TOMC field guide
Reuse Project Notes Across Codex and Claude Code with TOMC
When a project continues in a new chat, the next assistant needs the current constraints, confirmed decisions, completed work and remaining steps. Reconstructing those from memory is easy to get wrong.
TOMC provides explicit notebook tools for this handoff. A notebook stores the text you supply. On recall, TOMC prepares that history for the next task and memory budget. You can continue in the same assistant or move to another one.
Set up one shared notebook location
First install TOMC in the clients you plan to use. Follow the current installation guide; the source repository distinguishes the available packages and their validation status.
Both TOMC processes must open the same SQLite database for a same-computer handoff. The default is ~/.tomc/memory.sqlite3. A different OS user, WSL, container or custom configuration can resolve that path differently.
For an explicit shared location, configure the same absolute file path through the Codex installer's --store option and the Claude Code server's TOMC_MEMORY_PATH. An explicit server --store takes precedence over the environment variable. Keep existing databases when changing configuration: selecting a new file does not migrate notes.
Try a three-step handoff
These prompts use a synthetic project. The notes deliberately distinguish planned testing from completed testing.
Step 1 — save in Codex.
Use TOMC's remember_memory to save this content under
the notebook name tomc-handoff-demo:
Keep public API routes and response fields unchanged.
Pagination tests have not been written or run.
Save only these notes and show the tool result.
Step 2 — recall in a new Claude Code chat.
Use tomc-memory's recall_memory with:
name: tomc-handoff-demo
task: What constraints and unfinished testing should guide the next step?
budget: 1024
Show the returned memory before answering.
Step 3 — append a plan, then return to Codex.
Use remember_memory to append this content to tomc-handoff-demo:
Test plan: cover empty results, the last page and invalid page parameters.
Tests remain unrun.
Show the tool result.
In a new Codex chat, recall the same notebook for the latest constraints and testing status. Verify that both the original constraint and the appended plan are present. The small notebook may fit entirely; this handoff demonstrates reuse, not a guaranteed compression saving.
Keep notebook contents useful
Record confirmed decisions with dates or ordering information when needed. Separate a suggestion from a decision and a test plan from an observed result. TOMC appends notes; it does not silently rewrite each earlier entry into a single authoritative truth.
Save one notebook per project or topic. Installation does not automatically collect your conversations, and a direct prepare_context call does not save its input to a notebook.
If one client cannot find a note, call list_memories in both clients and compare their active server configuration and database paths. Matching notebook names do not prove that the clients are reading the same file.
Assistant choice and device choice are independent
You can keep the same assistant and start another session, switch assistants on one computer, or transfer selected notes to another device. The current preview's cross-device transfer is manual. It does not provide automatic cloud synchronization or migrate complete native chat histories.
Only explicitly supplied notes are shared. The local notebook is plaintext, and recalled notes enter the receiving assistant's context under that host's data handling. Uninstalling TOMC does not remove the notebook database.
The practical goal is a handoff you can inspect: which facts were saved, what was recalled, and what remains unfinished. Check those outputs before assuming the next assistant has the full project context.
Shared-path configuration and troubleshooting · TOMC project