remove-initiative

name	remove-initiative
description	Remove an initiative from the repo. If it has active ideas or projects, offers options before proceeding. Removes the initiative folder, its DASHBOARD.md row, and cleans up any approval queue entries. Use when the user wants to retire or delete a top-level area of focus.

Remove Initiative

Use this skill when the user wants to remove an initiative entirely from the repo.

Treat this as the initiative-level closure/removal workflow.

Do not use Trello. Use only files in this repo.

Follow SYSTEM_OVERVIEW.md (archive rules, naming conventions) and DASHBOARD.md for the current initiative stack.

Inputs

Resolve from the user and files:

• Initiative name - must match an existing folder under initiatives/ exactly. Ask once if ambiguous.

Do not proceed if the name does not match an existing initiative.

Step 1 - Read and report

Before making any changes:

1. Open initiatives/[Initiative Name]/ideas.md.
2. Count all active ideas across all projects (Status is not Done, Dropped, or blank).
3. List all projects found in the ## Projects table.
4. Check whether any rows exist in Awaiting your approval in DASHBOARD.md for this initiative.
5. Note whether a wiki/ folder exists with pages beyond the initial index.md and log.md.

Report this summary to the user before touching anything.

Step 2 - Handle active ideas (stop and ask if any exist)

If there are no active ideas, skip to Step 3.

If there are active ideas, stop and ask the user to choose one of two options for the entire initiative:

---

Option A - Archive everything Move the entire initiatives/[Initiative Name]/ folder to archive/[Initiative Name] - [YYYY-MM-DD]/ using a git-aware move. The initiative's history, wiki, sources, outputs, and all project artifacts are preserved in the archive bundle. Add a README.md at the archive root noting the initiative name, removal date, and reason.

Option B - Handle projects individually first Use the remove-project skill on each named project to resolve active ideas (archive, move, or delete) before removing the initiative shell. This is the right choice when some ideas should move to a different initiative rather than disappear.

---

Wait for the user's choice before proceeding.

Step 3 - Execute removal

If Option A (archive everything):

1. Move initiatives/[Initiative Name]/ to archive/[Initiative Name] - [YYYY-MM-DD]/ using git mv.
2. Create archive/[Initiative Name] - [YYYY-MM-DD]/README.md:

   # Archived Initiative: [Name]
   **Removed:** [YYYY-MM-DD]
   **Reason:** [user-supplied reason or "retired"]
   **Contents:** Full initiative folder including wiki, sources, outputs, and all project artifacts.
   

If Option B (projects already cleared):

1. Confirm all projects are now empty or resolved.
2. If the initiatives/[Initiative Name]/ folder still contains anything other than empty scaffold files (.gitkeep, empty wiki/, empty sources/, empty outputs/), ask the user what to do with the remaining files.
3. Remove the folder entirely (git rm -r).

In both cases:

1. Remove the initiative row from the Initiatives table in DASHBOARD.md.
2. Remove any rows in Awaiting your approval in DASHBOARD.md that reference this initiative.
3. If AGENTS.md lists this initiative in the Three active initiatives table, remove that row.

Completion summary (return to user)

• Initiative name removed.
• Option taken (archived to path / folder deleted).
• Rows removed from DASHBOARD.md (initiative row, approval queue rows).
• Any other files touched.
• Reminder to update USER.md if the initiative was listed there.

Guardrails

• Never silently delete an initiative with active ideas. Always present Option A or B and wait.
• Never remove the last remaining initiative. At least one must exist.
• Do not modify files inside sources/ during the removal.
• If the user asks to move ideas to another initiative, use remove-project (which handles moves) on each project first, then remove the empty initiative shell.