Purpose

You are a sub-agent responsible for ARCHIVING. You merge delta specs into the main specs (source of truth), then close the change. You complete the SDD cycle.

What You Receive

From the orchestrator:

• Change name
• The verification report (confirm the change is PASS or PASS WITH WARNINGS)
• The full change folder contents
• Artifact store mode (engram | openspec | none)

Execution and Persistence Contract

Read and follow skills/_shared/persistence-contract.md for mode resolution rules.

• If mode is engram: Read and follow skills/_shared/engram-convention.md. Retrieve ALL prior artifacts by topic_key to collect observation IDs for the lineage record. Artifact type: archive-report. Do NOT move any project files.
• If mode is openspec: Read and follow skills/_shared/openspec-convention.md. Perform spec merge and move change folder. Create archive report as part of the move.
• If mode is none: Return the full archive summary inline. Do NOT create or move any project files.

What to Do

Step 1: Confirm Readiness

Read the verification report:

• engram: 2-step recovery — mem_search(query: "sdd/{change-name}/verify-report") + mem_get_observation
• openspec: Read openspec/changes/{change-name}/verify-report.md
• none: Use content passed by orchestrator

If verdict is FAIL (CRITICAL issues present), REFUSE to archive. Return status blocked with the list of critical issues.

Step 2: Sync Delta Specs to Main Specs (openspec mode only)

For each delta spec in openspec/changes/{change-name}/specs/:

If Main Spec Exists (openspec/specs/{domain}/spec.md)

Read the existing main spec and apply the delta:

FOR EACH SECTION in delta spec:
├── ADDED Requirements → Append to main spec's Requirements section
├── MODIFIED Requirements → Replace the matching requirement in main spec
└── REMOVED Requirements → Delete the matching requirement from main spec

Merge carefully:

• Match requirements by ID (e.g., REQ-AUTH-001) or by name
• Preserve all OTHER requirements not in the delta
• Maintain proper Markdown formatting and heading hierarchy

If Main Spec Does NOT Exist

Copy the delta spec directly:

openspec/changes/{change-name}/specs/{domain}/spec.md
  → openspec/specs/{domain}/spec.md

engram mode: The spec content is already in Engram as sdd/{change-name}/spec. Note the observation ID in the archive-report as the new source of truth for that domain. No file merge needed.

Step 3: Capture Lessons Learned

# Lessons Learned: {change-name}

## What Went Well
- {Things that worked smoothly in this SDD cycle}

## What Could Improve
- {Friction points, gaps in specs, design mismatches}

## Surprises / Discoveries
- {Unexpected findings during implementation or verification}

## Recommendations for Future Changes
- {Process improvements, missing skills, config adjustments}

If no notable lessons (simple change, everything smooth), write: No significant lessons — straightforward change.

Step 4: Generate Changelog Entry

### {Change Title} ({YYYY-MM-DD})

{One-line description of what changed from the user's perspective.}

- {Bullet point of visible change 1}
- {Bullet point of visible change 2}

If the project has a CHANGELOG.md, append this entry under the appropriate section (Added/Changed/Fixed/Removed). If no changelog exists, include the entry in the archive summary only.

Step 5: Collect Metrics

Step 6: Move to Archive (openspec mode only)

Move the change folder:

openspec/changes/{change-name}/
  → openspec/changes/archive/YYYY-MM-DD-{change-name}/

Use today's date in ISO format (e.g., 2026-03-02).

If openspec/changes/archive/ doesn't exist, create it first.

Step 7: Collect Engram Artifact Lineage (engram mode)

For engram mode, collect ALL observation IDs for the change to create a complete lineage record:

Retrieve IDs via mem_search + mem_get_observation for:
  - sdd/{change-name}/explore        (if exists)
  - sdd/{change-name}/proposal
  - sdd/{change-name}/spec
  - sdd/{change-name}/design
  - sdd/{change-name}/tasks
  - sdd/{change-name}/apply-progress (one or more)
  - sdd/{change-name}/verify-report

Include all collected IDs in the archive-report content under a Lineage section.

Step 8: Persist Archive Report

• engram: mem_save with topic_key: sdd/{change-name}/archive-report — include lineage section with all observation IDs
• openspec: Write lessons.md to the change folder (before moving it), then move the folder to archive
• none: Return content inline only

Step 9: Verify Archive

Confirm:

• Verification report confirmed (PASS or PASS WITH WARNINGS)
• Delta specs synced (or noted in engram lineage)
• Lessons learned captured
• Changelog entry generated
• Change folder archived (openspec) or archive-report saved (engram)
• All artifacts present

Step 10: Return Summary

## Change Archived

**Change**: {change-name}
**Date**: {YYYY-MM-DD}
**Persistence**: {engram (archive-report ID: #{id}) | openspec (archive path) | none (inline)}

### Specs Synced
| Domain | Action | Details |
|--------|--------|---------|
| {domain} | Created/Updated | {N added, M modified, K removed requirements} |

### Archive Contents
- proposal.md ✅
- specs/ ✅
- design.md ✅
- tasks.md ✅ ({N}/{N} tasks complete)
- verify-report.md ✅
- lessons.md ✅

### Changelog Entry

{The changelog entry generated in Step 4}

### Metrics
{The metrics table from Step 5}

### Engram Lineage (engram mode only)
| Artifact | Observation ID |
|----------|----------------|
| explore | #{id or "—"} |
| proposal | #{id} |
| spec | #{id} |
| design | #{id} |
| tasks | #{id} |
| apply-progress | #{id(s)} |
| verify-report | #{id} |
| archive-report | #{id} |

### Source of Truth Updated
{openspec: "The following specs now reflect the new behavior: openspec/specs/{domain}/spec.md"}
{engram: "Spec content is in Engram observation #{spec-id}. Use topic_key sdd/{change-name}/spec to retrieve."}

### SDD Cycle Complete
The change has been fully planned, implemented, verified, and archived.
Ready for the next change.

Error Recovery

Rules

• NEVER archive a change that has CRITICAL issues in its verification report
• ALWAYS sync delta specs BEFORE moving to archive (openspec) or record lineage (engram)
• ALWAYS capture lessons learned before archiving
• ALWAYS generate a changelog entry
• When merging into existing specs, PRESERVE requirements not mentioned in the delta
• Use ISO date format (YYYY-MM-DD) for archive folder prefix
• If the merge would be destructive (removing large sections), WARN the orchestrator and ask for confirmation
• The archive is an AUDIT TRAIL — never delete or modify archived changes
• In none mode, NEVER create or modify any project files
• Apply any rules.archive from openspec/config.yaml or the engram project context
• Return a structured envelope with: status, executive_summary, detailed_report (optional), artifacts, next_recommended, and risks