box recall

box-recall

Find memories by ID, wikilink, slug, structured filter, or free text. Multi-strategy lookup that bypasses Box's 10-min search indexing lag by reading per-folder _index.json files.

Usage

/box-recall <query> [--kind=<kind>] [--tag=<tag>] [--team=<team>] [--limit=<n>] [--include-superseded]

Examples:

• /box-recall auth strategy — free text
• /box-recall [[Login Flow]] — wikilink lookup
• /box-recall --kind=decision --tag=security — structured filter
• /box-recall --id=mem_01HXYZ... — exact memory ID
• /box-recall what's pending --kind=task --status=draft — pending tasks

Multi-strategy ranking

Path	Cost	When
Direct ID fetch	Instant	Query is a mem_<ulid> or Box file ID
Wikilink / slug lookup	Instant	Query matches a known title or slug
Structured filter (inverted maps)	Instant	--kind, --tag, --team, --status set
Metadata Query (Business+)	Fast	Business+ tier + complex predicate
Free-text title/slug/tag match	Fast	Free-text query, scan index entries[]
Body content fallback	Slow	<50 memories total + nothing else matched
Last resort: Box Search	Stale-result risk (10 min lag)	Everything else failed

Business+ metadata query path

Uses search_files_keyword with query: "the" (pseudo-wildcard required by Box) plus mdfilters for the actual filter. Does NOT use search_files_metadata — that MCP tool returns empty results in current versions (see Operational Notes Note 1).

AI fallback (opt-in)

When local lookup returns 0-2 results for a free-text query AND settings.ai_recall_enabled: true AND tier is Business+, the skill suggests box-ai-recall as a fallback. Doesn't auto-call AI — explicit opt-in to control cost.

Excluding superseded

By default, status: superseded and archived are hidden. Include via --include-superseded or when user asks "history" / "what was the previous decision".

Stale-index detection

If folder's modified_at from Box is newer than _index.json.updated_at, the skill warns "index may be stale; run /box-index-rebuild". Still returns existing results.

When NOT to use

• Need semantic / fuzzy match → use box-ai-recall (Business+, costs AI Units)
• Need to read the file in detail → fetch by ID directly

See also

• Schema — index structure (by_id, by_slug, by_wikilink, by_kind, by_tag, by_status, by_companion_for)
• box-ai-recall — semantic Q&A
• box-index-rebuild — if recall returns stale data
• Operational Notes — quirks 1, 4, 5 are relevant to recall
• Source: skills/box-recall/SKILL.md