In the last module, you built CLAUDE.md — a permanent briefing document that gives Claude stable, long-term context about your business. This module covers its counterpart: MEMORY.md.

If CLAUDE.md is the onboarding handbook, MEMORY.md is the running notebook that gets updated as the relationship evolves.

The Problem MEMORY.md Solves

Here is a scenario: you are working with Claude and you discover something important mid-session.

“My main supplier just moved to net-60 payment terms instead of net-30. That changes my cash flow assumptions.”

You could add that to CLAUDE.md. But CLAUDE.md is for stable context — things that rarely change. Supplier payment terms might change again in three months. And if you update CLAUDE.md every time something shifts, it quickly becomes a messy log of changes rather than a clean briefing document.

MEMORY.md is designed for exactly this kind of evolving information. It is a living document that you (or Claude, with your permission) update as your business context changes.

The Difference Between CLAUDE.md and MEMORY.md

CLAUDE.md	MEMORY.md
Stable, long-term context	Evolving, session-to-session notes
Changes rarely (monthly or less)	Can change weekly or even daily
You write it manually during setup	You or Claude can add to it during sessions
“My brand name is X”	“As of April 2024, main supplier is on net-60 terms”
“My target ACoS is 25%”	“Tested lowering ACoS target to 20% in Q1 — didn’t work, reverting to 25%”

What Goes in MEMORY.md

Think of MEMORY.md as a place for three types of notes:

1. Decisions you made and why

When you make a business decision that affects how Claude should work with you, log it here.

• “Decided to pause Sponsored Brands campaigns for Q4 — budget reallocation to SP”
• “Dropped Product X from active listings on May 15 — moving to clearance”
• “Changed 3PL from Flexe to ShipBob as of June 2024”

2. Things you want Claude to always remember about recent events

• “Had a negative review wave in March — under investigation with Amazon”
• “New product launch planned for Q3 — ASIN not yet live”
• “Supplier lead time extended to 10 weeks due to port delays”

3. Preferences Claude has learned about how you work

• “I prefer analysis in bullet points, not prose paragraphs”
• “Do not suggest changing keywords without showing me the data first”
• “I check email once per day — flag anything time-sensitive”

How to Tell Claude to Update MEMORY.md

There are two ways to update MEMORY.md:

Option 1: Update it yourself

Open MEMORY.md in VS Code and type the note directly. This is the simplest and most reliable approach.

Option 2: Ask Claude to update it

During a session, say: “Add this to my MEMORY.md: [your note]” and Claude will write to the file for you. You can also say: “Remember that [thing] — add it to my memory file.”

Either way, the update is stored in the file and will be available in future sessions.

Setting Up Your First MEMORY.md

Unlike CLAUDE.md, you do not need to start with a full document. MEMORY.md can start nearly empty and grow over time.

Here is a minimal starting template:

# Memory — Amazon Business Notes

## Business Decisions
[Add entries here as you make decisions]

## Current Priorities
[What are the most important things happening right now?]

## Things Claude Should Know
[Anything that has changed recently that affects how we work]

## My Preferences
[How I like Claude to communicate and work with me]
        

Create this file as MEMORY.md in your workspace root (same folder as CLAUDE.md). Fill in whatever you know today, and update it as things change.

Exercise

1. Create MEMORY.md in your workspace root
2. Add at least three entries — one decision you recently made, one thing happening right now in your business, and one preference about how you like to work
3. Open Claude Code and type: “What do you currently know about my recent business activities?” — see if it references your MEMORY.md entries