Each action produces a range of effects, and the degree to which an effect is compatible with the action that caused it may affect the strength of the memory link between the two. Two experiments explored this role of action-effect compatibility in the formation of action-effect bindings and the retrieval of actions when their effects are encountered again. Participants performed a sequential prime-probe task. In the prime trials, they freely chose a keypress that triggered a spatially (in)compatible box movement, followed by the presentation of a word. In the subsequent probe trials, participants executed another free-choice action upon seeing either the same word or a different one. Overall, when the prime word was repeated in the probe, participants were more likely to repeat the same action, indicating that actions were retrieved through the presentation of the effects. Crucially, this influence was stronger following compatible prime episodes than incompatible ones. It is possible that compatible effects were more tightly bound to their corresponding actions, resulting in higher rates of action retrieval when the same effects were encountered again. However, this influence of action-effect compatibility did not extend to declarative memory for the identities of the effects. These findings suggest that, in short-term contexts, action-effect compatibility plays a key role in the binding and retrieval of actions.