Openspec Archive Change

Archive a completed change in the experimental workflow.

Input: Optionally specify a change name. If omitted, check if it can be inferred from conversation context. If vague or ambiguous you MUST prompt for available changes.

Steps

1. Resolve change name

   If a change name was provided, use it.

   If no change name was provided:

   • First, try to infer the change name from the conversation context.
   • If exactly one active change can be confidently inferred, auto-select it.
   • If inference is vague, ambiguous, or no active change can be inferred, run openspec list --json to get available changes and use the AskUserQuestion tool to let the user select.

   When prompting, show only active changes (not already archived) and include the schema used for each change if available.

   IMPORTANT: Do NOT guess or auto-select a change when inference is vague or ambiguous. Always let the user choose in that case.

2. Check artifact completion status

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

   Parse the JSON to understand:

   • schemaName: The workflow being used
   • planningHome, changeRoot, artifactPaths, and actionContext: path and scope context
   • artifacts: List of artifacts with their status (done or other)

   If status reports actionContext.mode: "workspace-planning", explain that workspace archive is not supported in this slice and STOP. Do not move workspace changes into repo-local archives or edit linked repos.

   If any artifacts are not done:

   • Display warning listing incomplete artifacts
   • Use AskUserQuestion tool to confirm user wants to proceed
   • Proceed if user confirms

3. Check task completion status

   Derive the actual task artifact path from the OpenSpec metadata (for example, from openspec status --change "<name>" --json or openspec instructions archive --change "<name>" --json output, or from contextFiles) before reading the file and counting checkboxes.

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

   If incomplete tasks found:

   • Display warning showing count of incomplete tasks
   • Use AskUserQuestion tool to confirm user wants to proceed
   • Proceed if user confirms

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

4. Assess delta spec sync state

   Use artifactPaths.specs.existingOutputPaths from status JSON to check for delta 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 openspec-sync-specs for change ''. Delta spec analysis: "). Proceed to archive regardless of choice.

5. Perform the archive

   Create an archive directory under planningHome.changesDir if it doesn't exist:

   mkdir -p "<planningHome.changesDir>/archive"
   

   Generate target name using current date: YYYY-MM-DD-<change-name>

   Check if target already exists:

   • If yes: Fail with error, suggest renaming existing archive or using different date
   • If no: Move changeRoot to the archive directory

   mv "<changeRoot>" "<planningHome.changesDir>/archive/YYYY-MM-DD-<name>"
   

6. Display summary

   Show archive completion summary including:

   • Change name
   • Schema that was used
   • Archive location
   • Whether specs were synced (if applicable)
   • Note about any warnings (incomplete artifacts/tasks)

Output On Success

## Archive Complete

**Change:** <change-name>
**Schema:** <schema-name>
**Archived to:** the archive path derived from `planningHome.changesDir`/YYYY-MM-DD-<name>/
**Specs:** ✓ Synced to main specs (or "No delta specs" or "Sync skipped")

All artifacts complete. All tasks complete.

Guardrails

• Prompt for change selection only when the change name is not provided and cannot be inferred, or when inference is ambiguous
• Use artifact graph (openspec 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 openspec-sync-specs approach (agent-driven)
• If delta specs exist, always run the sync assessment and show the combined summary before prompting

Source: Ardakilic/lilt — distributed by TomeVault.