Archive Changes

Overview

Archive a completed change by applying delta specs to main specs and moving documents to archive.

Core principle: Specs are truth. Archive preserves complete history.

Announce at start: "I'm using the archive skill to complete this change."

When to Use

•After /superspec:finish-branch completes
•Branch is merged or PR created
•Ready to finalize the change documentation

Prerequisites

• Verification passed: superspec verify [id] ✅
• All tests pass
• Code review approved
• Branch completed: /superspec:finish-branch ✅ (merged or PR created)

The Archive Process

code

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Archive Flow                                   │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                   │
│   1. Verify Ready                                                 │
│      └─→ Check verification passed                               │
│      └─→ Check tests pass                                        │
│                                                                   │
│   2. Apply Deltas to Main Specs                                  │
│      └─→ ADDED → append to spec                                  │
│      └─→ MODIFIED → replace in spec                              │
│      └─→ REMOVED → delete from spec                              │
│      └─→ RENAMED → rename in spec                                │
│                                                                   │
│   3. Move to Archive                                              │
│      └─→ superspec/changes/[id]/                                 │
│      └─→ superspec/changes/archive/YYYY-MM-DD-[id]/              │
│                                                                   │
│   4. Validate Final State                                         │
│      └─→ superspec validate --strict                             │
│                                                                   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Step 1: Verify Ready

bash

# Check verification status
superspec verify [change-id]

# Check tests
npm test / cargo test / pytest

# Confirm all pass

If not ready: Stop. Fix issues first.

Step 2: Apply Deltas

Delta Operations

ADDED Requirements:

markdown

## ADDED Requirements

### Requirement: New Feature
The system SHALL [behavior]

→ Appends to superspec/specs/[capability]/spec.md

MODIFIED Requirements:

markdown

## MODIFIED Requirements

### Requirement: Existing Feature
The system SHALL [updated behavior]

→ Replaces matching requirement in main spec (exact name match required)

REMOVED Requirements:

markdown

## REMOVED Requirements

### Requirement: Deprecated Feature
**Reason**: [why removing]
**Migration**: [how to handle]

→ Removes from main spec, keeps reason in archive

RENAMED Requirements:

markdown

## RENAMED Requirements
- FROM: `### Requirement: Old Name`
- TO: `### Requirement: New Name`

→ Renames in main spec

Apply Order

•Process RENAMED first (avoid conflicts)
•Process REMOVED second
•Process MODIFIED third
•Process ADDED last

Step 3: Move to Archive

bash

# Create archive directory
mkdir -p superspec/changes/archive/$(date +%Y-%m-%d)-[change-id]

# Move all change documents
mv superspec/changes/[change-id]/* \
   superspec/changes/archive/$(date +%Y-%m-%d)-[change-id]/

# Remove empty directory
rmdir superspec/changes/[change-id]

Archive contains:

code

superspec/changes/archive/2024-01-15-add-2fa/
├── proposal.md       # Original proposal
├── design.md         # Technical design
├── specs/            # Delta specs (before application)
│   └── two-factor-auth/
│       └── spec.md
├── plan.md           # Implementation plan
└── tasks.md          # Task checklist (all complete)

Step 4: Validate Final State

bash

# Validate all specs
superspec validate --strict

# List specs to confirm update
superspec list --specs

If validation fails:

•Delta application had errors
•Fix and re-run

CLI Command

bash

# Interactive mode
superspec archive [change-id]

# Non-interactive mode
superspec archive [change-id] --yes

# Skip spec updates (tooling-only changes)
superspec archive [change-id] --skip-specs

Archive Document Structure

After archiving:

code

superspec/
├── specs/                           # Updated main specs
│   ├── user-auth/
│   │   └── spec.md                  # Now includes 2FA requirements
│   └── two-factor-auth/
│       └── spec.md                  # New capability spec
│
└── changes/
    └── archive/
        └── 2024-01-15-add-2fa/      # Complete history
            ├── proposal.md
            ├── design.md
            ├── specs/
            ├── plan.md
            └── tasks.md

Handling Edge Cases

Conflict in MODIFIED

If requirement name doesn't match exactly:

code

Error: Cannot find requirement to modify
Expected: ### Requirement: User Login
Found: ### Requirement: User Authentication

Action: Fix delta spec to use exact name, or update main spec first.

New Capability (No Existing Spec)

If delta adds a new capability:

bash

# Create new spec file
mkdir -p superspec/specs/[new-capability]
cp superspec/changes/[id]/specs/[new-capability]/spec.md \
   superspec/specs/[new-capability]/spec.md

Partial Archive

Don't partially archive. Either:

•Archive complete change
•Keep change active

Red Flags

Never:

•Archive without passing verification
•Archive with failing tests
•Manually edit main specs (use delta process)
•Delete archive history

Always:

•Run superspec verify before archive
•Use superspec archive command (not manual)
•Keep complete archive history
•Validate after archive

Integration

Called by:

•/superspec:archive command
•After finish-branch completes

Pairs with:

•verify - Must pass before finish-branch
•finish-branch - Must complete before archiving (handles merge/PR)
•verification-before-completion - Evidence before claims