CHAPTER 02

The 5 Hidden Background Systems

Every time you talk to Claude Code, five invisible agents run alongside your conversation. They extract memories, consolidate knowledge, predict your next move, and answer side questions — all without you noticing. This chapter reveals exactly how they work, with the actual prompts from the source code.

The Hidden Systems

Claude Code forks sub-agents that run alongside the main conversation. They handle memory, predictions, and side-tasks without you ever seeing them. Together they add only ~7% to your costs while making the experience dramatically better.

System 1 of 50% explored
Memory Extraction
Active
Conversation
"I'm a senior backend engineer"
"Don't mock the database in tests"
"Use Zustand, not Redux"
extract
Memories
user.md
feedback.md
project.md

After every response you send, an invisible background agent reads the conversation and saves important facts about you into markdown files. It learns your role, your preferences, what corrections you made, and what projects you are working on. These memories persist across sessions — so next time you talk to Claude Code, it already knows who you are.

Pulls facts from every conversation turn into memory files

Session Memory
Auto-Dream
Speculative Execution
Side Questions (/btw)