---
license: other
license_name: polyform-noncommercial-1.0.0
license_link: https://polyformproject.org/licenses/noncommercial/1.0.0/
pretty_name: "user-md - keep your AI's understanding of you in a file you own"
language:
  - en
  - zh
tags:
  - agent-skill
  - agent-skills
  - claude-skill
  - claude-code
  - skill
  - agentskills
  - prompt-engineering
task_categories:
  - text-generation
size_categories:
  - n<1K
viewer: false
---

> **user-md** - Know your user: a USER.md that grows. Your AI's understanding of you, in a file you own.
>
> **Mirrored in three places, same version everywhere:**
> [Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/datasets/LucioLiu/user-md) (you are here) · [GitLab](https://gitlab.com/LucioLiu/user-md) · [GitHub](https://github.com/LucioLiu/user-md)
>
> **Get the files** - GitLab is the most reliable plain-git route:
>
> ```bash
> git clone https://gitlab.com/LucioLiu/user-md.git
> 
> # or from this page
> hf download LucioLiu/user-md --repo-type dataset --local-dir ./user-md
> ```
>
> Then drop the folder into your agent's skills directory - `~/.claude/skills/user-md/` for Claude Code, `~/.agents/skills/user-md/` for Codex, or your client's equivalent.
>
> *Note: links to github.com inside the text below point to the GitHub mirror; if one does not resolve, use the GitLab mirror above - it carries the same content.*
>
> **Licence: PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0** - the `LICENSE` file in this repo is authoritative.

---
**English** | [简体中文](README.zh-CN.md)

# user-md / a USER.md that grows

> Your AI's understanding of you — in a file you own. Moves when you move.

## Know your user

user-md is a discipline for keeping your AI's understanding of you in a single Markdown file that you own: `USER.md`. It ends the re-explaining — your role, your standards, how you like answers delivered — and unlike vendor cloud memory, it moves when your folder moves. Hand-written sections capture who you are; an agent-curated section grows with dated, confidence-tagged observations.

**Every agent has an About Me. Yours should have an About You.**

Leave `USER.md` empty and your agent still runs — but every session starts with zero knowledge of you. And unlike memory features locked inside a vendor's cloud account, this file sits in your folder — readable and editable by you, usable by any agent you point at it. As one reviewer put it about a vendor's GDPR-only memory export: "The export feature exists to satisfy regulators, not users." (Nick Sawinyh)

## Three layers, two lanes

```mermaid
flowchart TB
    subgraph U["USER.md — portable, loaded every session"]
        direction TB
        subgraph H["Hand-written lane — you author it, the agent may only suggest"]
            W1["Who I am"]
            W2["How I work"]
            W3["Our relationship"]
            W4["What I'm up to"]
        end
        subgraph A["Agent-curated lane — append-only, dated, confidence-tagged"]
            W5["Learned by your agent"]
        end
    end
    LOCAL["USER.local.md — machine-local, gitignored<br/>env · toolchain · paths · credential pointers"]
    PROJ["Project-local files<br/>facts only true inside one project"]
    OVER["user/*.md overflow files<br/>details sunk when the main file outgrows its budget"]

    W5 -- "repeated observation + your explicit OK" --> H
    W5 -- "overflow" --> OVER
    U -. "breaks on machine switch? → goes here instead" .-> LOCAL
    U -. "only true in one project? → goes here instead" .-> PROJ
```

**Three layers** — where a fact about you belongs:

| Layer | File | Test |
|---|---|---|
| Portable profile | `USER.md` | still true on any machine, in any project |
| Machine-local | `USER.local.md` (gitignored) | stops being true when you switch machines |
| Project-local | that project's own context file | stops being true outside one project |

**Two lanes** inside `USER.md`:

- **Hand-written lane** — `Who I am`, `How I work`, `Our relationship`, `What I'm up to`. You author these. The agent may suggest edits and may apply one only after your explicit confirmation; it never rewrites this lane silently.
- **Agent-curated lane** — `Learned by your agent`. Append-only. Every entry carries a date, a source event, and a confidence tag; single observations are explicitly marked unverified. Repeated observations can be *promoted* into the hand-written lane — only with your explicit OK. Nothing is ever silently rewritten; everything stays visible, editable, and deletable.

The main file is kept deliberately small so it can be loaded in full every session; details overflow into `user/*.md` helper files. Exact size, promotion, and consolidation thresholds live in one place: [`references/curation.md`](references/curation.md).

## How it compares

| | **user-md** | Cloud memory features | Memory-layer products (service + DB) | Vanilla OpenClaw `USER.md` |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where it lives | a file in your folder | your vendor account | a service + database | a file in your folder |
| Read/edit directly | plain Markdown, any editor | product UI only | API/SDK | plain Markdown |
| Portable across vendors | yes — copy the folder | no | depends on self-hosting | yes |
| Growth mechanism | two-lane curation discipline | automatic, sometimes silent | automatic pipeline | none — static, hand-filled |
| Audit trail | every entry dated + sourced | limited | varies | none |

The gap user-md fills: tools that are file-shaped have no growth mechanism, and tools that grow aren't file-shaped. This is a file that grows — under explicit, auditable rules.

## Compatibility

The `USER.md` convention comes from the **OpenClaw** agent workspace, where the file is defined as "Who the user is and how to address them. Loaded every session." (docs.openclaw.ai). It is *not* part of the AGENTS.md standard — that standard has no user-profile slot. user-md adopts the OpenClaw name and every-session loading model, and adds the layering and curation discipline on top.

### OpenClaw

Drop-in. `USER.md` occupies the user axis only; `SOUL.md`, `IDENTITY.md`, and `MEMORY.md` stay untouched. Copy the templates into your workspace and you are done.

### Claude Code

Add one reference line to your `CLAUDE.md` (project-level, or `~/.claude/CLAUDE.md` for global use):

```
@USER.md
```

Optionally, a SessionStart hook can be wired instead — an example configuration ships in [`SKILL.md`](SKILL.md). The hook is optional wiring, not a built-in runtime; the discipline works without it.

### Any other harness

Any tool that reads instructions at session start can use this. Add a line like *"Read the relevant sections of USER.md before starting work"* to its system prompt or rules file. Cross-vendor transfer and session injection require the user's authorization; load only the sections needed for the task instead of treating "portable" as blanket disclosure consent.

## Install (2 minutes)

1. Copy `templates/USER.md` and `templates/USER.local.md` into your workspace root.
2. Add `USER.local.md` to `.gitignore` — before your first commit.
3. Wire session loading for your harness (see Compatibility above).

Then spend five minutes filling in the first four sections of `USER.md`. Honest bullet points beat polished prose.

To teach your agent the curation rules, also install this folder as a skill/plugin:

```
gh skill install LucioLiu/user-md user-md --agent claude-code --scope user
```

or copy the folder into your harness's skills directory (Chinese-speaking users should copy [`SKILL.zh-CN.md`](SKILL.zh-CN.md) instead and rename it to `SKILL.md` locally). Or just tell your agent: *"Read `SKILL.md` in this folder and set up user-md for me."*

This release ships the root `plugin.json` as its package manifest. (A `.claude-plugin` packaging variant exists in an unpublished workspace and is deliberately not part of this release — don't look for that directory in what you installed.)

## Uninstall

Remove the plugin/skill folder. Your `USER.md` file family stays where it is — those files are yours, which is rather the point.

## Version & self-check

- Current version: **1.1.0** (see `plugin.json`).
- Repository: `https://github.com/LucioLiu/user-md`
- Self-check: diff your installed `SKILL.md` and `plugin.json` against the repo's main branch.

## Verification boundary

The unified structural entrypoint, privacy/gitignore checks, and independent behavior bundle are **not published in this repository yet** — don't expect a `tests` directory in what you installed. A structural PASS would not prove curation behavior or cross-harness loading anyway; both frozen behavior cases remain `not-run` until independently executed and judged.

## Privacy

This file family is PII by nature. `USER.local.md` must be gitignored. Review `USER.md` manually before pushing it to any public repository. Never store plaintext credentials in either file — pointers only. "Moves when you move" means the user can transfer the file; it does not grant automatic cross-project, cross-vendor, or cross-model sharing. Each transfer/load must follow explicit user authorization and minimum necessary disclosure. All examples shipped in the templates are fictional.

## License

[PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0](LICENSE) — free for personal and non-commercial use.

---

> Both language editions are maintained in sync. If they ever diverge, the **English edition** is authoritative — please open an [issue](https://github.com/LucioLiu/user-md/issues) if you spot one.