Openspec Bulk Archive Change

Archive multiple completed changes in a single operation.

This skill allows you to batch-archive changes, handling spec conflicts intelligently by checking the codebase to determine what's actually implemented.

Input: None required (prompts for selection)

Steps

1. Get active changes

   Run openspec list --json to get all active changes.

   If no active changes exist, inform user and stop.

2. Prompt for change selection

   Use AskUserQuestion tool with multi-select to let user choose changes:

   • Show each change with its schema
   • Include an option for "All changes"
   • Allow any number of selections (1+ works, 2+ is the typical use case)

   IMPORTANT: Do NOT auto-select. Always let the user choose.

3. Batch validation - gather status for all selected changes

   For each selected change, collect:

   a. Artifact status - Run openspec status --change "<name>" --json

   • Parse schemaName and artifacts list
   • Note which artifacts are done vs other states

   b. Task completion - Read openspec/changes/<name>/tasks.md

   • Count - [ ] (incomplete) vs - [x] (complete)
   • If no tasks file exists, note as "No tasks"

   c. Delta specs - Check openspec/changes/<name>/specs/ directory

   • List which capability specs exist
   • For each, extract requirement names (lines matching ### Requirement: <name>)

4. Detect spec conflicts

   Build a map of capability -> [changes that touch it]:

   auth -> [change-a, change-b]  <- CONFLICT (2+ changes)
   api  -> [change-c]            <- OK (only 1 change)
   

   A conflict exists when 2+ selected changes have delta specs for the same capability.

5. Resolve conflicts agentically

   For each conflict, investigate the codebase:

   a. Read the delta specs from each conflicting change to understand what each claims to add/modify

   b. Search the codebase for implementation evidence:

   • Look for code implementing requirements from each delta spec
   • Check for related files, functions, or tests

   c. Determine resolution:

   • If only one change is actually implemented -> sync that one's specs
   • If both implemented -> apply in chronological order (older first, newer overwrites)
   • If neither implemented -> skip spec sync, warn user

   d. Record resolution for each conflict:

   • Which change's specs to apply
   • In what order (if both)
   • Rationale (what was found in codebase)

6. Show consolidated status table

   Display a table summarizing all changes:

   | Change              | Artifacts | Tasks | Specs   | Conflicts | Status |
   |---------------------|-----------|-------|---------|-----------|--------|
   | schema-management   | Done      | 5/5   | 2 delta | None      | Ready  |
   | project-config      | Done      | 3/3   | 1 delta | None      | Ready  |
   | add-oauth           | Done      | 4/4   | 1 delta | auth (!)  | Ready* |
   | add-verify-skill    | 1 left    | 2/5   | None    | None      | Warn   |
   

   For conflicts, show the resolution:

   * Conflict resolution:
     - auth spec: Will apply add-oauth then add-jwt (both implemented, chronological order)
   

   For incomplete changes, show warnings:

   Warnings:
   - add-verify-skill: 1 incomplete artifact, 3 incomplete tasks
   

7. Confirm batch operation

   Use AskUserQuestion tool with a single confirmation:

   • "Archive N changes?" with options based on status
   • Options might include:
     • "Archive all N changes"
     • "Archive only N ready changes (skip incomplete)"
     • "Cancel"

   If there are incomplete changes, make clear they'll be archived with warnings.

8. Execute archive for each confirmed change

   Process changes in the determined order (respecting conflict resolution):

   a. Sync specs if delta specs exist:

   • Use the openspec-sync-specs approach (agent-driven intelligent merge)
   • For conflicts, apply in resolved order
   • Track if sync was done

   b. Perform the archive:

   mkdir -p openspec/changes/archive
   mv openspec/changes/<name> openspec/changes/archive/YYYY-MM-DD-<name>
   

   c. Track outcome for each change:

   • Success: archived successfully
   • Failed: error during archive (record error)
   • Skipped: user chose not to archive (if applicable)

9. Display summary

   Show final results:

   ## Bulk Archive Complete
   
   Archived 3 changes:
   - schema-management-cli -> archive/2026-01-19-schema-management-cli/
   - project-config -> archive/2026-01-19-project-config/
   - add-oauth -> archive/2026-01-19-add-oauth/
   
   Skipped 1 change:
   - add-verify-skill (user chose not to archive incomplete)
   
   Spec sync summary:
   - 4 delta specs synced to main specs
   - 1 conflict resolved (auth: applied both in chronological order)
   

   If any failures:

   Failed 1 change:
   - some-change: Archive directory already exists
   

Conflict Resolution Examples

Example 1: Only one implemented

Conflict: specs/auth/spec.md touched by [add-oauth, add-jwt]

Checking add-oauth:
- Delta adds "OAuth Provider Integration" requirement
- Searching codebase... found src/auth/oauth.ts implementing OAuth flow

Checking add-jwt:
- Delta adds "JWT Token Handling" requirement
- Searching codebase... no JWT implementation found

Resolution: Only add-oauth is implemented. Will sync add-oauth specs only.

Example 2: Both implemented

Conflict: specs/api/spec.md touched by [add-rest-api, add-graphql]

Checking add-rest-api (created 2026-01-10):
- Delta adds "REST Endpoints" requirement
- Searching codebase... found src/api/rest.ts

Checking add-graphql (created 2026-01-15):
- Delta adds "GraphQL Schema" requirement
- Searching codebase... found src/api/graphql.ts

Resolution: Both implemented. Will apply add-rest-api specs first,
then add-graphql specs (chronological order, newer takes precedence).

Output On Success

## Bulk Archive Complete

Archived N changes:
- <change-1> -> archive/YYYY-MM-DD-<change-1>/
- <change-2> -> archive/YYYY-MM-DD-<change-2>/

Spec sync summary:
- N delta specs synced to main specs
- No conflicts (or: M conflicts resolved)

Output On Partial Success

## Bulk Archive Complete (partial)

Archived N changes:
- <change-1> -> archive/YYYY-MM-DD-<change-1>/

Skipped M changes:
- <change-2> (user chose not to archive incomplete)

Failed K changes:
- <change-3>: Archive directory already exists

Output When No Changes

## No Changes to Archive

No active changes found. Create a new change to get started.

Guardrails

• Allow any number of changes (1+ is fine, 2+ is the typical use case)
• Always prompt for selection, never auto-select
• Detect spec conflicts early and resolve by checking codebase
• When both changes are implemented, apply specs in chronological order
• Skip spec sync only when implementation is missing (warn user)
• Show clear per-change status before confirming
• Use single confirmation for entire batch
• Track and report all outcomes (success/skip/fail)
• Preserve .openspec.yaml when moving to archive
• Archive directory target uses current date: YYYY-MM-DD-
• If archive target exists, fail that change but continue with others

Source: huangjia2019/sdd-in-action — distributed by TomeVault.