fix(memory-core): default dreaming storage to "separate" to stop polluting daily memory files

[jensenwang560-blip]

Summary

• Change DEFAULT_MEMORY_DREAMING_STORAGE_MODE from "inline" to "separate" in src/memory-host-sdk/dreaming.ts so Light/REM phase blocks are written to memory/dreaming/<phase>/YYYY-MM-DD.md instead of memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md.
• Update the matching fallback in extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming.ts when params.config.storage is entirely missing.

Fixes #66947.

Why

The current default writes Light/REM dreaming output directly into the agent's daily memory file (memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md). The dreaming sweep runs at 3 AM, so by the time the first real heartbeat fires later that day, the daily file already exists with dreaming content. The LLM-driven heartbeat then judges "file exists, nothing new" and replies HEARTBEAT_OK without logging any actual session activity, producing days with zero agent-curated content despite active conversations.

The "separate" storage mode is already implemented — resolveSeparateReportPath writes Light/REM to memory/dreaming/<phase>/YYYY-MM-DD.md, and the Deep phase already writes only to that separate location. The codebase also already ships stripManagedDailyDreamingLines on the ingest side, which confirms the system already treats dreaming blocks as "not real content". This change simply stops producing that pollution in the first place for new default installs.

Existing workspaces that explicitly set storage.mode in their config are unaffected.

Test plan

• pnpm test extensions/memory-core
• Fresh workspace without explicit dreaming.storage.mode — verify Light/REM output lands in memory/dreaming/light/YYYY-MM-DD.md and memory/dreaming/rem/YYYY-MM-DD.md, and that memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md is no longer created by the dreaming sweep alone.
• Workspace with explicit storage.mode: "inline" — verify inline behavior is preserved for backwards compatibility.
• Confirm heartbeat agents now see an empty/absent daily file and resume logging real session activity.

Notes

• Historical polluted files (e.g. memory/2026-04-14.md) still contain inline dreaming blocks after this change and would need a separate migration or manual cleanup.
• No changelog entry added; this is a default change that could be called out in release notes at maintainer discretion.

[greptile-apps]

Greptile Summary

This PR changes the default dreaming storage mode from "inline" to "separate" so that Light/REM phase output is written to memory/dreaming/<phase>/YYYY-MM-DD.md instead of polluting the agent's daily memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md file. Both the SDK constant in src/memory-host-sdk/dreaming.ts and the runtime fallback in extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming.ts are updated consistently.

• Four tests in extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming.test.ts (lines 186–189, 225–229, 261–264, 296–299) still assert storage: { mode: \"inline\", ... } as the default and will fail once this change lands.

Confidence Score: 4/5

Not safe to merge until four stale test assertions are updated to expect "separate" as the default storage mode.

The logic change itself is correct and consistent across both files, but four unit tests still assert the old "inline" default and will fail on pnpm test extensions/memory-core.

extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming.test.ts — lines 186–189, 225–229, 261–264, and 296–299 all need mode: "inline" changed to mode: "separate".

Comments Outside Diff (1)

1. extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming.test.ts, line 186-189 (link)

   Stale default assertions will break the test suite

   Four tests in this file assert storage: { mode: "inline", ... } as the expected default, but the default was just changed to "separate". These tests call resolveShortTermPromotionDreamingConfig without supplying a storage config, so they'll now resolve to mode: "separate" and fail. The same stale assertion appears at lines 225–229, 261–264, and 296–299.

   Prompt To Fix With AI

   This is a comment left during a code review.
   Path: extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming.test.ts
   Line: 186-189
   
   Comment:
   **Stale default assertions will break the test suite**
   
   Four tests in this file assert `storage: { mode: "inline", ... }` as the expected default, but the default was just changed to `"separate"`. These tests call `resolveShortTermPromotionDreamingConfig` without supplying a `storage` config, so they'll now resolve to `mode: "separate"` and fail. The same stale assertion appears at lines 225–229, 261–264, and 296–299.
   
   
   
   How can I resolve this? If you propose a fix, please make it concise.

Prompt To Fix All With AI

This is a comment left during a code review.
Path: extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming.test.ts
Line: 186-189

Comment:
**Stale default assertions will break the test suite**

Four tests in this file assert `storage: { mode: "inline", ... }` as the expected default, but the default was just changed to `"separate"`. These tests call `resolveShortTermPromotionDreamingConfig` without supplying a `storage` config, so they'll now resolve to `mode: "separate"` and fail. The same stale assertion appears at lines 225–229, 261–264, and 296–299.

```suggestion
        storage: {
          mode: "separate",
          separateReports: false,
        },
```

How can I resolve this? If you propose a fix, please make it concise.

_{Reviews (1): Last reviewed commit: "fix(memory-core): default dreaming stora..." | Re-trigger Greptile}

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[chatgpt-codex-connector]

Preserve inline mode for legacy separateReports-only configs

Switching DEFAULT_MEMORY_DREAMING_STORAGE_MODE to "separate" changes behavior for existing configs that still use the legacy shape dreaming.storage.separateReports without dreaming.storage.mode. In resolveMemoryDreamingConfig, normalizeStorageMode(storage?.mode) now falls back to "separate", so a stored config like { separateReports: false } silently flips from inline daily writes to separate-only reports. That is a backward-compatibility regression for previously persisted configs, so this default should be gated to brand-new storage blocks (or legacy-only configs should be explicitly mapped).

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[jalehman]

Closing as superseded by #66412. Thank you!