---
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]].