lytos archive

lyt archive moves completed issues from 5-done/ to archive/<quarter>/. It replaces the implicit archival that used to ride on every lyt board run — archival is now explicit and time-gated, so fresh closures stay visible long enough to be used in retros, PR cross-references, and rollback verification.

Usage

lyt archive                     # archive issues closed ≥ 7 days ago (default)
lyt archive --older-than 30d    # use a different retention window
lyt archive --all               # archive everything in 5-done/ regardless of age
lyt archive --dry-run           # preview moves without touching the filesystem

What it does

Scans 5-done/ for issues whose frontmatter updated date is older than the retention threshold.
Moves each matching issue to archive/<quarter>/ where the quarter is derived from the issue’s own updated date, not today’s date. An issue closed in March 2026 lands in 2026-Q1/ even if you archive it in April.
Updates archive/INDEX.md with the new entries.
Regenerates BOARD.md so the “archived” counter stays in sync — no second command needed.

Flags

Flag	Description
`--older-than <age>`	Retention threshold. Accepts `<N>d` (e.g. `7d`, `0d`, `30d`). Default: `7d`.
`--all`	Shortcut for `--older-than 0d`. Archives every issue in `5-done/` regardless of age.
`--dry-run`	Print what would move and which entries are too recent, without touching files.

--older-than and --all are mutually exclusive; --all wins if both are passed.

Why archival is manual (and delayed)

Prior to this command, lyt board archived issues on every run. A closed issue would disappear from the live board within seconds, which created three recurring problems:

Retros and PR references often needed recently closed work for context.
Rollback verification needed to re-read the issue that introduced a regression.
Implicit destructive side-effect on a command advertised as “regenerate BOARD.md”.

lyt archive makes archival an explicit, deliberate action with a retention window. Issues stay visible in 5-done/ for a week by default — long enough for sprint ceremonies, short enough that the board does not swell indefinitely.

Common patterns

End-of-sprint batch

lyt archive --dry-run      # see what will move
lyt archive                # apply if the preview looks right

Reset a demo repo

lyt archive --all          # push everything completed to the archive

Keep a longer window for audited projects

lyt archive --older-than 30d   # monthly cadence

Relationship with `lyt board`

lyt board no longer moves any files. It regenerates BOARD.md and the archive counts — read-only on the filesystem. Use lyt archive when you actually want to promote completed issues out of the live board.

If you want the pre-0.11 behavior (archive on every board regen), run the two commands sequentially:

lyt board && lyt archive --all