wayback

name	wayback
version	2026.05.05
effort	low
triggers	wayback|wayback machine|web archive|archive.org snapshot|link rot|archived url|cdx|save page now|spn2|snapshot history|when was this page|preserved version|forensic timeline|page disappeared|404 dead link|prior art evidence|durable evidence
description	Internet Archive Wayback Machine routing. Detects link rot, fetches closest snapshots, runs CDX timeline analysis, and submits new captures via Save Page Now (SPN2). All routes through mcp-gateway fulcrum tools (free for read; auth-aware for higher SPN2 limits). Paired skill: `ia` (full archive.org item upload/download/search via CLI). Complements: research, url-insight, supercharge.

Wayback Machine Skill

Five tools wrapped via mcp-gateway. All anonymous; wayback_save optionally uses OREILLY_API_KEY-style auth via IA_ACCESS_KEY + IA_SECRET_KEY for the higher rate ceiling.

Decision tree

Q: "Is this URL archived?"            → fulcrum:wayback_availability
Q: "Show me snapshots of X over time" → fulcrum:wayback_cdx
Q: "Has this page changed?"           → fulcrum:wayback_cdx (collapse=digest)
Q: "Capture this URL now"             → fulcrum:wayback_save
Q: "What new items appeared?"         → fulcrum:internet_archive_changes
Q: "Pull the metadata of an item"     → fulcrum:internet_archive_metadata
Q: "Search the IA catalog"            → fulcrum:internet_archive_search
Q: "Upload/download with `ia` CLI"    → use sibling skill `ia`

High-leverage workflows

1. Patent-grade evidence locking (MIK-3344 line)

# Lock in adversarial-resistant proof at triage time
gateway_execute("fulcrum:wayback_save", {
  "url": "<source>",
  "capture_screenshot": "1",
  "if_not_archived_within": "1d"  # idempotent
})
# job returns; then 30 sec later:
gateway_execute("fulcrum:wayback_availability", {
  "url": "<source>",
  "timestamp": "<job-time>"
})
# returns court-admissible Wayback URL with timestamp

2. Paper-revision detection across prior-art portfolio (MIK-3355)

# Weekly diff for each tracked arxiv paper:
rows = gateway_execute("fulcrum:wayback_cdx", {
  "url": "arxiv.org/abs/<id>",
  "collapse": "digest",       # one row per unique content hash
  "from": "<last-check-ts>",
  "output": "json"
})
# different digest = paper was revised; alert + re-read body

Operational contract:

1. Keep the tracked paper list in ~/.claude/data/portfolio/cdx_paper_diff_config.json.
2. Run ~/.claude/data/portfolio/cdx_paper_diff.py weekly. The script calls fulcrum:wayback_cdx via the local mcp-gateway CLI using collapse: "digest" and from: <last-check-ts> for each configured arXiv ID.
3. Persist state in ~/.claude/data/portfolio/cdx_paper_diff_state.json. First run is a baseline and must not alert on newly observed digests.
4. On later runs, a digest change emits a Linear comment on the configured patent/prior-art ticket. If a paper is intentionally untracked, enable linear.create_untracked in the config to file a new MIK ticket.
5. Schedule manifest: ~/.claude/data/portfolio/cdx_paper_diff_schedule.json uses cron expression 0 9 * * 1 (Mondays 09:00 UTC, Mondays 12:00 Helsinki during UTC+03) for remote-agent scheduling.
6. If failed_or_empty / papers exceeds max_error_rate (default 5%), treat the run as needing fallback to slower per-paper wayback_availability probes before trusting the weekly digest gate.

3. Link-rot prophylaxis at URL-triage

Wire into url-insight skill: every fetched URL also gets wayback_save({if_not_archived_within: "7d"}). Cheap insurance against rot.

4. Forensic timeline of a domain

gateway_execute("fulcrum:wayback_cdx", {
  "url": "<competitor.com>",
  "matchType": "host",
  "filter": "statuscode:200,mimetype:text/html",
  "collapse": "timestamp:8",   # one snapshot per day
  "limit": 100
})

Auth tiers

Capability	Anonymous	With IA keys
availability/CDX/metadata/search/changes	✅ full access	same
wayback_save sync	~5/min	~30/min
wayback_save async + outlinks	❌	✅

Keys live in ~/.claude/secrets.env + ~/.mcp-gateway/.env + 1Password "Claude Elite" → "Internet Archive S3 Keys". Recovery: op item get "Internet Archive S3 Keys" --vault="Claude Elite" --fields username,credential --reveal

Confidence levels

V (verified ≥2 sources): all 5 tools pass live smoke tests 2026-05-04 against gateway commit 24ea7b31. Live trace IDs: gw-a6b8578b… (auth), gw-beac5e7c… (search), gw-f84d661d… (auth save).

Composition cross-links

• Upstream: url-insight (auto-snapshot URLs at triage)
• Downstream: linear (file evidence URL on patent tickets)
• Sibling: ia (CLI-based upload/download via internetarchive package — installed via internet-archive-skills plugin)
• Replaces: nothing — pure additive layer

Versioning

• 2026.05.05 — initial 5-tool wrap. CDX digest-diff workflow validated.