remove-project

name	remove-project
description	Remove a project from an initiative. If ideas exist, offers three options for each: archive the idea folder, move it to another project, or delete it. Cleans up ideas.md, the project folder on disk, the tracker, and the wiki log. Use when the user wants to remove, retire, close, or dissolve a project.

Remove Project

Use this skill when the user wants to remove a named project from an initiative. This covers the project row in Active Projects, the ## Project: section in ideas.md, and the folder at initiatives/[Initiative]/[Project Name]/ (a direct child of the initiative, per SYSTEM_OVERVIEW.md).

Treat this as the project-level closure/removal workflow.

Do not use Trello. Use only files in this repo.

Follow SYSTEM_OVERVIEW.md (archive rules, naming conventions), and the target initiative's ideas.md.

Inputs

Resolve from the user and files:

• Initiative - which initiatives/[Initiative Name]/ folder. Ask once if ambiguous.
• Project name - must match an existing row in ## Projects exactly.

Do not proceed if the project name does not exist in the initiative's ideas.md.

Step 1 - Read and report

Before making any changes:

1. Open initiatives/[Initiative]/ideas.md.
2. Find the ## Project: [Name] section.
3. Count how many ideas are in it. Separate them into:
   • Active ideas - any row whose Status is not Done or Dropped (includes Backlog, Brief, In Review, On Hold, etc.).

• Completed or dropped ideas - rows with Status Done or Dropped. These should already be recorded in history/done-history.md or history/dropped-history.md and require no further action.

4. Check whether initiatives/[Initiative]/[Project Name]/ exists on disk and whether it contains any idea subfolders with lifecycle artifacts.

Step 2 - Handle ideas (stop and ask if any active ideas exist)

If there are no active ideas in the project, skip to Step 3.

If there are active ideas, stop and present the following options to the user before touching any files. List each active idea by name and ask the user to choose one of the three options per idea (or one choice applied to all if they prefer):

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Option A - Archive Move the idea's lifecycle folder (if it exists) to archive/ and record it in history/dropped-history.md. This is the same flow as the drop-idea skill. You will need a short reason for the dropped-history record.

Option B - Move to another project Reassign the idea row to a different active project in the same initiative. If the idea has a lifecycle folder under initiatives/[Initiative]/[Old Project]/[Idea]/, move it to initiatives/[Initiative]/[New Project]/[Idea]/. The idea stays active and its status is unchanged.

Option C - Delete Remove the idea row and its lifecycle folder entirely, with no archive record. Use only when the user explicitly confirms they want no record kept.

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Present these options clearly and wait for the user's response. Do not proceed until you have a choice for every active idea.

Step 3 - Execute idea disposition

Apply each choice in the order the user gave them.

Option A - Archive (drop-idea flow)

For each idea the user wants to archive:

1. Follow the full drop-idea workflow (see skills/drop-idea/SKILL.md) for each idea individually. Use the project removal as the reason if the user does not supply a specific one.
2. Move the idea's lifecycle folder to an archive/ bundle at the repo root. Include the outputs/ subfolder in the move - finished deliverables travel with the work that produced them.
3. Record the idea in history/dropped-history.md (keep ideas.md as link-only for dropped history).
4. Remove any Awaiting your approval row for it in DASHBOARD.md.

Option B - Move to another project

For each idea the user wants to move:

1. Confirm the destination project exists in the same initiative (it must already be in Active Projects). If it does not exist, offer to create it with the add-project skill first.
2. Move the idea row from the ## Project: [Old] section to the ## Project: [New] section in ideas.md. Keep all column values (Status, Priority, Last updated, Notes) intact. Update Last updated to today.
3. If a initiatives/[Initiative]/[Old Project]/[Idea]/ folder exists, move it to initiatives/[Initiative]/[New Project]/[Idea]/ using a git-aware move (git mv) to preserve history.
4. Update any links in ideas.md, DASHBOARD.md, or wiki files that referenced the old folder path.

Option C - Delete

For each idea the user wants to delete:

1. Confirm once more that the user wants no record. State clearly in chat that this cannot be undone via the skill.
2. Remove the idea row from ideas.md.
3. Delete the initiatives/[Initiative]/[Project]/[Idea]/ folder if it exists.
4. Remove any Awaiting your approval row for it in DASHBOARD.md.

Step 4 - Remove the project

Once all ideas are resolved:

1. Remove the ## Project: [Name] section from ideas.md. If it still has placeholder rows (empty or *(Add ideas here)*), remove those too.
2. Remove the project row from ## Projects.
3. Add a row to ## Closed Projects at the bottom of ideas.md with:
   • Project name
   • Today's date
   • A short closure summary (outcome and/or reason)
   • Ask the user for wording if it is not obvious.
4. If the initiative uses a project-level history file, append the same closure record in history/.
5. Remove or archive initiatives/[Initiative]/[Project Name]/:
   • If it is now empty (only .gitkeep, 00-how-to-use.md, repo/ placeholder, or no files), delete it entirely.
   • If any files remain (for example a sources/ or outputs/ subfolder the user wants to keep), ask the user whether to move those files elsewhere or leave the folder without a project row.
6. Remove 00-how-to-use.md in that project folder when the folder is being deleted.

Step 5 - Wiki and tracker hygiene

1. DASHBOARD.md - Confirm all Awaiting your approval rows tied to this project are cleared. Update Last initiative work to today if this session involved substantive changes.
2. wiki/log.md - Append a dated entry: ## [YYYY-MM-DD] update | Project [Name] removed. In the body, note what happened to each idea (archived, moved, deleted) and confirm the folder is gone.
3. wiki/index.md - Remove or update any cross-reference entries that pointed at pages or artifacts under the removed project. Do not delete wiki pages; retire obsolete ones to wiki/.archive/ per SYSTEM_OVERVIEW.md.

Completion summary (return to user)

• Initiative and project name removed.
• What happened to each idea (archived to path / moved to project / deleted).
• Files and folders touched or removed (list them).
• Confirmation that the tracker approval queue is clean.
• Any wiki updates made.

Guardrails

• Never remove the General project from an initiative without explicit confirmation. It is the default bucket and removing it can leave ungrouped ideas with no home.
• Do not silently delete idea folders. Always present Option A / B / C for active ideas and wait for the user's choice.
• Do not delete wiki pages. Retire obsolete pages to wiki/.archive/ only.
• ideas.md ## Done and ## Dropped sections should remain link-only pointers to history files. Record idea-level history in history/done-history.md and history/dropped-history.md. The ## Closed Projects table is updated in Step 4 when the project is closed.
• Keep Project and folder names aligned at all times. If a move is partial (for example disk folder moved but table row not yet updated), finish the table update before summarizing.