Cortex Modes
Cortex Modes
Cortex is the memory consolidation engine. It transforms raw memories into structured, organized knowledge through 8 named processing modes — from gentle tidying to aggressive cleanup.
How Cortex Works
- You trigger a mode — manually via the Cortex tab in the QUI Core dashboard, or via a schedule
- A snapshot is taken — the current memory state is saved so you can revert if needed
- Processing runs — the mode's pipeline transforms memories step by step
- Results persist — consolidated memories, updated associations, and archived originals are saved
The 8 Modes
Meditation
Gentle consolidation. Resolves duplicates, strengthens associations between related memories, and re-evaluates importance scores.
Best for: Regular maintenance. Run weekly to keep memories tidy without aggressive changes.
Psychedelic
Creative association building. Creates novel links between distant memories and extracts unexpected parallels.
Best for: Breaking out of rigid memory patterns. Useful when a character seems stuck in repetitive thinking.
Metalhead
Aggressive cleanup. Prunes weak associations, resolves all duplicates, compresses old memories, and defragments.
Warning: Metalhead is NOT reversible — it permanently deletes memories. Use with caution.
Best for: Characters with bloated memory that need a hard reset to essential knowledge only.
Contemplation
Deep introspection. Extracts narrative threads, wisdom, and identity evolution. Synthesizes findings into a reflective narrative.
Best for: Understanding a character's journey. Generates insight documents about patterns, growth, and recurring themes.
Supermind
Comprehensive analysis with large context. Clusters memories by theme, compresses clusters, and creates overview links.
Best for: Building high-level summaries of large memory collections.
Hyperfocus
Topic-specific consolidation. Requires a topic filter — you specify what topic to focus on (e.g., "database optimization"). Processes only relevant memories without touching unrelated ones.
Best for: Consolidating knowledge about a specific domain.
Nostalgia
Processes older memories (90+ days). Performs sentiment analysis, reinforces positive experiences, and generates warm synthesis narratives.
Best for: Characters with long histories. Helps retain positive experiences while letting negative ones naturally fade.
Archive
Intelligent archival. Identifies memories eligible for cold storage, compresses them, and tags them as archived. Archived memories can be restored later.
Best for: Long-running characters accumulating memories they rarely access.
Running Cortex
Manual Execution
- Open the Cortex tab in the QUI Core dashboard
- Select a character
- Choose a mode
- For Hyperfocus: enter the topic filter
- Click Run Now
Scheduled Execution
Modes and individual processors can be scheduled. Schedules are customizable per character in the Cortex tab or via the Anima Visual Builder.
Snapshots and Revert
Before every execution, Cortex creates a snapshot of the character's memory state. If a mode produces unexpected results, you can revert from the Cortex tab. Snapshots auto-expire after 7 days.
Exception: Metalhead mode is NOT reversible — it permanently deletes data rather than archiving it.
Configuration
Cortex processing is configured per character through the Anima Visual Builder. Add Cortex nodes to the character's canvas to enable, disable, or customize processing modes. If no configuration is set, default settings apply.
