| name | para-archive |
| description | Archive the current PARA context and create a clean slate for the next task. Triggers on: "archive context", "start fresh", "reset para context", "para archive", "archive and start over", "clean up context", "wrap up and archive".
|
Skill: para-archive
Archive the current context to create a clean slate for the next task.
Usage
para-archive # Archive and create fresh context (default)
para-archive --fresh # Completely empty context (no summary references)
para-archive --seed # Carry forward relevant context from current session
What to Do
-
Check prerequisites: Work should be summarized before archiving. If active_context is non-empty and no summary exists for the current task, warn the user: "It looks like this work hasn't been summarized yet. Run para-summarize first, or proceed anyway?"
-
Get current timestamp in YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM format (e.g., 2025-11-24-1430)
-
Move context/context.md to context/archives/YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM-context.md
-
Create a fresh context/context.md using ../para-init/context-template.md as reference (see ../para-init/context-schema.md for the full field reference):
Default and --fresh behavior:
# Current Work Summary
Ready for next task.
---
```json
{
"active_context": [],
"completed_summaries": [
"context/summaries/YYYY-MM-DD-*.md"
],
"last_updated": "TIMESTAMP"
}
```
With --seed: carry forward the completed_summaries list and add a brief note about what was just completed.
With --fresh: omit completed_summaries entirely (truly blank slate).
-
Display confirmation:
Context archived to context/archives/YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM-context.md
Fresh context.md created.
Ready for next task — run para-plan to begin.
When to Archive
- Work is complete and summarized
- All tests pass and changes are committed
- Ready to start a new, unrelated task
Do NOT archive if work is still in progress or you need the current context for continued work.
Recovery
To restore a previous context:
ls -lt context/archives/
cp context/archives/YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM-context.md context/context.md
Notes
- Never delete archives — they are your project memory
- Archives are searchable:
grep -r "keyword" context/archives/
- The
context/ directory should be in .gitignore — archives are local-only
