Chat memories: making the important things stick.

Characters remember recent messages well and distant ones vaguely — like all LLMs, memory is a sliding window plus tricks. Knowing where the tricks live is the difference between a story that builds and one that resets.

01How memory actually works

Three layers: the definition (permanent — the character never forgets who they are), the recent conversation window (vivid but sliding), and memories — facts pinned or distilled so they persist beyond the window. c.ai+ extends memory quality, but the layers are the same for everyone.

02Pin what matters

When something important happens — a name revealed, a promise made, a plot turn — pin it as a memory rather than hoping it survives. Edit the memory list like a story bible: a dozen crisp facts beat forty vague ones. This is also where you fix wrong memories the character invented.

03Habits for epic-length chats

Every 50–100 messages, ask the character in parentheses to summarize the story so far — then pin the good summary. Starting a fresh chat with the same character? Paste the summary into your first message and it picks up remarkably well. Serial roleplayers treat chats like TV seasons: recap, pin, continue.