| name | ark-discard |
| description | Remove an unarchived Ark task in one step. Refuses without --force when seeded files have user content. Use when the user wants to throw away a task they no longer want. |
ark-discard <task description>
Remove an unarchived Ark task: drop the slug from the active set, clear any session focus pointing at it, delete the task directory. Discard ≠ archive. Discard throws away tasks the user no longer wants on disk (mistyped slug, abandoned exploration). Archive preserves completed tasks as memory.
Preconditions
.ark/ is initialized.- The task is not archived. Already-archived tasks live under
tasks/archive/YYYY-MM/<slug>/ and are not touched by this command.
Steps
Step 1: Resolve the slug [AI]
Parse <task description>. If a slug is present, use it; otherwise default to this session's focused slug. Plumb --force through if the user passed it.
Step 2: Decide on --force [AI]
By default, discard refuses when any seeded artifact (PRD.md, NN_PLAN.md, NN_REVIEW.md, VERIFY.md) diverges from its template — the "PRD has user content" guard.
If you (the agent) are about to run ark-discard on the user's behalf without their explicit go-ahead, never pass --force. Surface the error and let the user decide.
Step 3: Run the op [AI]
ark agent task discard --slug <slug>
ark agent task discard --slug <slug> --force
Removes the slug from tasks.active, clears session focus pointing at it, and rm -rfs .ark/tasks/<slug>/.
Step 4: Report [AI]
In one line: confirm the discard and the deleted directory path. If the discarded slug was this session's focus, mention that this session no longer has a focused task.
Failure Modes
| Code | Cause | Recovery |
|---|
TaskNotFound | no .ark/tasks/<slug>/, or task already archived | Suggest task list if the user is unsure what's active |
TaskStillActive { file } | seeded file diverges from template; --force not set | Show the file name; ask the user whether to re-run with --force |
InvalidTaskField | slug failed validation | Reject with the validator's message |
See Also
workflow.md §8 (state & multi-session)ark-resume — switch focus instead of discarding
