| name | openspec-bulk-archive-change |
| description | Archives several completed OpenSpec changes in one batch, detecting and agentically resolving spec conflicts by checking the codebase for what is actually implemented. Use for "archive these changes", "clean up finished changes", or "archive everything that's done" when more than one change needs archiving at once. For a single change, use openspec-archive-change instead. |
| compatibility | Requires the openspec CLI on PATH. |
Bulk-archive OpenSpec changes
Archive multiple parallel changes at once, resolving delta-spec conflicts
between them by checking which is actually implemented rather than failing or
guessing.
Steps
- Get active changes:
openspec list --json. If none, tell the user and
stop.
- Let the user select (multi-select, never auto-select): show each
change with its schema, offer "All changes", and allow any number of
selections (1+ works; 2+ is the typical case).
- Gather status for every selected change: artifact status
(
openspec status --change "<name>" --json), task completion (count
- [ ]/- [x] in tasks.md, or note "No tasks" if absent), and delta
specs under openspec/changes/<name>/specs/ with their requirement names.
- Detect spec conflicts. Build
capability -> [changes touching it]; a
conflict is 2+ selected changes touching the same capability.
- Resolve each conflict agentically: read each conflicting change's
delta spec, search the codebase for implementation evidence, and decide —
only one implemented -> sync that one; both implemented -> apply in
chronological order (older first, newer takes precedence); neither
implemented -> skip spec sync for that capability and warn. Record the
resolution and its rationale per conflict.
- Show a consolidated status table (change, artifacts, tasks, specs,
conflicts, ready/warn), with conflict resolutions and incomplete-change
warnings called out beneath it.
- Confirm the batch operation with a single prompt: "Archive N changes?"
offering "Archive all N", "Archive only the ready ones (skip incomplete)",
or "Cancel". Make clear that choosing "all" archives incomplete changes
with warnings, not silently.
- Execute per confirmed change, in the resolved order: if the change has
delta specs to sync, delegate the merge to
/openspec-sync-specs (via the
Task tool, subagent_type: general-purpose, with the prompt "Invoke
/openspec-sync-specs for change ''" plus this change's resolved
conflict decision from step 5) — conflict detection and resolution stay
here; the merge mechanics belong to that skill. Then
mkdir -p openspec/changes/archive && mv openspec/changes/<name> openspec/changes/archive/YYYY-MM-DD-<name>. Track success/failed/skipped
per change; an existing archive target fails that change but does not stop
the batch.
- Display the final summary: archived changes with their destinations,
skipped changes with the reason, failed changes with the error, and a spec
sync summary (deltas synced, conflicts resolved).
Guardrails
- Always prompt for selection — never auto-select, even for "archive
everything".
- Detect conflicts before confirming the batch, and resolve them by checking
the codebase, not by guessing or by change order alone.
- Preserve
.openspec.yaml on every archived change.
- One failure must not abort the rest of the batch.
Completion
Complete when every selected-and-confirmed change has a recorded outcome —
archived, skipped, or failed with a reason — and the spec-sync summary
accounts for every capability that had a conflict.
