para-archive

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

1. 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?"

2. Get current timestamp in YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM format (e.g., 2025-11-24-1430)

3. Move context/context.md to context/archives/YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM-context.md

4. 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).

5. 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/           # List archives by date
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