Memory System

The Memory System enables switchAILocal to learn from every routing decision, building a persistent knowledge base of user preferences, provider quirks, and performance patterns.

Overview

The Memory System stores:

Routing History: Every decision with outcomes and latency
User Preferences: Learned model preferences per API key
Provider Quirks: Known issues and workarounds
Analytics: Performance trends and success rates

Memory data is stored in ~/.switchailocal/memory/ and can grow over time. Configure retention policies to manage disk usage.

Quick Start

Initialize Memory System

Initialize the memory system before first use:

switchAILocal memory init

Output:

Initializing switchAILocal memory system...
✓ Memory system initialized successfully
  Base directory: /Users/user/.switchailocal/memory
  Retention: 90 days
  Compression: true
  Max log size: 100 MB

Directory structure created:
  /Users/user/.switchailocal/memory/
  ├── routing-history.jsonl
  ├── provider-quirks.md
  ├── user-preferences/
  ├── daily/
  └── analytics/

Memory system is ready to use!

Enable in Configuration

Add to your config.yaml:

config.yaml

intelligence:
  enabled: true
  
  feedback:
    enabled: true
    retention-days: 90  # Keep data for 90 days

CLI Commands

The Memory System provides a comprehensive CLI for management:

Status
History
Preferences
Export
Reset

Check memory system health and disk usage:

switchAILocal memory status

Example Output:

switchAILocal Memory System Status
==================================
Status: ✓ Healthy
Base Directory: /Users/user/.switchailocal/memory
Enabled: true

Statistics:
  Total Routing Decisions: 15,234
  Total Users: 12
  Total Provider Quirks: 8
  Disk Usage: 45.2 MB
  Newest Decision: 2026-03-09T14:23:45Z
  Oldest Decision: 2025-12-09T09:15:30Z

Configuration:
  Retention Days: 90
  Compression Enabled: true
  Last Cleanup: 2026-03-09T00:00:00Z

Daily Logs:
  Total Files: 90
  Total Entries: 15,234
  Disk Usage: 42.1 MB

View recent routing decisions:

# View last 100 decisions
switchAILocal memory history

# View last 50 decisions
switchAILocal memory history --limit 50

# View decisions for specific API key
switchAILocal memory history --api-key-hash sha256:abc123...

Example Output:

Recent Routing Decisions (limit: 100)
=====================================

[1] 2026-03-09T14:23:45Z
    API Key: sha256:abc123...
    Model: auto → switchai-chat
    Intent: coding
    Tier: semantic (confidence: 0.92)
    Latency: 15ms
    Outcome: ✓ Success: true, Response: 1234ms, Quality: 0.95

[2] 2026-03-09T14:20:12Z
    API Key: sha256:abc123...
    Model: auto → switchai-reasoner
    Intent: reasoning
    Tier: cognitive (confidence: 0.78)
    Latency: 342ms
    Outcome: ✓ Success: true, Response: 5678ms, Quality: 0.88

View learned user preferences:

# View preferences for API key
switchAILocal memory preferences --api-key sk-test-123

# Or use the hash directly
switchAILocal memory preferences --api-key-hash sha256:abc123...

Example Output:

User Preferences for API Key: sha256:abc123...
==========================================
Last Updated: 2026-03-09T14:23:45Z

Model Preferences:
  coding → switchai-chat
  reasoning → switchai-reasoner
  creative → switchai-chat

Provider Bias:
  ollama: +0.15
  geminicli: +0.05
  claudecli: -0.10

Custom Rules:
  [1] context_size > 100k → gemini-2.5-pro (priority: 10)
  [2] contains "security" → ollama:llama3.2 (priority: 8)

Create a backup of all memory data:

# Auto-generated filename
switchAILocal memory export

# Custom filename
switchAILocal memory export --output my-backup.tar.gz

Output:

Exporting memory data to: switchailocal-memory-20260309-142345.tar.gz
✓ Export completed successfully
  Archive size: 45.2 MB
  Contains all memory data from: /Users/user/.switchailocal/memory

Clear all memory data with confirmation:

# Show warning (requires --confirm)
switchAILocal memory reset

# Actually reset (creates automatic backup)
switchAILocal memory reset --confirm

Output:

Creating automatic backup before reset...
Backup file: memory-backup-before-reset-20260309-142345.tar.gz
✓ Backup created successfully

Proceeding with reset...
✓ Memory system reset successfully
  Removed directory: /Users/user/.switchailocal/memory
  Backup available: memory-backup-before-reset-20260309-142345.tar.gz

💡 Run 'switchAILocal memory init' to reinitialize the memory system.
💡 To restore from backup: tar -xzf memory-backup-before-reset-20260309-142345.tar.gz -C ~/

Directory Structure

The memory system creates the following structure:

~/.switchailocal/memory/
├── routing-history.jsonl          # All routing decisions (append-only)
├── provider-quirks.md             # Known provider issues and workarounds
├── user-preferences/              # Per-user learned preferences
│   ├── sha256-abc123.json
│   └── sha256-def456.json
├── daily/                         # Daily log rotation
│   ├── 2026-03-09.jsonl.gz
│   └── 2026-03-08.jsonl.gz
└── analytics/                     # Aggregated statistics
    └── weekly-summary.json

Routing Decision Schema

Each routing decision is stored in JSONL format:

{
  "timestamp": "2026-03-09T14:23:45Z",
  "api_key_hash": "sha256:abc123...",
  "request": {
    "model": "auto",
    "intent": "coding",
    "complexity": "medium",
    "has_images": false,
    "context_size": 1024
  },
  "routing": {
    "tier": "semantic",
    "confidence": 0.92,
    "selected_model": "switchai-chat",
    "matched_skill": "go-expert",
    "latency_ms": 15
  },
  "outcome": {
    "success": true,
    "response_time_ms": 1234,
    "quality_score": 0.95,
    "cascade_occurred": false,
    "error": null
  }
}

User Preferences

Preferences are learned automatically based on routing history:

Model Preferences

Most frequently selected models for each intent category

Provider Bias

Relative preference scores based on success rates and user behavior

Custom Rules

Detected patterns like “always use local models for security queries”

Preference Schema:

{
  "api_key_hash": "sha256:abc123...",
  "last_updated": "2026-03-09T14:23:45Z",
  "model_preferences": {
    "coding": "switchai-chat",
    "reasoning": "switchai-reasoner"
  },
  "provider_bias": {
    "ollama": 0.15,
    "geminicli": 0.05,
    "claudecli": -0.10
  },
  "custom_rules": [
    {
      "condition": "context_size > 100000",
      "model": "gemini-2.5-pro",
      "priority": 10
    }
  ]
}

Configuration Options

Fine-tune memory system behavior in config.yaml:

config.yaml

intelligence:
  feedback:
    enabled: true
    retention-days: 90           # Keep data for 90 days
    compression: true            # Compress daily logs
    max-log-size-mb: 100        # Rotate when log exceeds 100MB
    base-dir: "~/.switchailocal/memory"  # Storage location
    
    # Privacy settings
    hash-api-keys: true          # Store hashed API keys only
    redact-content: true         # Don't store request/response content
    
    # Analytics
    daily-aggregation: true      # Generate daily summaries
    weekly-reports: true         # Generate weekly reports

Privacy Considerations

By default, the memory system stores routing metadata only, not request/response content.

What is Stored

Stored
NOT Stored

Hashed API keys (SHA-256)
Model names and intents
Routing tiers and confidence scores
Latency and performance metrics
Success/failure outcomes

Configuration for Privacy

config.yaml

intelligence:
  feedback:
    enabled: true
    hash-api-keys: true         # Never store raw API keys
    redact-content: true        # Never store content
    anonymize-stats: true       # Aggregate stats without user tracking

Disk Usage Management

The memory system automatically manages disk usage:

Automatic Cleanup

Daily rotation: Logs are rotated daily and compressed
Retention policy: Old data is deleted after configured retention period
Size limits: Logs are rotated when they exceed max size

Manual Cleanup

# Check current disk usage
switchAILocal memory status

# Export before cleanup
switchAILocal memory export --output backup-before-cleanup.tar.gz

# Reset to free all space
switchAILocal memory reset --confirm

# Reinitialize
switchAILocal memory init

Monitoring & Analytics

Statistics Query

Memory statistics are available via the management API:

curl http://localhost:18080/management/metrics | jq '.memory'

Example Response:

{
  "memory": {
    "total_decisions": 15234,
    "total_users": 12,
    "disk_usage_bytes": 47431680,
    "newest_decision": "2026-03-09T14:23:45Z",
    "oldest_decision": "2025-12-09T09:15:30Z",
    "retention_days": 90,
    "compression_enabled": true,
    "last_cleanup": "2026-03-09T00:00:00Z"
  }
}

Weekly Reports

When weekly-reports: true, the system generates performance summaries:

analytics/weekly-summary.json

{
  "week_start": "2026-03-03",
  "week_end": "2026-03-09",
  "total_requests": 3456,
  "success_rate": 0.97,
  "avg_latency_ms": 234,
  "intent_distribution": {
    "coding": 0.45,
    "reasoning": 0.25,
    "creative": 0.15,
    "fast": 0.15
  },
  "tier_usage": {
    "cache": 0.35,
    "reflex": 0.20,
    "semantic": 0.30,
    "cognitive": 0.15
  },
  "top_models": [
    {"model": "switchai-chat", "count": 1500},
    {"model": "switchai-reasoner", "count": 890}
  ]
}

Troubleshooting

Memory system not initialized

Error: Memory system not initializedSolution:

switchAILocal memory init

Permission denied on memory directory

Error: Permission denied: /Users/user/.switchailocal/memorySolution:

chmod 0700 ~/.switchailocal/memory
chmod 0600 ~/.switchailocal/memory/*.db

Disk usage growing too fast

Solutions:

Reduce retention period:

feedback:
  retention-days: 30  # Reduce from 90

Enable compression:
```
feedback:
  compression: true
```
Disable content storage:
```
feedback:
  redact-content: true
```

Preferences not being learned

Check:

Feedback collection is enabled:
```
feedback:
  enabled: true
```
Sufficient history exists (minimum ~100 decisions)
API key hash is consistent

Best Practices

Enable from Day One

Initialize memory system before production deployment to start learning immediately.

Regular Backups

Export memory data regularly:

switchAILocal memory export --output weekly-backup.tar.gz

Monitor Disk Usage

Check memory status weekly:

switchAILocal memory status

Set Appropriate Retention

Balance learning vs disk usage:

Development: 30 days
Production: 90 days
Analytics: 180 days

Review Preferences Periodically

Check learned preferences to ensure they align with expectations:

switchAILocal memory preferences --api-key sk-test-123

Get Started

Core Concepts

Configuration

Intelligent Systems

Advanced Features

Guides

Overview

Quick Start

Initialize Memory System

Enable in Configuration

CLI Commands

Directory Structure

Routing Decision Schema

User Preferences

Configuration Options

Privacy Considerations

What is Stored

Configuration for Privacy

Disk Usage Management

Automatic Cleanup

Manual Cleanup

Monitoring & Analytics

Statistics Query

Weekly Reports

Troubleshooting

Best Practices

Next Steps

Cortex Router

Heartbeat Monitoring

Get Started

Core Concepts

Configuration

Intelligent Systems

Advanced Features

Guides

​Overview

​Quick Start

​Initialize Memory System

​Enable in Configuration

​CLI Commands

​Directory Structure

​Routing Decision Schema

​User Preferences

​Configuration Options

​Privacy Considerations

​What is Stored

​Configuration for Privacy

​Disk Usage Management

​Automatic Cleanup

​Manual Cleanup

​Monitoring & Analytics

​Statistics Query

​Weekly Reports

​Troubleshooting

​Best Practices

​Next Steps

Cortex Router

Heartbeat Monitoring

Overview

Quick Start

Initialize Memory System

Enable in Configuration

CLI Commands

Directory Structure

Routing Decision Schema

User Preferences

Configuration Options

Privacy Considerations

What is Stored

Configuration for Privacy

Disk Usage Management

Automatic Cleanup

Manual Cleanup

Monitoring & Analytics

Statistics Query

Weekly Reports

Troubleshooting

Best Practices

Next Steps