What
Nested memory files are CLAUDE.md files in subfolders that Claude Code loads when Claude works in those folders. Claude Code used to keep a list of which ones it had already loaded. That list, loadedNestedMemoryPaths, is removed:
- The list and its clean-up step
evictNestedMemoryPathsare gone. - Compaction, which shortens a long conversation by summarising it, no longer clears the list. It still clears
readFileStateand the memory selector. - The list is no longer passed from a parent to sub-contexts such as subagents (helper Claudes that work on a side task).
Two related changes affect inner calls, which are calls made inside another operation:
fileReadingLimitsis no longer passed to inner calls.- For an inner call with no files read yet,
dedupUnchangedReadsis turned off, so it no longer gets a short "unchanged" answer for a file it never saw.
Why
This changes when nested CLAUDE.md files are brought back into the conversation after compaction or inside subagents. If Claude seems to miss or repeat instructions from a subfolder's CLAUDE.md after a long session, this is the area that changed.
Something disagreesSomething we can check disagrees with this entry, or the writer said they could not settle it.
The writer flagged doubt
Whether the reset of how memory files are chosen brings those files back into the conversation anyway is not settled.