Episode 14: Advanced Configuration — Customize Your Memory System — The Complete Claude-Mem Hands-On Guide

This episode's scenario: Claude-Mem is running smoothly. Now you want to switch Observation notes to Chinese, protect DB connection strings from being recorded, and control how much history gets injected per session.

14.1 Configuration File Reference

All settings live in ~/.claude-mem/settings.json:

{
  "CLAUDE_MEM_MODE": "code",
  "WORKER_PORT": 37777,
  "LOG_LEVEL": "info",
  "CONTEXT_OBSERVATION_LIMIT": 50,
  "CONTEXT_SESSION_LIMIT": 10,
  "DATA_DIR": "~/.claude-mem"
}

Field	Default	Description
`CLAUDE_MEM_MODE`	`"code"`	Working mode + language
`WORKER_PORT`	`37777`	Worker listen port
`LOG_LEVEL`	`"info"`	Log level (debug/info/warn/error)
`CONTEXT_OBSERVATION_LIMIT`	`50`	Max Observations injected at SessionStart
`CONTEXT_SESSION_LIMIT`	`10`	How many past sessions to look back

14.2 Multilingual Modes

Available Languages

Mode naming: code--[ISO 639-1 code]

Mode	Language
`code`	English (default)
`code--zh`	Chinese
`code--ja`	Japanese
`code--ko`	Korean
`code--es`	Spanish
`code--fr`	French
`code--de`	German

Other Workflow Modes

Mode	Best For
`code`	Regular coding (default)
`chill`	Casual conversations, reduced recording
`investigation`	Deep investigation, increased detail

14.3 Privacy Control: `<private>` Tags

Wrap sensitive content you don't want recorded:

You: My database connection is <private>postgresql://admin:[email protected]:5432/blog</private>
    Help me configure Prisma's connection.

What gets stored: "User configured Prisma database connection" — no passwords, no addresses.

14.4 Context Injection Tuning

Recommended Values

Project Size	OBSERVATION_LIMIT	SESSION_LIMIT
Small (1–2 weeks)	30	5
Medium (1–3 months)	50	10
Large (3+ months)	80	15

14.5 Folder Context Files

Claude-Mem auto-generates CLAUDE.md in your project directory with an activity timeline. New developers who clone the project get instant background context.

14.6 Data Export & Import

npx claude-mem export --output my-memories.json   # Export
npx claude-mem import --input my-memories.json     # Import on another machine

Use cases: Machine migration, backups, team sharing (mind privacy!).

Hands-On Exercise

Switch language mode → work on the blog → verify Observations change language
Use <private> tags on sensitive data → verify redaction in Web UI
Adjust CONTEXT_OBSERVATION_LIMIT → observe difference in next session
Check if CLAUDE.md was generated in your project directory
Try exporting and reimporting memory data

Coming Up Next

Final episode! Troubleshooting guide, daily best practices, and a full retrospective using the blog project we've built throughout this series.

➡️ Episode 15: Troubleshooting + Best Practices + Summary

Episode 14: Advanced Configuration — Customize Your Memory System