Structured self-reflection on SUBCONSCIOUS.md — review patterns, blind spots, and lessons. Prune what's stale, distill what's new, keep what's load-bearing. Use after significant work sessions, incidents, or when explicitly asked to reflect.
Not a quick scan. A deliberate audit of who you are as a worker.
/subconscious is a quick pre-task check ("am I about to repeat a pattern?").
/reflect is a deliberate post-work review ("what should I keep, add, or remove?").
Determine the active persona's workspace. Check these sources in order:
$HOME/.persona/agents.json — if it exists, look up the persona name$HOME/{persona-name}/SUBCONSCIOUS.md existsRead these files (skip if not found):
{workspace}/SUBCONSCIOUS.md — your current patterns{workspace}/memory/{today YYYY-MM-DD}.md — what happened today{workspace}/memory/{yesterday YYYY-MM-DD}.mdGo through every bullet point in SUBCONSCIOUS.md. For each one, classify it:
| Classification | Criteria | Action |
|---|---|---|
| KEEP | Still true. Has prevented a mistake recently or would prevent one in the future. Actionable. | Leave as-is |
| DISTILL | True but over-specific. Contains implementation details that belong in MEMORY.md, not here. | Rewrite as a generalized how I work pattern |
| STALE | Was true once but the codebase/process changed. No longer relevant. | Remove |
| PROMOTE | Currently in daily logs or learned today but not yet in SUBCONSCIOUS.md. A how I work insight, not a what I did fact. | Add |
| MISPLACED | Belongs in MEMORY.md (project facts), TOOLS.md (tool configs), or another agent's subconscious. Not a self-pattern. | Move to correct file |
Output a table to the user:
## Subconscious Audit — {Agent Name}
Date: {YYYY-MM-DD}
### Entries Reviewed
| # | Current Text (first 60 chars) | Classification | Reasoning |
|---|------|------|------|
| 1 | "Build verify before committing..." | KEEP | Used today, non-negotiable |
| 2 | "System X has hidden state..." | MISPLACED | Project knowledge, not self-pattern |
| ... | ... | ... | ... |
### New Patterns to PROMOTE
- {pattern from today's work}
- {pattern from yesterday's work}
### Proposed Changes Summary
- KEEP: X entries
- DISTILL: X entries (will be rewritten)
- STALE: X entries (will be removed)
- PROMOTE: X entries (will be added)
- MISPLACED: X entries (will be moved)
Ask the user: "Apply these changes to SUBCONSCIOUS.md?"
Do NOT edit the file until the user approves. They may want to adjust classifications.
Once approved:
Write the updated SUBCONSCIOUS.md with:
Move MISPLACED entries to their correct file (MEMORY.md, etc.)
Update the *Last updated* line at the bottom
Keep SUBCONSCIOUS.md under 4 KB. If it's over, the entries need more distillation.
Append to today's daily memory:
## /reflect — Subconscious Audit
- Reviewed X entries
- Kept X, distilled X, removed X stale, added X new, moved X misplaced
- Key insight: {one sentence about what changed and why}
The unexamined agent is not worth running.