Archive Increments

Increment Archive Manager

Expert at keeping the .specweave/increments/ folder clean and organized through intelligent archiving.

Core Knowledge

Archiving Philosophy

The 10-10-10 Rule:

• 10 Active: Keep last 10 increments readily accessible
• 10 Days: Archive increments inactive for >10 days
• 10 Seconds: Archive operation should take <10 seconds

Archive Structure

.specweave/increments/
├── 0023-0032 (Active)          ← Last 10 increments
├── _archive/                   ← Completed/old increments
│   ├── 0001-0022              ← Historical increments
│   └── 0029                   ← Abandoned experiments
└── _abandoned/                 ← Failed/obsolete increments

Smart Detection Rules

Never Archive

• Active increments (status: active)
• Paused increments (status: paused) - may resume
• Recent increments (last 10 by default)
• Increments with open GitHub/JIRA/ADO issues
• Increments with uncommitted changes

Always Archive

• Completed >60 days ago
• No activity >30 days (and status: completed)
• Superseded increments (replaced by newer version)
• Failed experiments (after confirmation)

Smart Grouping

• Release groups: Archive all v0.7.x after v0.8.0 ships
• Feature groups: Archive related increments together
• Time-based: Quarter/month-based archiving

Usage Patterns

Keep Workspace Clean

# Interactive archiving - prompts for confirmation
/sw:archive-increments

# Keep only last 5 increments
/sw:archive-increments --keep-last 5

# Archive all completed increments
/sw:archive-increments --archive-completed

Prepare for Release

# Archive all pre-release increments
/sw:archive-increments --pattern "v0.7"

# Archive by date range
/sw:archive-increments --older-than 30d

Restore from Archive

# List archived increments
/sw:archive-increments --list-archived

# Restore specific increment
/sw:archive-increments --restore 0015

Configuration

Default Settings

{
  "archiving": {
    "keepLast": 10,              // Keep last 10 increments
    "autoArchive": false,        // Manual by default
    "archiveAfterDays": 60,      // Archive after 60 days
    "preserveActive": true,      // Never archive active
    "archiveCompleted": false    // Manual control
  }
}

Aggressive Cleanup

{
  "archiving": {
    "keepLast": 5,               // Minimal workspace
    "autoArchive": true,         // Auto-archive on completion
    "archiveAfterDays": 14,      // Archive after 2 weeks
    "archiveCompleted": true     // Auto-archive completed
  }
}

Archive Statistics

Current State Analysis

When asked about archiving, I analyze:

• Number of active increments
• Age of oldest active increment
• Total size of increments folder
• Number of completed increments
• External sync status

Recommendations

Based on analysis, I suggest:

• Overcrowded (>20 active): Archive all but last 10
• Stale (many >30 days old): Archive by age
• Post-release: Archive previous version increments
• Large size (>100MB): Archive largest completed increments

Safety Features

Pre-Archive Checks

1. Metadata validation: Check increment status
2. External sync: Verify no open issues
3. Git status: Check for uncommitted changes
4. Dependencies: Check if referenced by active increments
5. User confirmation: Show what will be archived

Archive Operations

• Atomic moves: Use fs.move with overwrite protection
• Preserve structure: Maintain full increment structure
• Update references: Fix links in living docs
• Reversible: Easy restore from archive
• Audit trail: Log all archive operations

Smart Suggestions

When to Archive

• After major release: Archive all pre-release increments
• Quarterly cleanup: Archive increments >3 months old
• Before new project phase: Archive previous phase work
• Low disk space: Archive largest completed increments

Archive Patterns

• By version: --pattern "v0.7" (all v0.7.x increments)
• By feature: --pattern "auth|login" (auth-related)
• By date: --older-than 30d (time-based)
• By status: --archive-completed (all completed)

Integration Points

Status Line

• Shows "23-32 (10 active, 22 archived)" format
• Warns when >15 active increments
• Suggests archiving when appropriate

Increment Commands

• /sw:done can trigger auto-archive
• /sw:status shows archive statistics
• /sw:next considers archived increments

Living Docs

• Archive preserves living docs references
• Restore updates living docs links
• Archive included in docs statistics

Best Practices

1. Regular Cleanup: Archive monthly or after releases
2. Keep Recent: Always keep last 5-10 increments
3. Preserve Active: Never force-archive active work
4. Group Related: Archive feature groups together
5. Document Reasons: Add archive notes for context

Quick Reference

# Archive old increments
/sw:archive-increments --older-than 30d

# Keep workspace minimal
/sw:archive-increments --keep-last 5

# Archive after release
/sw:archive-increments --pattern "pre-release"

# Restore for reference
/sw:archive-increments --restore 0015

# Check archive stats
/sw:archive-increments --stats

Project-Specific Learnings

Before starting work, check for project-specific learnings:

# Check if skill memory exists for this skill
cat .specweave/skill-memories/archive-increments.md 2>/dev/null || echo "No project learnings yet"

Project learnings are automatically captured by the reflection system when corrections or patterns are identified during development. These learnings help you understand project-specific conventions and past decisions.