# Archive

> Move a file into the project's archive directory (.archive, .archived, or zz_archive, whichever exists), preserving its path relative to the project root. Use when asked to archive a file, retire it, or move it out of the way without deleting it. Errors if no archive directory exists, naming what to create.

- Skill: `vforge/archive` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add vforge/archive`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/vforge/archive/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: vforge (https://skillmd.com/u/vforge)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/vforge/archive

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# archive

Move `$ARGUMENTS` into the project's archive directory, keeping its path relative to the project root unchanged.

## 1. Find the archive directory

Project root: `git rev-parse --show-toplevel`, or the current directory if not a git repo.

Check for `.archive`, `.archived`, `zz_archive` at the root, in that order. The first one that exists is the archive directory.

**None exist:** stop. Report which three names were checked and that none exist, and tell the user to create one — `mkdir .archive` at the project root — before retrying. Do not create it yourself.

## 2. Resolve the move

- Path relative to the project root, not the current directory — resolve `$ARGUMENTS` against the root even if invoked from a subdirectory.
- Destination: `<archive dir>/<that relative path>`. `foo/bar/baz.md` becomes `<archive dir>/foo/bar/baz.md`.
- Already inside the archive directory: nothing to do, say so.
- Destination already exists: stop and ask — don't silently overwrite an existing archived file.
- Source doesn't exist: stop, name the path that's missing.

## 3. Move it

`mkdir -p` the destination's parent, then `git mv` inside a git repo (the move is a rename, not a delete-and-add — history follows the file) or plain `mv` otherwise.

Done when the source path is gone and the destination holds the file with its content unchanged — verify both.

## 4. Report

State the source and destination paths, and whether the move was staged as a `git mv` rename or a plain filesystem move.