12 · uninstall-archive

What this scenario proves

The Archive ledgers option moves the runtime ledgers (drift.md / debt.md / memos.md / runs/) into a single timestamped tarball or zip outside .archon/ (e.g. .archon-archive-2026-05-05.tar.gz at the project root) before deleting .archon/ entirely.

This is the option for projects that:

• want a clean repo (no .archon/ left behind),
• but also want a portable record of the governance history they built up, in case they re-adopt later or audit the past.

Test environment

Fixture	output of scenario 01 + at least one boot-cursor-node (05) drift row
IDE	Cursor
Manifest version under test	v0.1.0
OS	same as scenario 01

Pre-conditions

1. Scenarios 01 + 05 both ✅.
2. .archon/drift.md has at least one real row.
3. git status clean.

Steps

1. In Cursor, paste exactly:
     hi archon, uninstall yourself and archive my ledgers
2. The agent should print a planned-removal table that includes a
   line like:
     ARCHIVE  .archon/drift.md, .archon/debt.md, ...
       → .archon-archive-<YYYY-MM-DD-HHmm>.tar.gz
     DELETE   <every other canonical and ledger file>
3. Confirm.
4. Verify on disk:
     - .archon/  — gone entirely
     - .cursor/  — gone (binding dir removed; if you keep .cursor/
       for non-Archon settings, only Archon's contributed files are
       removed)
     - scripts/archon-check.py — gone
     - .archon-archive-<timestamp>.tar.gz — exists at project root
5. Inspect the archive contents:
     tar -tzf .archon-archive-<timestamp>.tar.gz
   should list every preserved ledger plus a small README
   explaining how to restore.
6. Verify the project's own validate still works:
     npm run validate     # exit 0

Expected outcome

Check	Expected
Archive tarball exists at project root	yes
Archive includes .archon/drift.md, .archon/debt.md, .archon/memos.md, and any runs/ content	yes
Archive includes a README explaining restore steps	yes
.archon/ directory removed	yes
.cursor/ Archon-contributed files removed (other Cursor settings preserved)	yes
npm run validate exit code	0
git status after uninstall	shows the archive tarball as untracked + Archon files deleted
Restore by extracting archive into a fresh .archon/ directory then running install	works (manual verification optional)

Demo recordings

🎬Recording coming soonuninstall-archive.mp4IDE chat-panel walkthrough

Will be replaced by docs/public/videos/uninstall-archive.mp4 once recorded. See videos/README for upload conventions.

uninstall-archive.cast

$ archon doctor .
[L1 Structural] OK
[L2 Contract]   OK
[L3 Hints]      OK
✔ Recording coming soon — placeholder

Will be replaced by docs/public/asciinema/uninstall-archive.cast embedded via the asciinema-player web component. See asciinema/README for the recording command.

Run records

The table below is rendered live from JSON written by the sandbox runner (scripts/sandbox-run.mjs) under docs/testing/sandbox/runs/uninstall-archive/. To add a new row, run

node scripts/sandbox-run.mjs --only=uninstall-archive

Started (UTC)	Manifest	Runner	Result	Duration	Notes	Record
2026-05-06 10:24:36 UTC	v0.1.0	cli	✅ passing	357 ms	—	JSON
2026-05-06 06:10:26 UTC	v0.1.0	cli	✅ passing	399 ms	—	JSON
2026-05-06 00:55:44 UTC	v0.1.0	cli	✅ passing	360 ms	—	JSON
2026-05-06 00:40:10 UTC	v0.1.0	cli	✅ passing	363 ms	—	JSON
2026-05-05 15:00:36 UTC	v0.1.0	cli	✅ passing	328 ms	—	JSON
2026-05-05 14:55:19 UTC	v0.1.0	cli	✅ passing	418 ms	—	JSON
2026-05-05 14:22:54 UTC	v0.1.0	cli	✅ passing	365 ms	—	JSON
2026-05-05 14:04:54 UTC	v0.1.0	cli	✅ passing	400 ms	—	JSON
2026-05-05 14:00:01 UTC	v0.1.0	cli	❌ failing	388 ms	failed assertions: dir_absent: tools/archon-cli: unexpectedly present: tools/archon-cli	JSON
2026-05-05 13:55:06 UTC	v0.1.0	cli	❌ failing	477 ms	failed assertions: dir_absent: tools/archon-cli: unexpectedly present: tools/archon-cli	JSON

Known limitations

• The exact archive filename pattern (.tar.gz vs .zip, timestamp granularity) is whatever the protocol page declares — this scenario asserts the archive exists and is restorable, not the exact filename shape.
• Restore-from-archive is verified manually here; a dedicated restore-from-archive scenario would tighten this guarantee.

Cross-references

• Protocol page: /setup/uninstall § "Archive ledgers"
• Pre-requisite: 01 install-cursor-node + 05 boot-cursor-node
• Sibling: 11 uninstall-preserve — keeps .archon/ ledgers in place instead of archiving.

{
  "runnable": "cli",
  "fixture": "fixtures/sandbox-node-ts",
  "ide_platform": "cursor",
  "prerequisites": [
    {
      "name": "archon install",
      "cli": "install",
      "flags": [
        "--with=cli"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "steps": [
    {
      "name": "archon uninstall --archive-ledgers",
      "cli": "uninstall",
      "flags": [
        "--archive-ledgers"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "assertions": [
    {
      "file_absent": ".cursor/commands/archon.md"
    },
    {
      "file_absent": "tools/archon-cli/bin/archon.mjs"
    },
    {
      "file_absent": ".archon/soul.md"
    }
  ],
  "notes": "--archive-ledgers moves runtime ledgers under .archon-history-<ts>/. We assert .archon/soul.md is gone (moved). A more rigorous check could glob-match .archon-history-*/soul.md."
}