Plan Archive

Overview

Move an abandoned or obsolete plan to archive/ with context on why it was archived.

Core principle: Don't delete plans - archive them with context so you can learn from them later.

Announce at start: "I'm using the plan-archive skill to archive this plan."

The Process

Step 1: Confirm Archive Intent

Ask: "Why is this plan being archived?"

Options:

• Abandoned - Started but won't be finished
• Obsolete - Requirements changed, no longer relevant
• Superseded - Replaced by a different plan
• Other - Capture the reason

Step 2: Add Archive Notes

Create plans/{active|complete}/{plan-name}/archive.md:

# Archive Notes

**Archived:** YYYY-MM-DD

**Reason:** [abandoned|obsolete|superseded|other]

**Context:** [Why this plan is being archived]

**Superseded by:** [Link to new plan if applicable]

**Partial work:**
- [Any commits/PRs that were done before archiving]

**Lessons learned:**
- [What can we learn from this?]

Step 3: Move to Archive

# Move from active or complete
mv plans/active/{plan-name} plans/archive/{plan-name}
# OR
mv plans/complete/{plan-name} plans/archive/{plan-name}

# Commit the move
git add -A
git commit -m "docs: archive {plan-name} plan - {reason}"

Step 4: Report

Plan '{plan-name}' archived.

Reason: {reason}
Location: plans/archive/{plan-name}/

Quick Reference

When to Use

• Plan started but won't be finished
• Requirements changed significantly
• Better approach found (new plan created)
• Cleaning up old completed plans that are no longer relevant

Common Mistakes

Archiving without context

• Problem: No record of why plan was abandoned
• Fix: Always capture the reason in archive.md

Deleting instead of archiving

• Problem: Lose historical context and learnings
• Fix: Archive preserves history for future reference