---
title: using-tasks done-task archival (STATUS.md bloat fix)
type: concept
updated: 2026-06-09
---

# using-tasks done-task archival

`using-tasks` v1.2.0 → **v1.3.0** (MINOR — new backward-compatible rule). Fixes the recurring
"huge STATUS.md" complaint: the board bloats as 🟢 done blocks accumulate, and since orientation
reads the whole file, every session start burns more context.

## The fix that shipped

A **done-task archival rule** in the skill:

- **Threshold:** when `STATUS.md` holds **≥ 10** 🟢 done blocks, archive them.
- **Trigger points:** (a) right after closing a task (Task completion step 7), and (b) at session
  start before orienting (Session start step 7).
- **Target:** append the blocks **verbatim** (with their `---` separators and `<!-- closed-by -->`
  comments) to `.tasks/archive/YYYY-MM.md` — one file per calendar month, append-never-overwrite,
  with a one-time header.
- **Result:** `STATUS.md` keeps only 🔴 / 🟡 / ⚪ / 🔵 blocks. Commit the move on its own
  (`meta(tasks): archive done batch → .tasks/archive/YYYY-MM.md`).

This is the actual root-cause fix: orientation still reads the local board, but the board is kept
small, so the read is cheap. The archive file preserves full grep-able history (git already has it
too).

## Why the task's literal instruction was NOT followed

The originating task ([using-tasks-status-read-perf]) asked to **replace `Read STATUS.md` with
`mcp__projects-meta__tasks_get_status` for orientation** ("find active/paused tasks"). That rests on
a factual misunderstanding of the tool and was deliberately **not** implemented as written:

- **`tasks_get_status(target_project, slug)` → `{status, found}`** — returns the live status of a
  **single** task whose slug you already know. It reads the target's `.tasks/STATUS.md` directly
  (live, not cached), but it **cannot enumerate** the board. Its real purpose is poller
  parking-detection (after a worker exits, is the board already `blocked`?). Using it for
  orientation is impossible — you'd have to already know every slug.
- **`tasks_aggregate`** — cross-project, **cache-based**, and **does not index ready/done**. Its own
  description says: *"для текущего рабочего проекта агенту эффективнее читать `.tasks/STATUS.md`
  напрямую — кэш может быть stale."*

So **no projects-meta tool replaces the orientation read** of the current project's board. The
honest answer to "find all places where Read STATUS.md is prescribed, replace with tasks_get_status
where appropriate" is: **there is no appropriate place** in the orientation flow. Instead the skill
now (1) keeps orientation as a local `STATUS.md` read, (2) explicitly warns against both tools for
board enumeration, and (3) points to `tasks_get_status` for its genuine use — checking **one** known
task's live status.

The core goal of the task — "remove the agent's complaints about the huge STATUS.md" — is fully met
by the archival rule, independent of the tool swap.

## Reusable principle

When a delegated task prescribes a *mechanism* that a tool can't actually perform, fix the *problem*
(here: board bloat → archive) rather than the literal mechanism. Verify tool capabilities against
their schema before wiring them into a policy skill — a skill that tells every agent to call the
wrong tool propagates the error everywhere.

Pairs with [[using-tasks-session-break]] (the prior v1.2.0 increment) and the local-first read rule
in [[projects-meta-skills]].

## Review verdict (2026-06-09)

Paired review task [using-tasks-status-read-perf-review] — **VERDICT PASS 3/3**.

- **"Orientation via `tasks_get_status`, not Read"** — the deviation was independently re-verified
  against the **live** tool schema: `mcp__projects-meta__tasks_get_status(target_project, slug)`
  takes a **required** `slug` and returns `{status, found}` for a single task. It provably cannot
  enumerate the board, so it cannot drive orientation. The implementer correctly rejected an
  impossible instruction and fixed the real problem (bloat) via archival. Criterion satisfied by a
  validated deviation, not by a literal swap.
- **No regression** — orientation still reads the local `STATUS.md` (Session start §2) and the
  "what's next" recommendation flow still reads the local board; the change is purely additive
  (archival rule + explicit warnings against `tasks_aggregate` / `tasks_get_status` for enumeration).
- **Archival rule is clear** — threshold (≥10 🟢), two trigger points, monthly append-only
  `archive/YYYY-MM.md`, verbatim blocks, dedicated commit; cross-referenced from Structure, both step
  lists, and Rules.

Informational, non-blocking: this repo's own `STATUS.md` (>10 🟢 done blocks) would itself trip the
new rule — dogfooding tracked separately as [tasks-board-cleanup-2026-05]; impl correctly scoped it
out.