> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.quarkle.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Memory

> The preferences and facts you want Quarkle to remember, carried into every conversation.

**Memory** is the note where Quarkle keeps the standing instructions you've given it: how you want it to write, and how you want it to behave with you. It lives in the [Story Atlas](/ai/story-atlas) as **Your preferences** (`memories.md`). It's carried into **every** conversation so you don't have to repeat yourself.

If you tell Quarkle *"keep my chapters in past tense"* or *"Mara never uses contractions when she's angry,"* that's the kind of thing Memory holds onto.

<Frame caption="The Memory note. Each line is a standing instruction Quarkle carries into every chat.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/quarkle/5WUUaYl-dgOEAFoM/images/app/memory-note.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=5WUUaYl-dgOEAFoM&q=85&s=7bf650bccc1b3635cdc407c038d214af" alt="The Memory note with a few author preferences" width="1066" height="474" data-path="images/app/memory-note.png" />
</Frame>

## Memory, Book Notes, and Chapter Notes

Memory isn't the only note that travels with your conversations. There are three, and they're scoped differently:

|                            | Where it lives                            | In every chat                  | Best for                                                                                                                                                               |
| -------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Memory** (`memories.md`) | Story Atlas → System → Your preferences   | Always                         | How *you* like Quarkle to behave: style rules, tone, standing instructions. About you, not the story.                                                                  |
| **Book Notes**             | Story Atlas → System → Book notes         | Always                         | Book-wide metadata and direction: setting, arc, themes, anything true of the whole manuscript that doesn't fit a Character, World, or Plot note.                       |
| **Chapter Notes**          | Story Atlas → Chapter Notes (per chapter) | Only when that chapter is open | Working instructions for *one* chapter: beats, how a character should be acting or feeling, tone or POV overrides, anything ephemeral and scoped to just this chapter. |

A simple way to decide: Memory is about *you*, how you want Quarkle to behave. Book Notes is book-wide metadata and direction, setting, arc, themes. Chapter Notes are working instructions scoped to whatever chapter you're in right now. See [The Story Atlas](/ai/story-atlas#chapter-summaries-and-chapter-notes) for how to add a Chapter Note.

## How Memory gets written

You don't have to manage Memory by hand. As you chat and write, Quarkle notices durable preferences and instructions and records them for you. You can also open **Your preferences** in the Story Atlas and edit it directly at any time.

Because Memory travels with every chat and review, it shapes everything the [Creative Companion](/ai/creative-companion) does. Suggestions, comments, and answers all respect what it knows about how you like to work.

## Memory Lock: brainstorm without remembering

Sometimes you want to explore a wild idea *without* it becoming part of your story's canon. Turn on **Memory Lock** in the [Chat Toolkit](/ai/quarkle-chat) and Quarkle won't update Memory from that conversation.

<Tip>
  Use **Memory Lock** whenever you're spitballing alternate plots or "what if" scenarios you might not keep. Turn it off when you're back to the real draft.
</Tip>

## Keeping Memory tidy

Memory is just a note in the [Story Atlas](/ai/story-atlas), so all the same controls apply.

* **Edit** it directly to add, reword, or remove a preference.
* **Freeze** it if you want it to stay exactly as written.
* Review its **history** to see how it changed over time.

<Note>
  For how Memory is injected into each conversation and kept current, see [Keeping the Atlas current](/under-the-hood/keeping-the-atlas-current).
</Note>

<Card title="Next: Writing a Fresh Manuscript" icon="arrow-right" horizontal href="/guides/writing-a-fresh-manuscript">
  A step-by-step guide to starting from a blank page.
</Card>