openspec-bulk-archive-change

Archive multiple completed changes in a single operation.

This skill allows you to batch-archive changes, handling spec conflicts intelligently by checking the codebase to determine what's actually implemented.

Store selection: If the user names a store (a store is a standalone OpenSpec repo registered on this machine) or the work lives in one, run openspec store list --json to discover registered store ids, then pass --store <id> on the commands that read or write specs and changes (new change, status, instructions, list, show, validate, archive, doctor, context, schemas, view). Once selected, treat --store <id> as sticky for the rest of the workflow. Every unscoped example of those commands below is shorthand: before running it, append the flag. For example, run openspec status --change "<name>" --json --store "<id>", not the unscoped form shown below. Other commands do not take the flag. Hints printed by commands already carry the flag; keep it on follow-ups. Without a store, commands act on the nearest local openspec/ root.

Project check: These steps expect a project that already uses OpenSpec. Before the first step that writes anything (new change, archive, sync specs, or authoring an artifact file), confirm the project has a root: run openspec list --json (with --store <id> when a store is selected, since the store is then the root) and read root. A root object means the project is set up. "root": null means it is not - there is no openspec/ directory here, and a write such as openspec new change would create one as a side effect. The command also exits non-zero, which is that answer rather than a broken CLI, so read the JSON instead of retrying or working around it.

One "root": null is not about setup: when a status error message starts with Declared in or Invalid store declaration in and names this project's openspec/config.yaml (or config.yml), the project does use OpenSpec through a store it declares, which this machine cannot resolve (the store is not registered, or the store: line is malformed). Do not treat it as uninitialized and skip the branches below: stop before writing and show the user that error's message and fix.

Otherwise, with no root, what happens next depends on how this workflow was reached:

• Auto-selected: you chose this workflow yourself, without the user naming OpenSpec, naming this skill, or running its slash command. Stop using OpenSpec and answer the request normally, as you would with no OpenSpec installed. Do not ask them to set anything up and do not mention OpenSpec setup.
• Explicit OpenSpec request: the user named OpenSpec, named this skill, or ran its slash command. Stop before writing and ask how to proceed: set this project up (openspec init), target a store they already have (--store <id>), or continue without OpenSpec for this request. Wait for their answer.

In both branches, never create the root as a side effect: do not run openspec init until the user asks for it, do not hand-create openspec/ files, and do not let a command create it.

<capability-path> is the spec directory relative to specs/ (for example, user-auth or identity/user-auth). Preserve the full path from each delta spec when resolving its main spec.

Input: None required (prompts for selection)

Steps

1. Get active changes

   Run openspec list --json to get all active changes.

   If no active changes exist, inform user and stop.

2. Prompt for change selection

   Ask the user to choose changes (multi-select):

   • Show each change name and task status from the list output
   • Include an option for "All changes"
   • Allow any number of selections (1+ works, 2+ is the typical use case)

   IMPORTANT: Do NOT auto-select. Always let the user choose.

   Load current archive inputs once for the selected root before batch validation:

   Choose one selected change from this root and run openspec instructions archive --change "<selected-change>" --json with the same selected-root flags. This lookup is advisory and optional: it only supplies extra prompt inputs, so it must never block the batch. If it fails or returns invalid JSON — for example on an older CLI that does not support this command yet — continue the batch with no context and no operation guidance. Do not report an error and do not stop.

   A valid response may omit context and operationGuidance. Treat context as a required prompt-level input across the batch: read and consider it, and apply relevant project facts, conventions, and constraints. Treat operationGuidance as optional additive advice: read and consider every entry, and follow entries that are applicable and compatible with the built-in batch workflow.

   Keep both fields separate from conflict analysis, explicit user choices, resolved paths, CLI checks, and command contracts. If context conflicts with one of those controlling inputs, report the conflict and preserve the controlling value. If guidance is inapplicable or conflicts with a controlling input, do not follow it and explain why. Do not infer skipped prompts, replacement paths, or flags from either field, and do not copy their text verbatim into specs, changes, or summaries. These are prompt-level behavior contracts, not enforceable checks.

3. Batch validation - gather status for all selected changes

   Run openspec list --json once with the same selected-root flags for task progress. If the lookup fails, returns invalid JSON, or omits any selected change, contains a duplicate selected change, or returns invalid counts, report the problem and stop before syncing or archiving the batch.

   For each selected change, collect:

   a. Artifact status - Run openspec status --change "<name>" --json

   • Parse schemaName, artifacts, planningHome, changeRoot, artifactPaths, and actionContext
   • Note which artifacts are done vs other states

   b. Task completion - Find the changes entry from the list response whose name exactly matches this change

   • Require nonnegative integer totalTasks and completedTasks, with completedTasks <= totalTasks
   • Incomplete tasks = totalTasks - completedTasks
   • The CLI resolves the schema's tracked task files, including custom artifact names, output paths, and globs
   • Do not infer task completion from artifact status, an artifact id of tasks, or the absence of a top-level tasks.md
   • The CLI counts only x/X checkbox markers as complete; other markers remain incomplete
   • If totalTasks is zero, note as "No tasks"

   c. Delta specs - Check artifactPaths.specs.existingOutputPaths from status JSON

   • List which capability specs exist
   • For each, extract requirement names (lines matching ### Requirement: <name>)
   • Treat this list as the only delta-spec source. If the specs entry is missing or the list is empty, perform no spec sync or specs-instruction lookup for that change; do not infer deltas from unrelated artifacts.
   • Evaluate this independently for every change, including mixed-schema batches where some schemas have no specs artifact.

   d. Archive target - Compute each change's target name once and record it as that change's <target-name>

   • Use the change name as-is when it already starts with a YYYY-MM-DD- prefix; otherwise prepend the current date as YYYY-MM-DD-<name> (same rule as openspec archive)
   • Check whether <planningHome.changesDir>/archive/<target-name> already exists
   • If it exists, or another selected change resolves to the same target name, mark every such change Blocked with Archive directory already exists
   • A blocked change is never synced or moved: show it as Blocked in the step 6 table, leave it out of conflict resolution (resolve its conflicts using only the other changes), and record it as Failed in step 8d
   • Checking here, before any main spec is written, matches openspec archive: a collision found after sync would leave main specs rewritten for an archive that never happened

4. Detect spec conflicts

   Build a map keyed by <capability-path>, the exact path relative to specs/:

   identity/user-auth -> [change-a, change-b]  <- CONFLICT (2+ changes)
   billing/user-auth  -> [change-c]            <- OK (different full path)
   

   A conflict exists when 2+ selected changes have delta specs for the exact same <capability-path>.

5. Resolve conflicts agentically

   For each conflict, investigate the codebase:

   a. Read the delta specs from each conflicting change to understand what each claims to add/modify

   b. Search the codebase for implementation evidence:

   • Look for code implementing requirements from each delta spec
   • Check for related files, functions, or tests

   c. Determine resolution:

   • If only one change is actually implemented -> sync that one's specs
   • If both implemented -> apply in chronological order (older first, newer overwrites)
   • If neither implemented -> skip spec sync, warn user

   d. Record resolution for each conflict:

   • An inclusion or exclusion decision for every delta spec, keyed by change and <capability-path>
   • Which included delta specs to apply and in what order
   • Which delta specs to exclude from sync because their implementation is missing
   • Rationale (what was found in codebase)

6. Show consolidated status table

   Display a table summarizing all changes:

   | Change              | Artifacts | Tasks | Specs   | Conflicts | Status |
   |---------------------|-----------|-------|---------|-----------|--------|
   | schema-management   | Done      | 5/5   | 2 delta | None      | Ready  |
   | project-config      | Done      | 3/3   | 1 delta | None      | Ready  |
   | add-oauth           | Done      | 4/4   | 1 delta | identity/user-auth (!) | Ready* |
   | add-verify-skill    | 1 left    | 2/5   | None    | None      | Warn   |
   

   For conflicts, show the resolution:

   * Conflict resolution:
     - identity/user-auth spec: Will apply add-oauth then add-jwt (both implemented, chronological order)
   

   For incomplete changes, show warnings:

   Warnings:
   - add-verify-skill: 1 incomplete artifact, 3 incomplete tasks
   

7. Confirm batch operation

   Ask the user a single confirmation question:

   • "Archive N changes?" with options based on status
   • Options might include:
     • "Archive all N changes"
     • "Archive only N ready changes (skip incomplete)"
     • "Cancel"

   If there are incomplete changes, make clear they'll be archived with warnings.

   Route on the answer by intent, not by exact label — you wrote these labels, so match what the user picked rather than the wording above:

   • "Cancel" — stop, do not archive. Report that nothing was archived and skip the remaining steps.
   • The archive-everything option — proceed with every selected change that is not Blocked
   • The ready-only option — proceed with only the changes the step 6 table marks Ready or Ready*, and record the rest as Skipped in step 8d, except Blocked changes, which stay Failed with Archive directory already exists. If a Ready* change's conflict partner is skipped, re-derive that conflict's resolution using only the changes being archived.
   • Anything else — ask again rather than archiving

   Before step 8 writes the first main spec or moves any change, fetch every required specs-rule snapshot for the confirmed batch. For each change that will sync concrete artifactPaths.specs.existingOutputPaths, run openspec instructions specs --change "<name>" --json exactly once with the same selected-root flags. Obtain all snapshots before the first write or move. If any lookup exits non-zero or returns invalid artifact-instruction JSON, identify the affected change, report the error, and stop the whole batch before any main-spec write or change move. Do not treat lookup failure as omitted rules. A valid response without rules is the no-rules case.

8. Execute archive for each confirmed change

   Before processing, carry the recorded decisions from step 5 (after any step 7 re-derivation) into two per-delta sets:

   • includedDeltas: all non-conflicting delta specs from confirmed changes plus conflict deltas selected for sync
   • excludedDeltas: conflict deltas from confirmed changes excluded because their implementation is missing
   • A single change can have both included and excluded delta specs. Keep the decision per delta; do not collapse it into a per-change sync flag.

   Process changes in the determined order (respecting conflict resolution):

   a. Sync included delta specs:

   • Run the openspec-sync-specs workflow inline (agent-driven intelligent merge) only for changes with entries in includedDeltas, passing only the included delta paths and explicitly instructing it to ignore that change's excludedDeltas. Wait for it to finish.
   • If the sync reports any stop or blocking condition, treat the sync as failed. Stop processing that change immediately. Before continuing to the next change, record this change's outcome as Failed in the batch results, including the sync blocking/error condition.
   • Do not perform the post-sync content comparison and do not move its changeRoot; leave the change intact.
   • For conflicts, apply in resolved order.
   • Pass that change's fetched specs-rule snapshot into inline sync; inline sync must reuse it without fetching instructions again
   • Apply artifact rules only to main specs produced by that change. They do not change conflict resolution, archive behavior, or CLI contracts, and their text is not copied into an output file
   • Do not delegate to a background task — step 8c would move changeRoot out from under a sync that is still reading it.
   • If a change has no included delta specs, do not run the sync workflow for it.

   b. Verify included delta specs before moving changeRoot:

   • Re-run the comparison only for delta specs in includedDeltas against main spec at <planningHome.root>/openspec/specs/<capability-path>/spec.md (use the store-aware planningHome.root from step 3 status JSON, not a hardcoded repo path).
   • Verify that main specs are updated:
     • ADDED requirements present
     • MODIFIED requirements carrying scenario and description changes named in the delta, with their other scenarios intact
     • REMOVED requirements gone — and where this sync retired a capability (removed its last requirement, leaving ## Requirements empty), its main spec deleted rather than left empty.
     • RENAMED requirements present under the new name and absent under the old one
   • Do not verify delta specs in excludedDeltas; they are intentionally left unsynced.
   • If sync failed or any capability does not match verification, report what differs and fail/skip moving that change's changeRoot — do not archive that change. changeRoot remains intact.

   c. Perform the archive:

   Target name: use the <target-name> recorded for this change in step 3d, unchanged. Never recompute it here: a batch that runs past midnight would check one date in step 3 and move to another.

   Check if target already exists:

   • Check again immediately before the move, even though step 3 already checked: the target can appear mid-batch
   • If yes: record this change as Failed with Archive directory already exists, leave changeRoot where it is, report any main specs step 8a already synced for it, and continue with the remaining changes
   • If no: move changeRoot to the archive directory

   mkdir -p "<planningHome.changesDir>/archive"
   mv "<changeRoot>" "<planningHome.changesDir>/archive/<target-name>"
   

   Confirm the move did not nest: mv exits 0 even when the target appeared after the check, moving the change inside it. If <planningHome.changesDir>/archive/<target-name>/<change-directory-name> now exists (the last path segment of changeRoot), move that directory back to changeRoot and record this change as Failed with Archive directory already exists. Never report it as archived.

   d. Track outcome for each change:

   • Success: archived successfully
   • Failed: error during archive or spec verification (record error)
   • Skipped: user chose not to archive (if applicable)
   • Sync skipped: for every delta in excludedDeltas, report sync skipped with the change, <capability-path>, and recorded reason. This is distinct from skipping the archive.

9. Display summary

   Show final results:

   ## Bulk Archive Complete
   
   Archived 3 changes:
   - schema-management-cli -> archive/2026-01-19-schema-management-cli/
   - project-config -> archive/2026-01-19-project-config/
   - add-oauth -> archive/2026-01-19-add-oauth/
   
   Skipped 1 change:
   - add-verify-skill (user chose not to archive incomplete)
   
   Spec sync summary:
   - 4 delta specs synced to main specs
   - 1 delta spec sync skipped (add-jwt, identity/user-auth: implementation not found)
   - 1 conflict resolved (identity/user-auth: synced add-oauth, skipped add-jwt)
   

   If any failures:

   Failed 1 change:
   - some-change: Archive directory already exists
   

Conflict Resolution Examples

Example 1: Only one implemented

Conflict: <planningHome.root>/openspec/specs/auth/spec.md touched by [add-oauth, add-jwt]

Checking add-oauth:
- Delta adds "OAuth Provider Integration" requirement
- Searching codebase... found src/auth/oauth.ts implementing OAuth flow

Checking add-jwt:
- Delta adds "JWT Token Handling" requirement
- Searching codebase... no JWT implementation found

Resolution: Only add-oauth is implemented. Will sync add-oauth specs only.

Example 2: Both implemented

Conflict: <planningHome.root>/openspec/specs/api/spec.md touched by [add-rest-api, add-graphql]

Checking add-rest-api (created 2026-01-10):
- Delta adds "REST Endpoints" requirement
- Searching codebase... found src/api/rest.ts

Checking add-graphql (created 2026-01-15):
- Delta adds "GraphQL Schema" requirement
- Searching codebase... found src/api/graphql.ts

Resolution: Both implemented. Will apply add-rest-api specs first,
then add-graphql specs (chronological order, newer takes precedence).

Output On Success

## Bulk Archive Complete

Archived N changes:
- <change-1> -> archive/<target-name-1>/
- <change-2> -> archive/<target-name-2>/

Spec sync summary:
- N delta specs synced to main specs
- No conflicts (or: M conflicts resolved)

Output On Partial Success

## Bulk Archive Complete (partial)

Archived N changes:
- <change-1> -> archive/<target-name-1>/

Skipped M changes:
- <change-2> (user chose not to archive incomplete)

Failed K changes:
- <change-3>: Archive directory already exists

Output When No Changes

## No Changes to Archive

No active changes found. Create a new change to get started.

Guardrails

• Allow any number of changes (1+ is fine, 2+ is the typical use case)
• Always prompt for selection, never auto-select
• Detect spec conflicts early and resolve by checking codebase
• When both changes are implemented, apply specs in chronological order
• Skip spec sync only when implementation is missing (warn user)
• Show clear per-change status before confirming
• Use single confirmation for entire batch
• Never archive after the user cancels the confirmation — a cancelled batch archives nothing
• Track and report all outcomes (success/skip/fail)
• Preserve .openspec.yaml when moving to archive
• Archive directory target uses the current date, computed once in step 3d and reused at the move: YYYY-MM-DD-<name>; a name that already starts with a YYYY-MM-DD- prefix is used as-is (never stack a second date)
• If archive target exists, fail that change but continue with others
• Check every archive target in step 3, before the first main-spec write; a change whose target exists is never synced or moved
• If sync is requested, run the openspec-sync-specs workflow inline (agent-driven) for each change with included delta specs
• Carry the per-delta includedDeltas and excludedDeltas decisions into execution; sync and verify only included deltas
• Report every excluded delta as sync skipped without treating the archive itself as skipped
• Never archive a change while a spec sync is still in flight — run the sync inline and verify main specs at <planningHome.root>/openspec/specs/<capability-path>/spec.md before moving changeRoot
• Fetch archive inputs once per selected root before spec inspection or moves
• Fetch all required specs-rule snapshots before the batch's first main-spec write or move
• A failed archive-inputs lookup never blocks the batch; it proceeds with no context or guidance
• A failed specs instruction lookup stops the whole batch atomically
• Changes without concrete artifactPaths.specs.existingOutputPaths continue without spec sync
• Apply relevant runtime context across the batch and report conflicts
• Operation guidance remains advisory; consider every entry and explain rejected advice
• Keep runtime inputs, conflict analysis, CLI-derived values, and artifact rules separate
• Artifact rules constrain only written specs
• Never copy runtime input or artifact-rule text verbatim into output files