Overview
how-it-works is an open-source workflow skill for Claude Code and compatible agents, published by thedotmack. Its author describes it as: “Explain how claude-mem captures observations, when memory injection kicks in, and where data lives. Use when the user asks "how does claude-mem work?" or "what is this thing doing?".”. The project has 94k stars on GitHub and is available under the Apache-2.0 license. Add it to your setup with `/plugin marketplace add thedotmack/claude-mem`.
What how-it-works does
Every Read, Edit, and Bash that Claude makes turns into a compressed observation. Observations get summarized at session end. Relevant ones get auto-injected into future prompts so the next session starts with context from the last one — no re-explaining the codebase, no re-discovering decisions.
Best for
What’s inside
The SKILL.md for how-it-works is organised into these sections:
- What it does
- When it kicks in
- Where data lives
Installation
Add how-it-works to your agent with:
/plugin marketplace add thedotmack/claude-memReview a skill’s source before installing it — skills can instruct your agent to run commands. This command comes from the skill’s public repository, which is the source of truth for setup steps. New to skills? Read how to install Claude Code skills.
Supported agents
- Claude Code — ships a claude code plugin marketplace
License
how-it-works is published under the Apache-2.0 license.
Strengths
- Clear Apache-2.0 license — safe to read and adapt within its terms
- Ships in thedotmack/claude-mem, an established project with 94,378 GitHub stars
- Works with Claude Code
- Actively maintained — repository updated in the last 30 days
- Its repository gained 5,269 GitHub stars over the last 52 days
Author
Topics
Frequently asked questions
- What does how-it-works do?
- Explain how claude-mem captures observations, when memory injection kicks in, and where data lives. Use when the user asks "how does claude-mem work?" or "what is this thing doing?".
- How do I install how-it-works?
- Run /plugin marketplace add thedotmack/claude-mem in your agent, then reload your skills. Review the source at https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem before installing.
- Is how-it-works free to use?
- Yes. how-it-works is free and open source under the Apache-2.0 license, so you can read, run, and adapt it within that license's terms.
- Which agents does how-it-works work with?
- how-it-works lists Claude Code — named in its SKILL.md, its plugin marketplace or its repository topics. Skills use the portable SKILL.md format, so other agents that read that format may load it too.
- Where does how-it-works come from?
- how-it-works ships inside thedotmack/claude-mem, a repository that contains 25 catalogued skills in total. The repository's 94,378 GitHub stars apply to that whole collection, not to this skill on its own.