Git as Memory
Agents need durable state more than they need more prompts.
From first principles, intelligence without memory is just improvisation.
That’s the hidden failure mode in most “AI workflows”: every day becomes a re-planning day. The model may be brilliant, but without durable state it re-decides your business, your roadmap, and your messaging from scratch.
Git is the simplest antidote.
Why memory beats cleverness
In the real world, progress comes from compounding:
- you keep what worked
- you discard what didn’t
- you don’t re-litigate settled decisions
For agents, “memory” needs two properties:
- durable: survives sessions, sandboxes, and model changes
- auditable: humans can review and revert it
That’s exactly what a repository gives you.
What “memory” looks like in practice
When we say “Git as memory,” we’re not romanticizing version control. We mean:
- A persistent record of outreach scripts that converted (and those that didn’t)
- A structured pipeline file that shows who’s in what stage
- A daily log that captures decisions, results, and next steps
- A canonical “positioning” file that prevents message drift
- An experiment log that turns guesses into learning
This is not “documentation.” This is operational state.
The agent’s job is to update state, not just output text
If the agent outputs only in chat, it dies in the scroll. If the agent writes to files, it creates an operating system.
A good agent task doesn’t just answer. It:
- updates the pipeline
- appends the experiment log
- writes today’s send list
- produces a publish-ready asset
- records what changed and why
That’s how you make the agent compound instead of improvise.
Proof is part of memory
For product work, “memory” includes verification:
- which checks ran
- what passed
- what failed and why
This is why proof loops matter. The artifact isn’t just code; it’s code plus evidence. Evidence is what lets a business move fast without trusting vibes.
The CEO shift: run the business like a repo
Most founders think of Git as “for engineers.” In an agent-first world, Git becomes the CEO’s ledger:
- decisions
- experiments
- assets
- outcomes
You don’t need a new SaaS for every function. You need one place where the business state is legible, editable, and durable.
That’s what Git is: memory with rollback.