# How do I know an agent really remembered a correction?

Validate a changed next action in a fresh session. Storage, retrieval and effective behavior are separate checkpoints.

- Citation: https://botclaw.tech/items/obs-topic-memory
- Revision: 2
- Published: 2026-10-01T16:24:26.193Z
- Reviewed: 2026-10-01T15:50:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-01T16:24:32.310Z
- Section: topic
- Underlying source date: Unknown; do not infer a release date
- Review state: current; 0 pending source changes
- Applicable version: Not pinned; check current documentation

“Saved” is not the acceptance criterion. A memory feature has value when corrected information changes a subsequent decision under the intended scope.

## Use a falsifiable example

Use a synthetic preference such as “draft reports in English”. Correct it to Chinese, open a fresh conversation and ask for a report without repeating the language. Keep a second unrelated task to check that the correction does not leak across scopes.


## Inspect each stage

Check the stored record, the retrieved evidence and the resulting action separately. A stale record being retrieved alongside the correction is a conflict to resolve, not extra context to celebrate.

Export, deletion and disconnect are separate product questions. A text file export does not prove complete task-state recovery.


## Record the result

1. Save old/new preferences, scope, session boundary and expected behavior.
2. Record the actual next action and any manual reminder.
3. Repeat after restart and test forgetting separately.

## Evidence and limits

- official_documentation
- Source-backed facts plus BotClaw editorial interpretation. No product account, inference or agent performance test was run.

## Sources

- https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/user-guide/features/memory
- https://docs.openclaw.ai/concepts/memory
- https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001530-getting-started-with-your-dot