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Deja Vu Compared

Deja Vu is not trying to store more. Deja Vu is trying to recall less, better.

Approach Setup cost Token cost Privacy Portability Works across agents Human readable Git-friendly Risk of memory noise Best use case
Deja Vu Copy three files, optional CLI Low: cue scan first, summary only when needed Repo-local; user controls files High: Markdown and JSONL High for agents that read files and follow instructions High High Medium-low if cues stay sparse Project memory for AI coding work
Vector DB memory Database, embeddings, indexing, retrieval code Medium: retrieval can overfetch Depends on hosting and data flow Medium-low: tied to stack choices Medium: usually app/framework specific Low-medium Low Medium-high if chunks are noisy Large semantic retrieval over many documents
Hosted memory service Account, API key, SDK, integration Medium: service decides retrieved context Depends on vendor Low-medium: vendor-specific Medium: usually API/client specific Low Low Medium: hidden memory can drift Production user or agent memory with managed infra
Screen/context capture memory Desktop/app permissions and capture pipeline High: captured context can be broad Sensitive by default Low: tool-specific Low-medium Low Low High: captures too much Recovering UI/session state
Agent runtime framework Framework install, app architecture, tools Medium-high Depends on framework and storage Medium-low Low-medium: runtime-specific Low-medium Medium Medium Building full agent applications
Simple project notes Create a notes file Medium: humans or agents may load too much Repo-local High High High High Medium-high: no recall discipline Small teams needing informal project notes
Full chat transcript archive Export or save chats Very high if loaded Risky: often contains sensitive data Medium Medium Medium Medium-low Very high Audit trail, not active recall

Core Distinction

Most memory systems start with storage:

capture more -> index more -> retrieve more

Deja Vu starts with recognition:

task cue -> tiny scan -> minimal recall -> durable writeback

The base product is intentionally small:

  • one repo memory
  • any capable coding agent
  • three files first
  • no database
  • no vector store
  • no embeddings
  • no SaaS
  • no daemon
  • no required npm install

Use Deja Vu when the problem is not "search my entire knowledge base." Use it when the problem is "stop making me re-explain why this repo works the way it does."