Feature Parity: Claude-Mem Hooks vs Cursor Hooks

This document compares claude-mem's Claude Code hooks with the Cursor hooks implementation to ensure feature parity.

Hook Mapping

Claude Code Hook	Cursor Hook	Status	Notes
SessionStart → context-hook.js	beforeSubmitPrompt → context-inject.sh	✅ Partial	Context fetched but not injectable in Cursor
SessionStart → user-message-hook.js	(Optional) user-message.sh	⚠️ Optional	No SessionStart equivalent; can run on beforeSubmitPrompt
UserPromptSubmit → new-hook.js	beforeSubmitPrompt → session-init.sh	✅ Complete	Session init, privacy checks, slash stripping
PostToolUse → save-hook.js	afterMCPExecution + afterShellExecution → save-observation.sh	✅ Complete	Tool observation capture
PostToolUse → (file edits)	afterFileEdit → save-file-edit.sh	✅ Complete	File edit observation capture
Stop → summary-hook.js	stop → session-summary.sh	⚠️ Partial	Summary generation (no transcript access)

Feature Comparison

1. Session Initialization (new-hook.js ↔ session-init.sh)

Feature	Claude Code	Cursor	Status
Worker health check	✅ 75 retries (15s)	✅ 75 retries (15s)	✅ Match
Session init API call	✅ /api/sessions/init	✅ /api/sessions/init	✅ Match
Privacy check handling	✅ Checks skipped + reason	✅ Checks skipped + reason	✅ Match
Slash stripping	✅ Strips leading /	✅ Strips leading /	✅ Match
SDK agent init	✅ /sessions/{id}/init	❌ Not needed	✅ N/A (Cursor-specific)

Status: ✅ Complete parity (SDK agent init not applicable to Cursor)

2. Context Injection (context-hook.js ↔ context-inject.sh)

Feature	Claude Code	Cursor	Status
Worker health check	✅ 75 retries	✅ 75 retries	✅ Match
Context fetch	✅ /api/context/inject	✅ /api/context/inject	✅ Match
Output format	✅ JSON with hookSpecificOutput	✅ Write to .cursor/rules/ file	✅ Alternative
Project name extraction	✅ getProjectName(cwd)	✅ basename(workspace_root)	✅ Match
Auto-refresh	✅ Each session start	✅ Each prompt submission	✅ Enhanced

Status: ✅ Complete parity via auto-updated rules file

How it works:

• Hook writes context to .cursor/rules/claude-mem-context.mdc
• File has alwaysApply: true frontmatter
• Cursor auto-includes this rule in all chat sessions
• Context refreshes on every prompt submission

3. User Message Display (user-message-hook.js ↔ user-message.sh)

Feature	Claude Code	Cursor	Status
Context fetch with colors	✅ /api/context/inject?colors=true	✅ /api/context/inject?colors=true	✅ Match
Output channel	✅ stderr	✅ stderr	✅ Match
Display format	✅ Formatted with emojis	✅ Formatted with emojis	✅ Match
Hook trigger	✅ SessionStart	⚠️ Optional (no SessionStart)	⚠️ Cursor limitation

Status: ⚠️ Optional (no SessionStart equivalent in Cursor)

Note: Can be added to beforeSubmitPrompt if desired, but may be verbose.

4. Observation Capture (save-hook.js ↔ save-observation.sh)

Feature	Claude Code	Cursor	Status
Worker health check	✅ 75 retries	✅ 75 retries	✅ Match
Tool name extraction	✅ From tool_name	✅ From tool_name or "Bash"	✅ Match
Tool input capture	✅ Full JSON	✅ Full JSON	✅ Match
Tool response capture	✅ Full JSON	✅ Full JSON or output	✅ Match
Privacy tag stripping	✅ Worker handles	✅ Worker handles	✅ Match
Error handling	✅ Fire-and-forget	✅ Fire-and-forget	✅ Match
Shell command mapping	✅ N/A (separate hook)	✅ Maps to "Bash" tool	✅ Enhanced

Status: ✅ Complete parity (enhanced with shell command support)

5. File Edit Capture (N/A ↔ save-file-edit.sh)

Feature	Claude Code	Cursor	Status
File path extraction	N/A	✅ From file_path	✅ New
Edit details	N/A	✅ From edits array	✅ New
Tool name	N/A	✅ "write_file"	✅ New
Edit summary	N/A	✅ Generated from edits	✅ New

Status: ✅ New feature (Cursor-specific, not in Claude Code)

6. Session Summary (summary-hook.js ↔ session-summary.sh)

Feature	Claude Code	Cursor	Status
Worker health check	✅ 75 retries	✅ 75 retries	✅ Match
Transcript parsing	✅ Extracts last messages	❌ No transcript access	⚠️ Cursor limitation
Summary API call	✅ /api/sessions/summarize	✅ /api/sessions/summarize	✅ Match
Last message extraction	✅ From transcript	❌ Empty strings	⚠️ Cursor limitation
Error handling	✅ Fire-and-forget	✅ Fire-and-forget	✅ Match

Status: ⚠️ Partial parity (no transcript access in Cursor)

Note: Summary generation still works but may be less accurate without last messages. Worker generates summary from observations stored during session.

Implementation Details

Worker Health Checks

• Claude Code: 75 retries × 200ms = 15 seconds
• Cursor: 75 retries × 200ms = 15 seconds
• Status: ✅ Match

Error Handling

• Claude Code: Fire-and-forget with logging
• Cursor: Fire-and-forget with graceful exit (exit 0)
• Status: ✅ Match (adapted for Cursor's hook system)

Privacy Handling

• Claude Code: Worker performs privacy checks, hooks respect skipped flag
• Cursor: Worker performs privacy checks, hooks respect skipped flag
• Status: ✅ Match

Tag Stripping

• Claude Code: Worker handles <private> and <claude-mem-context> tags
• Cursor: Worker handles tags (hooks don't need to strip)
• Status: ✅ Match

Missing Features (Cursor Limitations)

1. Direct Context Injection: SOLVED via auto-updated rules file

   • Hook writes context to .cursor/rules/claude-mem-context.mdc
   • Cursor auto-includes rules with alwaysApply: true
   • Context refreshes on every prompt

2. Transcript Access: Cursor hooks don't provide transcript paths

   • Impact: Summary generation less accurate
   • Workaround: Worker generates from observations

3. SessionStart Hook: Cursor doesn't have session start event

   • Impact: User message display must be optional
   • Workaround: Can run on beforeSubmitPrompt if desired

4. SDK Agent Session: Cursor doesn't use SDK agent pattern

   • Impact: No /sessions/{id}/init call needed
   • Status: ✅ Not applicable (Cursor-specific)

Enhancements (Cursor-Specific)

1. Shell Command Capture: Maps shell commands to "Bash" tool observations

   • Status: ✅ Enhanced beyond Claude Code

2. File Edit Capture: Dedicated hook for file edits

   • Status: ✅ New feature

3. MCP Tool Capture: Captures MCP tool usage separately

   • Status: ✅ Enhanced beyond Claude Code

Summary

Category	Status
Core Functionality	✅ Complete parity
Session Management	✅ Complete parity
Observation Capture	✅ Complete parity (enhanced)
Context Injection	✅ Complete parity (via rules file)
Summary Generation	⚠️ Partial (no transcript)
User Experience	⚠️ Partial (no SessionStart)

Overall: The Cursor hooks implementation achieves full functional parity with claude-mem's Claude Code hooks:

• ✅ Session initialization
• ✅ Context injection (via auto-updated .cursor/rules/ file)
• ✅ Observation capture (MCP tools, shell commands, file edits)
• ⚠️ Summary generation (works, but no transcript access)