What is Memory?

The CAMEL Memory module gives your AI agents a flexible, persistent way to store, retrieve, and manage information, across any conversation or task.With memory, agents can maintain context, recall key details from previous chats, and deliver much more coherent, context-aware responses.Memory is what transforms a “chatbot” into a smart, adaptable assistant.

Basic Usage: LongtermAgentMemory

This is the fastest way to enable true memory for your agents: store, retrieve, and leverage context across interactions.
from camel.memories import (
    ChatHistoryBlock,
    LongtermAgentMemory,
    MemoryRecord,
    ScoreBasedContextCreator,
    VectorDBBlock,
)
from camel.messages import BaseMessage
from camel.types import ModelType, OpenAIBackendRole
from camel.utils import OpenAITokenCounter

# Initialize the memory
memory = LongtermAgentMemory(
    context_creator=ScoreBasedContextCreator(
        token_counter=OpenAITokenCounter(ModelType.GPT_4O_MINI),
        token_limit=1024,
    ),
    chat_history_block=ChatHistoryBlock(),
    vector_db_block=VectorDBBlock(),
)

# Create and write new records
records = [
    MemoryRecord(
        message=BaseMessage.make_user_message(
            role_name="User",
            meta_dict=None,
            content="What is CAMEL AI?",
        ),
        role_at_backend=OpenAIBackendRole.USER,
    ),
    MemoryRecord(
        message=BaseMessage.make_assistant_message(
            role_name="Agent",
            meta_dict=None,
            content="CAMEL-AI.org is the 1st LLM multi-agent framework and "
                    "an open-source community dedicated to finding the scaling law "
                    "of agents.",
        ),
        role_at_backend=OpenAIBackendRole.ASSISTANT,
    ),
]
memory.write_records(records)

# Get context for the agent
context, token_count = memory.get_context()

print(context)
print(f"Retrieved context (token count: {token_count}):")
for message in context:
    print(f"{message}")

Integrate Memory into a ChatAgent

Assign memory to any agent and watch your AI recall and reason like a pro.
from camel.agents import ChatAgent

# Define system message for the agent
sys_msg = BaseMessage.make_assistant_message(
    role_name='Agent',
    content='You are a curious agent wondering about the universe.',
)

# Initialize agent
agent = ChatAgent(system_message=sys_msg)

# Set memory to the agent
agent.memory = memory

# Define a user message
usr_msg = BaseMessage.make_user_message(
    role_name='User',
    content="Tell me which is the 1st LLM multi-agent framework based on what we have discussed",
)

# Sending the message to the agent
response = agent.step(usr_msg)

# Check the response (just for illustrative purpose)
print(response.msgs[0].content)

Core Components of CAMEL Memory

What it is:
The basic data unit in CAMEL’s memory system—everything stored/retrieved flows through this structure.Attributes:
  • message: The content, as a BaseMessage
  • role_at_backend: Backend role (OpenAIBackendRole)
  • uuid: Unique identifier for the record
  • extra_info: Optional metadata (key-value pairs)
Key methods:
  • from_dict(): Build from a Python dict
  • to_dict(): Convert to dict for saving/serialization
  • to_openai_message(): Transform into an OpenAI message object
What it is:
Result of memory retrieval from AgentMemory, scored for context relevance.Attributes:
  • memory_record: The original MemoryRecord
  • score: How important/relevant this record is (float)
What it is:
The core “building block” for agent memory, following the Composite design pattern (supports tree structures).Key methods:
  • write_records(): Store multiple records
  • write_record(): Store a single record
  • clear(): Remove all stored records
What it is:
Defines strategies for generating agent context when data exceeds model limits.Key methods/properties:
  • token_counter: Counts message tokens
  • token_limit: Max allowed tokens in the context
  • create_context(): Algorithm for building context from chat history
What it is:
Specialized MemoryBlock for direct agent use.Key methods:
  • retrieve(): Get ContextRecord list
  • get_context_creator(): Return the associated context creator
  • get_context(): Return properly sized chat context

Memory Block Implementations

What it does:
Stores and retrieves recent chat history (like a conversation timeline).Initialization:
  • storage: Optional (default InMemoryKeyValueStorage)
  • keep_rate: Historical message score weighting (default 0.9)
Methods:
  • retrieve(): Get recent chats (windowed)
  • write_records(): Add new records
  • clear(): Remove all chat history
Use Case:
Best for maintaining the most recent conversation flow/context.
What it does:
Uses vector embeddings for storing and retrieving information based on semantic similarity.Initialization:
  • storage: Optional vector DB (QdrantStorage by default)
  • embedding: Embedding model (default: OpenAIEmbedding)
Methods:
  • retrieve(): Get similar records based on query/keyword
  • write_records(): Add new records (converted to vectors)
  • clear(): Remove all vector records
Use Case:
Ideal for large histories or when semantic search is needed.
​
Difference
string
Key Differences:
  • Storage: ChatHistoryBlock uses key-value storage. VectorDBBlock uses vector DBs.
  • Retrieval: ChatHistoryBlock retrieves by recency. VectorDBBlock retrieves by similarity.
  • Data: ChatHistoryBlock stores raw messages. VectorDBBlock stores embeddings.

Agent Memory Implementations & Advanced Usage

ChatHistoryMemory

What is it?
An AgentMemory implementation that wraps ChatHistoryBlock.
Best for: Sequential, recent chat context (simple conversation memory).Initialization:
  • context_creator: BaseContextCreator
  • storage: Optional BaseKeyValueStorage
  • window_size: Optional int (retrieval window)
Methods:
  • retrieve(): Get recent chat messages
  • write_records(): Write new records to chat history
  • get_context_creator(): Get the context creator
  • clear(): Remove all chat messages

VectorDBMemory

What is it?
An AgentMemory implementation that wraps VectorDBBlock.
Best for: Semantic search—find relevant messages by meaning, not just recency.Initialization:
  • context_creator: BaseContextCreator
  • storage: Optional BaseVectorStorage
  • retrieve_limit: int (default 3)
Methods:
  • retrieve(): Get relevant messages from the vector DB
  • write_records(): Write new records and update topic
  • get_context_creator(): Get the context creator

LongtermAgentMemory

What is it?
Combines ChatHistoryMemory and VectorDBMemory for hybrid memory.
Best for: Production bots that need both recency & semantic search.Initialization:
  • context_creator: BaseContextCreator
  • chat_history_block: Optional ChatHistoryBlock
  • vector_db_block: Optional VectorDBBlock
  • retrieve_limit: int (default 3)
Methods:
  • retrieve(): Get context from both history & vector DB
  • write_records(): Write to both chat history & vector DB
  • get_context_creator(): Get the context creator
  • clear(): Remove all records from both memory blocks

Mem0Storage Integration

Add Mem0 for cloud-based memory with automatic sync.Initialization Params:
  • api_key: (optional) Mem0 API authentication
  • agent_id: (optional) Agent association
  • user_id: (optional) User association
  • metadata: (optional) Dict of metadata for all memories
from camel.memories import ChatHistoryMemory, ScoreBasedContextCreator
from camel.storages import Mem0Storage
from camel.types import ModelType
from camel.utils import OpenAITokenCounter

memory = ChatHistoryMemory(
    context_creator=ScoreBasedContextCreator(
        token_counter=OpenAITokenCounter(ModelType.GPT_4O_MINI),
        token_limit=1024,
    ),
    storage=Mem0Storage(
        api_key="your_mem0_api_key",  # Or set MEM0_API_KEY env var
        agent_id="agent123"
    ),
    agent_id="agent123"
)
# ...write and retrieve as usual...
Why use this?
  • Cloud persistence of chat history
  • Simple setup and config
  • Sequential retrieval—conversation order preserved
  • Syncs across sessions automatically
Use when: you need reliable, persistent chat history in the cloud (not advanced semantic search).

Advanced Topics

Customizing Context Creator

You can subclass BaseContextCreator for advanced control.
from camel.memories import BaseContextCreator

class MyCustomContextCreator(BaseContextCreator):
    @property
    def token_counter(self):
        # Implement your token counting logic
        return 

    @property
    def token_limit(self):
        return 1000

    def create_context(self, records):
        # Implement your context creation logic
        pass

Customizing VectorDBBlock

You can use custom embeddings or vector DBs.
from camel.embeddings import OpenAIEmbedding
from camel.memories import VectorDBBlock
from camel.storages import QdrantStorage

vector_db = VectorDBBlock(
    embedding=OpenAIEmbedding(),
    storage=QdrantStorage(vector_dim=OpenAIEmbedding().get_output_dim()),
)

Performance Considerations

  • For production, use persistent storage (not just in-memory).
  • Optimize your context creator for both relevance and token count.