prune-projects

name	prune-projects
description	Friday-batch staleness review. Runs `<scripts.project_query>`, filters stale projects (active ≥90 days untouched, paused ≥60 days, status=done that slipped through), shows them in an `AskUserQuestion` multiselect with last-memory-entry context, and chains to `/archive-project` for each one the user approves. All paths come from the Configuration section in root CLAUDE.md — read those first. Use this whenever the user wants to clean up their active project list — phrases like "what's stale?", "any stale projects?", "Friday review", "what should I archive?", "prune projects", "what can I clean up?", "review my projects", "anything I should close out?", "what's gone cold?". Trigger even when the user doesn't say "prune" — clean-up / review / staleness language for the project list should invoke this rather than a manual scan. Skips `ongoing`-type projects (recurring duties — never stale).
allowed-tools	Read Bash AskUserQuestion Skill

prune-projects

Friday-cadence cleanup of <workspace.root>/<workspace.projects>/. <assistant.name> proposes archive candidates, the user approves in one multiselect, the chain handles the rest.

Before you begin: read the Configuration section in root CLAUDE.md. Path tokens like <scripts.project_query> and <workspace.projects> resolve to whatever's defined there — don't hardcode.

Why this exists

Active projects rot if nobody triggers cleanup. A pure auto-move on a 90-day timer eats live work — projects in long planning phases look dead. So the design is: <assistant.name> does the detection (fast, deterministic, scriptable), the user does the judgment (a 30-second multiselect) once a week. No drift, no surprise mass-archives.

The two prerequisites are already shipped:

• <scripts.project_query> — outputs the project table with days and a STALE flag.
• /archive-project — handles the per-project archive (status flip + folder move).

This skill is just the orchestration: query → filter → ask → chain.

When to use

Trigger phrases (intentionally broad):

• "what's stale?"
• "any stale projects?"
• "Friday review" / "Friday cleanup"
• "what should I archive?" / "prune projects"
• "review my projects" / "what can I clean up?"
• "anything I should close out?" / "what's gone cold?"

Do NOT trigger for:

• Archiving a specific known project — use /archive-project directly.
• Asking about one project's status — just read its CLAUDE.md.
• Code repos under <workspace.coding>/ — different lifecycle, separate skill (TBD).

Process

Step 1: Run the query

bash <scripts.project_query> --tsv

The TSV output has these columns (tab-separated, no header):

slug   status   type   created   touched   days   flag

Parse it. If the script errors (missing dir, etc.), abort and tell the user.

Step 2: Filter stale candidates

A project is a candidate if any of these are true:

• status == "active" AND type != "ongoing" AND days >= 90
• status == "paused" AND days >= 60
• status == "done" (any age — these slipped through /archive-project somehow and should be archived now)

Always skip type == "ongoing" — those are recurring duties (1:1s, office hours, etc.) and don't go stale by inactivity.

If zero candidates, print:

Nothing stale right now. Active projects look healthy. ✨

…and stop. Don't go further; don't ask questions.

Step 3: Pull last-memory context for each candidate

For each candidate, read <workspace.root>/<workspace.projects>/<slug>/memory.md and extract:

• The last ## heading (most recent decision)
• The first non-blank line below it (1-line preview)

If memory.md is missing, use the literal (no memory.md).

This context goes into the multiselect labels so the user can decide quickly without opening each project.

Step 4: Ask which to archive

Use AskUserQuestion with multiSelect: true. Each option is one candidate; the label format is:

<slug> · <type> · <days>d · <last memory heading>

Question prompt:

These N projects look stale. Pick the ones to archive — uncheck any to keep active.

Default selection state: all candidates pre-selected. The user is more likely to glance and click Archive than to opt-in per project; the safe default leans toward action because a wrongly-archived project is one mv to undo, while a missed cleanup persists.

If everything gets unchecked, print:

Nothing archived. Everything stays active. ✨

…and stop.

Step 5: Chain to /archive-project per pick

For each approved slug, invoke /archive-project via the Skill tool. Pass the slug in the args so the chained skill skips its own "which project?" prompt.

Run sequentially, not in parallel. The shared archive directory makes parallel mv operations a race-condition trap — and we want a clean audit trail of what got archived in what order.

In batch mode, skip the per-project retro prompt. Mass-asking 5 retros in a row is annoying; if the user wants a retro for any specific project, they can re-archive it individually later (the skill is idempotent enough — the retro just appends).

Pass to /archive-project:

• The slug to archive
• "skip retro" as the retro answer
• "yes" as the confirm answer

If one slug fails (folder already moved, permissions, etc.), capture the error, continue with the rest of the batch, and surface the failure in the final summary. Don't let one bad slug abort the whole prune.

Step 6: Summary

After all chained archives finish, print:

✅ Prune complete: archived N, kept K active.

Archived:
  - <slug-1> (was 92d untouched)
  - <slug-2> (was 105d untouched)

Kept active (unchecked):
  - <slug-3>

Failed:
  - <slug-4>: <error message>

Next Friday review: <next-friday-date>

Compute the next Friday relative to today. Skip empty sections (no "Failed:" line if nothing failed).

Also mention if the query script flagged any unmigrated projects:

Note: M projects in <workspace.projects>/ have no CLAUDE.md and need /new-project scaffolding before they can be tracked.

That nudges the user toward closing the migration backlog without auto-acting on it.

Failure modes

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Query script not found	<scripts.project_query> deleted or moved	Abort with the path the user should restore from git
All-archive batch picked	User clicked OK without unchecking	Trust the user — proceed; they can manually mv back from archive if regretted
/archive-project fails on first slug	Skill broken or moved	Abort the batch, surface the error, don't try the rest
/archive-project fails mid-batch	Per-slug issue (collision, etc.)	Continue, log to the Failed section of summary
AskUserQuestion not available (subagent context)	Worker subagents lack the tool	Treat all candidates as approved (archive all) — that's the safe default for an automated prune
Configuration values missing	Root CLAUDE.md doesn't have a Configuration section, or this is a fresh fork	Tell the user to run /bootstrap (TBD) or fill in the Configuration section by hand. Don't proceed with hardcoded fallbacks.

Output format

Standard summary block (see Step 6). Include the "Next Friday review:" line as a soft prompt — it makes the cadence visible without requiring a cron.