diff --git a/mem0-plugin/hooks/cursor-hooks.json b/mem0-plugin/hooks/cursor-hooks.json
index 442d3718e..124148bea 100644
--- a/mem0-plugin/hooks/cursor-hooks.json
+++ b/mem0-plugin/hooks/cursor-hooks.json
@@ -15,10 +15,6 @@
     "preCompact": [
       {
         "command": "${CURSOR_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/on_pre_compact.sh"
-      },
-      {
-        "command": "python3 ${CURSOR_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/on_pre_compact.py",
-        "timeout": 30
       }
     ],
     "stop": [
diff --git a/mem0-plugin/hooks/hooks.json b/mem0-plugin/hooks/hooks.json
index 897a978d9..2c98eb9d3 100644
--- a/mem0-plugin/hooks/hooks.json
+++ b/mem0-plugin/hooks/hooks.json
@@ -30,12 +30,6 @@
             "type": "command",
             "command": "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/on_pre_compact.sh",
             "statusMessage": "Preparing pre-compaction summary..."
-          },
-          {
-            "type": "command",
-            "command": "python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/on_pre_compact.py",
-            "statusMessage": "Saving session state to mem0...",
-            "timeout": 30
           }
         ]
       }
diff --git a/mem0-plugin/scripts/block_memory_write.sh b/mem0-plugin/scripts/block_memory_write.sh
index 0cf6dbc84..bb38686d6 100755
--- a/mem0-plugin/scripts/block_memory_write.sh
+++ b/mem0-plugin/scripts/block_memory_write.sh
@@ -13,6 +13,10 @@
 
 set -euo pipefail
 
+if [ -n "${MEM0_DEBUG:-}" ]; then
+  mkdir -p "$HOME/.mem0" && exec 2>>"$HOME/.mem0/hooks.log"
+fi
+
 INPUT=$(cat)
 
 FILE_PATH=$(echo "$INPUT" | jq -r '.tool_input.file_path // .tool_input.path // ""' 2>/dev/null || echo "")
@@ -22,7 +26,7 @@ if [ -z "$FILE_PATH" ]; then
 fi
 
 case "$FILE_PATH" in
-  */MEMORY.md|*/memory/*.md|*/.claude/*/memory/*)
+  */MEMORY.md|*/.claude/memory/*)
     echo "BLOCKED: Do not write to $FILE_PATH. Use the mem0 MCP \`add_memory\` tool instead to persist memories. This project uses mem0 for all memory storage." >&2
     exit 2
     ;;
diff --git a/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_pre_compact.py b/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_pre_compact.py
index fb59e8d5c..8bc34c261 100755
--- a/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_pre_compact.py
+++ b/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_pre_compact.py
@@ -27,6 +27,16 @@ _handler = logging.StreamHandler(sys.stderr)
 _handler.setFormatter(logging.Formatter("[mem0-capture] %(message)s"))
 log.addHandler(_handler)
 
+if os.environ.get("MEM0_DEBUG"):
+    _log_dir = os.path.expanduser("~/.mem0")
+    try:
+        os.makedirs(_log_dir, exist_ok=True)
+        _file_handler = logging.FileHandler(os.path.join(_log_dir, "hooks.log"))
+        _file_handler.setFormatter(logging.Formatter("[mem0-capture] %(asctime)s %(message)s"))
+        log.addHandler(_file_handler)
+    except OSError:
+        pass
+
 API_URL = "https://api.mem0.ai"
 MAX_TAIL_LINES = 500
 MAX_USER_MESSAGES = 30
@@ -149,7 +159,7 @@ def build_content(state: dict, source: str) -> str:
     return "\n".join(parts)
 
 
-def store_memory(api_key: str, content: str, user_id: str, source: str) -> bool:
+def store_memory(api_key: str, content: str, user_id: str, source: str, session_id: str = "") -> bool:
     """Store session state as a memory via the Mem0 REST API."""
     body = {
         "messages": [
@@ -159,6 +169,7 @@ def store_memory(api_key: str, content: str, user_id: str, source: str) -> bool:
         "metadata": {
             "type": "session_state",
             "source": source,
+            "session_id": session_id,
         },
     }
 
@@ -207,6 +218,7 @@ def main():
         log.debug("No transcript_path provided")
         return
 
+    session_id = hook_input.get("session_id", "")
     user_id = os.environ.get("MEM0_USER_ID", os.environ.get("USER", "default"))
 
     lines = tail_lines(transcript_path, MAX_TAIL_LINES)
@@ -228,7 +240,7 @@ def main():
         len(state["bash_commands"]),
     )
 
-    store_memory(api_key, content, user_id, source)
+    store_memory(api_key, content, user_id, source, session_id)
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
diff --git a/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_pre_compact.sh b/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_pre_compact.sh
index 0cd1dead2..3f96620b9 100755
--- a/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_pre_compact.sh
+++ b/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_pre_compact.sh
@@ -11,6 +11,10 @@
 
 set -euo pipefail
 
+if [ -n "${MEM0_DEBUG:-}" ]; then
+  mkdir -p "$HOME/.mem0" && exec 2>>"$HOME/.mem0/hooks.log"
+fi
+
 cat <<'EOF'
 ## CRITICAL: Pre-Compaction Session Summary
 
diff --git a/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_session_start.sh b/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_session_start.sh
index 353a17130..bb832f10f 100755
--- a/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_session_start.sh
+++ b/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_session_start.sh
@@ -11,6 +11,16 @@
 # even if jq is missing or stdin is malformed.
 set -uo pipefail
 
+if [ -n "${MEM0_DEBUG:-}" ]; then
+  mkdir -p "$HOME/.mem0" && exec 2>>"$HOME/.mem0/hooks.log"
+fi
+
+# Skip the bootstrap entirely if no API key is configured -- the agent
+# would otherwise be told to call mem0 MCP tools that will all fail.
+if [ -z "${MEM0_API_KEY:-}" ]; then
+  exit 0
+fi
+
 INPUT=$(cat)
 SOURCE=$(echo "$INPUT" | jq -r '.source // "startup"' 2>/dev/null || echo "startup")
 
diff --git a/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_stop.sh b/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_stop.sh
index 5dd088f69..848ab9906 100755
--- a/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_stop.sh
+++ b/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_stop.sh
@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@
 
 set -euo pipefail
 
+if [ -n "${MEM0_DEBUG:-}" ]; then
+  mkdir -p "$HOME/.mem0" && exec 2>>"$HOME/.mem0/hooks.log"
+fi
+
 SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
 
 INPUT=$(cat)
diff --git a/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_stop_codex.sh b/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_stop_codex.sh
index 80c16d311..de80b0fed 100755
--- a/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_stop_codex.sh
+++ b/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_stop_codex.sh
@@ -17,6 +17,10 @@
 
 set -uo pipefail
 
+if [ -n "${MEM0_DEBUG:-}" ]; then
+  mkdir -p "$HOME/.mem0" && exec 2>>"$HOME/.mem0/hooks.log"
+fi
+
 INPUT=$(cat)
 STOP_HOOK_ACTIVE=$(echo "$INPUT" | jq -r '.stop_hook_active // false' 2>/dev/null || echo "false")
 
diff --git a/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_task_completed.sh b/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_task_completed.sh
index befc1b34a..57a568027 100755
--- a/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_task_completed.sh
+++ b/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_task_completed.sh
@@ -9,6 +9,10 @@
 
 set -euo pipefail
 
+if [ -n "${MEM0_DEBUG:-}" ]; then
+  mkdir -p "$HOME/.mem0" && exec 2>>"$HOME/.mem0/hooks.log"
+fi
+
 INPUT=$(cat)
 TASK_SUBJECT=$(echo "$INPUT" | jq -r '.task_subject // "unknown task"' 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown task")
 
diff --git a/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_user_prompt.sh b/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_user_prompt.sh
index 70f8eaa44..5555cacfe 100755
--- a/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_user_prompt.sh
+++ b/mem0-plugin/scripts/on_user_prompt.sh
@@ -13,6 +13,10 @@
 # must never block the user's prompt.
 set -uo pipefail
 
+if [ -n "${MEM0_DEBUG:-}" ]; then
+  mkdir -p "$HOME/.mem0" && exec 2>>"$HOME/.mem0/hooks.log"
+fi
+
 INPUT=$(cat)
 PROMPT=$(echo "$INPUT" | jq -r '.prompt // ""' 2>/dev/null || echo "")
 
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index c5bf151c4..603fbde60 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -154,3 +154,4 @@ known-first-party = ["mem0", "mem0_cli"]
 profile = "black"
 known_first_party = ["mem0", "mem0_cli"]
 # isort scope kept aligned with [tool.ruff.lint.isort] above.
+# black-equivalent profile here matches the formatter behaviour ruff applies.