archive

name	archive
description	Archive the current context to create a clean slate for the next task
model	haiku
effort	low

Archive the current context to create a clean slate for the next task.

Usage

/para:archive
/para:archive --fresh          # Completely empty context
/para:archive --seed           # Carry forward relevant context

Default: create fresh context with reference to completed summaries.

What It Does

1. Read context/context.md and extract worktree metadata (worktree_path, or per-phase worktree_path entries for phased plans)
2. Clean up worktrees:
   • For each worktree_path found in metadata, run git worktree remove {worktree_path}
   • If the worktree has uncommitted changes, warn the user and require them to either commit or stash the changes first, then re-run /para:archive; do NOT force-remove (this would permanently destroy uncommitted work)
   • After removal, run git worktree prune to clean up stale references
   • Remove .para-worktrees/ directory if empty
3. Move context/context.md to context/archives/YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM-context.md
4. Create a fresh context/context.md seeded from ../init/context-template.md:

# Current Work Summary

Ready for next task.

---
```json
{
  "active_context": [],
  "completed_summaries": [
    "context/summaries/YYYY-MM-DD-task-name-summary.md"
  ],
  "last_updated": "TIMESTAMP"
}
```

See ../init/context-schema.md for the full field reference.

5. Displays: archive location, worktrees removed, confirmation of fresh context, readiness for new task

When to Archive

• Work is complete and summarized
• All tests pass and changes are committed
• Branch has been pushed and PR created (or merged)
• 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

ls -lt context/archives/           # List archives
cp context/archives/2025-11-24-1430-context.md context/context.md   # Restore

To restore a worktree after archive (if branch still exists):

git worktree add .para-worktrees/{task-name} para/{task-name}

Notes

• Never delete archives -- they are your project memory
• Archives are searchable: grep -r "keyword" context/archives/
• Worktree cleanup is automatic during archive; branches are preserved for PR/merge workflows