attic — cold-storage archive & restore (§2.1, executed)

Contract

CLAUDE.md §2.1 stays the governing text: the attic is explicit-instruction-only, its contents are never knowledge, and outside this operation it stays unread. This skill adds procedure only — it can never relax a permission. Never edit the contents of an archived file, in either direction.

Triggers

/attic archive <files|folder|topic> · /attic restore <item> · /attic list · natural language ("archive the X project to the attic", "retire these files", "what's in my attic?"). Passive context (an @-mention, an editor selection, IDEAS.md) never triggers it.

Archive pipeline

0 — Scope

Resolve the instruction to a concrete candidate list: explicit paths, a folder, or a topic located via index.md + targeted grep. Wiki pages, output/ deliverables and assets/ files all qualify. raw/ stays out of scope unless the owner names it — the source layer is already immutable cold storage, and archived pages' sources: may keep pointing at it (attic→outside links are allowed).

1 — Census (read-only)

For every candidate, find inbound references with BOTH pattern families — missing the second family is the known failure mode (deliverables are often cited as backticked paths, not links):

• wikilinks: grep -rF "[[<basename>" --include='*.md' wiki (catches ]], |, #, ![[);
• plain paths: grep -rF "<origin/path>" plus the bare filename, across wiki/. Also scan MANUAL.md, README.md, output/ (report-only surfaces). Classify every hit: live wiki (must sweep) · co-candidate (link stays — attic-internal edges are by design) · wiki/log.md (append-only history, never swept). Positive control (§11): the same probe against a known-linked live page must return >0 before any "no inbound references" claim. Also check each basename against raw/ and wiki/ for name collisions — this drives the manifest link form.

2 — Harvest gate

Before anything moves, read each candidate wiki page and fold facts with future value into the surviving graph: status/outcome facts → the relevant synthesis or campaign page; durable programme/route/organisation facts → entity pages; reusable personal material (approved bios, standing decisions) → wiki/user/. New knowledge only — never duplicate what survivors already hold. Deliverables (output/assets) are skimmed for the same purpose, not compiled. Every harvest edit is listed in the preview.

3 — Preview & approval (mandatory gate)

Present the full table — file · origin · one-phrase reason · harvest destination(s) · sweep scale — and WAIT for the owner's go. No file moves before approval, however obvious the case.

4 — Move

Batches get a thematic subfolder (attic/<topic-year>/, e.g. funding-2026/); singletons go to the attic root (the standing convention). Move folders intact; quote every path (spaces, apostrophes). path:attic/ graph colouring covers subfolders automatically.

5 — Manifest

Append to attic/MANIFEST.md, newest-first, ONE line per file: - [YYYY-MM-DD] <link-or-path> — from origin/ — one-phrase reason. .md files → path-prefixed wikilink [[<subfolder>/<name>]] (unambiguous under basename collisions; gives the grey graph edge). Non-Markdown → a backticked path (an unresolvable wikilink is worse than none). Reasons name where harvested facts now live, so a future restore knows what already survived. The manifest is written only inside this operation.

6 — Sweep

Replace every live-wiki inbound reference with plain text: first occurrence per file X (archived), later occurrences the plain title; reword where a sentence needs it. Co-candidate links stay; wiki/log.md is never rewritten. §4.4 guard: every edited page keeps ≥1 wikilink — if a sweep would orphan a page, substitute a link to the harvest destination. Remove the candidates' index.md entries and refresh index descriptions that named them. Bump updated: only where knowledge changed — a pure link swap is not a knowledge update.

7 — Guarded verify (before the log is written)

Run with §11 positive controls; write the log and refresh qmd ONLY when all pass:

• per-candidate link probe over live wiki (excl. log.md) = 0, using the exact link forms "[[<b>]]" "[[<b>|" "[[<b>#" "/<b>]]" "/<b>|" · control on a kept page name > 0;
• per-candidate path probe = 0 · control on a kept working-file path > 0;
• index.md clean of candidates · control on a kept entry > 0;
• no live-wiki links into attic paths: grep -rF "[[<subfolder>/" wiki = 0;
• orphan guard: every swept page still contains [[;
• moved-file count = manifest-line delta; origin folders hold no candidate remnants; raw/ untouched (find raw -type f -newermt "<op start>" empty). Residues are findings, not embarrassments: fix, re-run the probe, and report them honestly.

8 — Registries

Append one attic entry to wiki/log.md (shell append, never Read+Edit) naming: harvest edits, swept pages, moves, manifest delta. The qmd refresh applies per the qmd-search contract (turn-end hook where installed, inline only where not) — archiving removes pages, which that refresh must see.

Restore pipeline

1. Read attic/MANIFEST.md (this instruction is the sanctioned read); locate the item + origin.
2. Move the file back (recreate the origin folder if needed); delete its manifest line.
3. Wiki page → re-register in index.md (fresh one-liner from the page); then offer to re-link the plain-text mentions (grep -rF "<name> (archived)" wiki) — the owner picks which go live again.
4. Append an attic log entry; qmd refresh if active.

/attic list

Read the manifest back to the owner. Nothing else in the attic is opened.

Report format

Compact table: moved/restored (count + destination) · harvested (fact → surviving page) · swept (pages / links) · verify results (each probe with its control). British/UK English.

Hard constraints

• Explicit user instruction only; the Step-3 preview gate is never skipped.
• Census-scoped reads — never a full-vault re-read; token discipline throughout.
• A zero-findings check is a claim: every probe carries a positive control (CLAUDE.md §11).
• Never edit archived file contents; never sweep co-candidates or log.md history.
• deep-lint SUGGESTS candidates (as ready /attic archive … lines); only the owner's word runs them.