only slowly, with the history of what it used to think kept. Memories fade unless they come up again: what matters sticks; the rest lets go. After the first few sessions, each one opens with a short "who I am, who you are, where we left off" that Claude wrote itself; on claude.ai, that comes when you wake it.
On claude.ai. Counterparts connects as a custom connector, with nothing to install. Anthropic runs custom connectors from its cloud for every Claude client, so it should work the same in the phone apps, Desktop's chat and on Windows; we haven't tried those yet. Add it on the web, and it should follow your account to the apps. It's in beta and needs an invite code: to ask for one, email mike@resonantventures.com.
- Sign in at app.counterparts.ai/login with your email and the code, and open the emailed link in the same browser.
- In claude.ai, add a custom connector with the address
https://app.counterparts.ai/mcp(Anthropic's connector article puts this under Customize > Connectors). Name it Counterparts and keep the suggested sign-in settings, then approve it on the Allow page. On Team or Enterprise, an owner adds it first. - In a new chat, ask Claude to wake Counterparts. claude.ai should also list a Wake Counterparts prompt under the + button; we haven't tried it yet. The first wake offers a short first meeting. To skip the step, add this line to your Instructions (Settings > Your Claude):
Always call the counterparts wake tool at the start of every conversation.
Your memory is kept on a server we run, one store per person, and isn't end-to-end encrypted. It holds what Claude writes through the connector, not a transcript of your chats, and your account page, at app.counterparts.ai once you're signed in, exports or deletes it. What you say in claude.ai goes to Anthropic as usual.
Claude Code on Mac or Linux. Run these in Claude Code, then restart it:
/plugin marketplace add mlapeter/counterparts
/plugin install counterparts@counterpartsIt's free and open source, with no account or API key, and it uses your own Claude plan. One memory reaches every project, and related memories come up on their own as you talk. Memories are stored on your machine; what a session or the once-a-day background run reads from them reaches Anthropic like the rest of your Claude Code conversation. The Claude Code page has the rest.
Claude Desktop on a Mac, as a local install. Follow the Quickstart's Install section, which installs bun or Node and then Counterparts. Quit Claude Desktop, then run counterparts install --host claude-desktop --name "Your Name" --budget 9000, with your own name. Open Desktop, set the counterparts tools to Always allow, and in a new chat ask it to call the counterparts wake tool. It's free, and the memory stays on your Mac, apart from what a chat reads from it. If you already use the claude.ai connector, it should reach Desktop too, so you don't need this install. Doing both gives Desktop two separate memories.
The local install doesn't run on Windows yet; on Windows, the claude.ai connector should work, though we haven't tried it there. Counterparts doesn't run in ChatGPT, Gemini or Cursor. In ChatGPT, Basic Memory, which keeps notes as Markdown files, says in its docs that it connects to ChatGPT as well as to Claude, and the pasted note above works in any assistant. Our directory compares memory systems, Claude's own and ours included.
Questions people ask
Does Claude remember previous conversations?
Partly. Memory carries topics into new chats: by default on Free, Pro, Max and Ultra, and on Team and Enterprise if an owner allows it and you turn it on. Reading the old conversation itself is chat search, which is on paid plans and works when you ask for it.
Does Claude have memory on the free plan?
Yes. Anthropic opened it to free users on March 2, 2026, and it's on by default. Free doesn't include searching past chats.
How do I make Claude remember something?
Say "remember this" in a chat, then check that it's listed under Topics: Settings > Your Claude, then Manage next to Your memory.
Can I make Claude remember everything?
Anthropic's memory article offers no setting that keeps everything, and Claude picks what to save. Use Instructions for what every chat should have, and a project's files for one piece of work. Counterparts, the memory we make, works the way a person's memory does: what matters sticks, and the rest lets go.
How much can Claude remember?
Anthropic's memory article gives no number. A chat that has grown too long hits a separate length limit, and Anthropic's answer is to start a new conversation or use a project. With code execution on, Claude summarizes earlier messages near that limit, and Anthropic says it can still reference the full history, so ask for an early detail or repeat it.
What happens when a Claude chat ends, and what will it know next time?
The conversation stays in your history unless it was incognito, and a new chat doesn't load it. The new chat has your memory topics, your instructions and, in a project, its files. On a paid plan it can search old chats when asked. With Counterparts, the memory we make, a chat you wake also has the notes Claude wrote about you and your work, in its own words.
Does Claude's memory work on my phone?
As documented, yes: the web, Claude Desktop and Claude Mobile, with the mobile app updated to the latest version. We don't know how long a new topic takes to appear on another device.
Does Claude's memory carry over to Claude Code?
Not as documented. Anthropic's memory article covers the web, Desktop, Mobile and Cowork in the cloud, and Claude Code keeps its own memory in files on your machine. In Claude Code, Counterparts, the memory we make, gives Claude one memory of you across every project.
Where did my old memory summary go?
Anthropic replaced the daily summary with individual entries on July 10, 2026, so look under Topics first. A small number of Team and Enterprise organizations still have the old one: if you see Memory in Settings > Capabilities, or a setting called Generate memory from chat history, much of this page's memory detail doesn't apply. Anthropic offered an export of the old memory until September 9, 2026, and its current article no longer mentions it, so if something's missing, tell Claude again.
How do I use Counterparts with claude.ai?
Counterparts, the memory we make, connects to claude.ai as a custom connector, with nothing to install. It's in beta and needs an invite code: email mike@resonantventures.com for one. Then sign in at app.counterparts.ai/login with your email and the code, and open the emailed link in the same browser. In claude.ai, add a custom connector under Customize > Connectors with the address https://app.counterparts.ai/mcp, approve it, and in a new chat ask Claude to wake Counterparts.
Questions? Ask in r/AIMemorySystems.
References
- Claude Help Center: Use Claude's chat search and memory, Release notes, Import and export your memory, Create and manage projects, Personalization features, Custom connectors, The unified Claude experience for Enterprise, Usage and length limits, the memory article as archived on August 26, 2026
- Claude: Plans and pricing, Claude's memory works everywhere
- Claude Code docs: How Claude remembers your project
- Basic Memory: Cloud guide
- Counterparts: README, Quickstart, Counterparts for Claude Code
- Reddit comments and post, read through an archive and linked where they're quoted