Spectra archive

Archive a completed change.

Input: Optionally specify a change name after $spectra-archive (e.g., $spectra-archive add-auth). If omitted, check if it can be inferred from conversation context. If vague or ambiguous you MUST prompt for available changes.

Prerequisites: This skill requires the spectra CLI. If any spectra command fails with "command not found" or similar, report the error and STOP.

Steps

1. If no change name provided, prompt for selection

   Run spectra list --json to get available changes. Use the AskUserQuestion tool to let the user select.

   Show only active changes (not already archived). Include the schema used for each change if available.

   IMPORTANT: Do NOT guess or auto-select a change. Always let the user choose.

2. Check artifact completion status

   Run spectra status --change "<name>" --json to check artifact completion.

   Parse the JSON to understand:

   • schemaName: The workflow being used
   • artifacts: List of artifacts with their status (done or other)

   If any artifacts are not done:

   • Display warning listing incomplete artifacts
   • Prompt user for confirmation to continue
   • Proceed if user confirms

3. Check task completion status

   Read the tasks file (typically tasks.md) to check for incomplete tasks.

   Count tasks marked with - [ ] (incomplete) vs - [x] (complete).

   If incomplete tasks found:

   • Display warning showing count of incomplete tasks
   • Prompt user for confirmation to continue
   • Proceed if user confirms

   If no tasks file exists: Proceed without task-related warning.

4. Assess delta spec sync state

   Check for delta specs at openspec/changes/<name>/specs/. If none exist, proceed without sync prompt.

   If delta specs exist:

   • Compare each delta spec with its corresponding main spec at openspec/specs/<capability>/spec.md
   • Determine what changes would be applied (adds, modifications, removals, renames)
   • Show a combined summary before prompting

   Prompt options:

   • If changes needed: "Sync now (recommended)", "Archive without syncing"
   • If already synced: "Archive now", "Sync anyway", "Cancel"

   If user chooses sync, use Task tool (subagent_type: "general-purpose", prompt: "Use Skill tool to invoke spectra-sync-specs for change '<name>'. Delta spec analysis: <include the analyzed delta spec summary>"). Proceed to archive regardless of choice.

5. Clean up tracking file

   Delete .spectra/touched/<change-name>.json if it exists. This file contains implementation tracking data that is not needed after archiving.

   rm -f .spectra/touched/<change-name>.json
   

   If the file does not exist, silently continue.

6. Perform the archive

   Use the spectra archive CLI command which handles the full archive workflow (spec snapshot, delta application, @trace injection, identity recording, vector indexing):

   spectra archive <name>
   

   Optional flags:

   • --skip-specs — skip delta spec application (for tooling/doc-only changes)
   • --mark-tasks-complete — mark all incomplete tasks as complete before archiving
   • --no-validate — skip delta spec validation

   If archive fails with "already exists" error, suggest renaming existing archive.

7. Display summary

   Show archive completion summary including:

   • Change name
   • Schema that was used
   • Archive location
   • Spec sync status (synced / sync skipped / no delta specs)
   • Note about any warnings (incomplete artifacts/tasks)

Output On Success

## Archive Complete

**Change:** <change-name>
**Schema:** <schema-name>
**Archived to:** openspec/changes/archive/YYYY-MM-DD-<name>/
**Specs:** ✓ Synced to main specs

All artifacts complete. All tasks complete.

Output On Success (No Delta Specs)

## Archive Complete

**Change:** <change-name>
**Schema:** <schema-name>
**Archived to:** openspec/changes/archive/YYYY-MM-DD-<name>/
**Specs:** No delta specs

All artifacts complete. All tasks complete.

Output On Success With Warnings

## Archive Complete (with warnings)

**Change:** <change-name>
**Schema:** <schema-name>
**Archived to:** openspec/changes/archive/YYYY-MM-DD-<name>/
**Specs:** Sync skipped (user chose to skip)

**Warnings:**
- Archived with 2 incomplete artifacts
- Archived with 3 incomplete tasks
- Delta spec sync was skipped (user chose to skip)

Review the archive if this was not intentional.

Output On Error (Archive Exists)

## Archive Failed

**Change:** <change-name>
**Target:** openspec/changes/archive/YYYY-MM-DD-<name>/

Target archive directory already exists.

**Options:**
1. Rename the existing archive
2. Delete the existing archive if it's a duplicate
3. Wait until a different date to archive

Guardrails

• Always prompt for change selection if not provided
• Use artifact graph (spectra status --json) for completion checking
• Don't block archive on warnings - just inform and confirm
• Preserve .openspec.yaml when moving to archive (it moves with the directory)
• Show clear summary of what happened
• If sync is requested, use the Skill tool to invoke spectra-sync-specs (agent-driven)
• If delta specs exist, always run the sync assessment and show the combined summary before prompting
• If AskUserQuestion tool is not available, ask the same questions as plain text and wait for the user's response