06 — Archive Specification
Status
Designed now; implementation begins after inventory and duplicate analysis are proven.
Purpose
Archival preserves data intentionally while removing it from active working storage.
Archive is not synonymous with backup.
Archive Candidate Signals
Examples:
- no modifications for a configurable period;
- completed/inactive project;
- historical year/fiscal period;
- large media no longer actively used;
- explicit user classification.
Age alone must never trigger automatic archival.
Archive Target
A configured archive target includes:
- stable volume ID;
- root path;
- capacity requirements;
- optional organization template;
- verification policy.
Transaction
- Create archive plan.
- Verify source exists and is readable.
- Verify target identity and free capacity.
- Copy to temporary/staging destination.
- Flush/close copy.
- Verify size and full hash.
- Finalize archive destination.
- Write archive manifest.
- Mark archive copy verified.
- Offer source cleanup separately.
If any verification fails, retain the source and report failure.
Manifest
Record:
- archive operation ID;
- original path;
- destination path;
- source volume;
- archive volume;
- size;
- hash algorithm/digest;
- timestamps;
- verification status;
- source cleanup status.
Restoration
A later restore workflow should locate an archived item through the manifest, verify the archive copy, and copy it to a user-selected destination.
Organization
Do not impose a rigid folder taxonomy in the first archive release. Support user-defined archive roots and later optional templates.
External Drive Missing
The catalog should retain archive records when the portable drive is disconnected and clearly indicate that the archive location is currently offline.
Cloud Archive
Cloud archive targets may be added later, but the first implementation should prove the portable-drive workflow.