Degradation Modes - MemoryOS

MemoryOS exposes its current operating mode on every response so your app keeps running regardless of what’s happening with memory.

Modes

Mode	Meaning
`FULL`	Normal — reads and writes work as expected
`PASSTHROUGH`	Memory context should be skipped — continue the LLM call without it
`DEGRADED_RETRIEVE`	Retrieval is reduced — fewer or zero memories may return
`BLOCKED`	Writes are blocked by quota governance

Response headers

Header	Meaning
`X-MemoryOS-Quota-Mode`	Current mode
`X-MemoryOS-Budget-Remaining`	Remaining budget as a percentage
`X-MemoryOS-Quota-Reset`	Next reset timestamp
`X-MemoryOS-Circuit-Status`	Overall dependency health
`X-MemoryOS-Processing`	`normal` or `delayed`

Handling passthrough

result = client.get(
    query=user_message,
    external_user_id="customer-123",
)

prompt_addition = "" if result.is_passthrough else result.system_prompt_addition

The rule is simple: always make the LLM call. Only skip MemoryOS context when passthrough is active.

Webhooks

Operational events include quota.warning, quota.critical, quota.exhausted, quota.reset, mode.changed, processing.delayed, and processing.recovered. See Webhooks for payload format and signature verification.