> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.timetracker.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Archive: find and restore archived items

> See everything your workspace has archived, search it by name, and restore any item. Archived work keeps its history and still counts in reports.

**Archive** lists everything your workspace has archived, grouped by kind, with
a **Restore** button on every row. Find it at **Settings → Archive**.

Archiving hides finished work without losing it. An archived item keeps its
history, still appears in reports, and can come back at any time.

## Archive vs Trash

These are two different things and it is worth being precise.

|                    | Archive                             | Trash                                           |
| ------------------ | ----------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| What it means      | Finished, put away                  | Deleted                                         |
| Still in reports?  | Yes                                 | No                                              |
| Time limit         | None. It stays until you restore it | Removed for good when the retention window ends |
| How to get it back | **Restore**                         | **Restore**, while it is still there            |

Archive a project when the engagement is over and you want it out of the way.
Delete a project when it should not exist at all.

## What you can archive

| Kind               | Capability to restore or delete it |
| ------------------ | ---------------------------------- |
| Clients            | `client.manage`                    |
| Projects           | `project.manage`                   |
| Sections           | `project.manage`                   |
| Tasks              | `task.delete`                      |
| Tags               | `tag.manage`                       |
| Groups             | `group.manage`                     |
| Roles              | `role.manage`                      |
| Expense categories | `expenseCategory.manage`           |
| Holidays           | `leave.managePolicy`               |
| Leave policies     | `leave.managePolicy`               |
| Reports            | `report.manage`                    |
| Scheduled reports  | `report.manage`                    |
| Saved views        | `report.view`                      |

<Note>
  **Time entries, expenses and schedules cannot be archived.** They are
  transactional records that carry their own status workflow, so they are deleted
  recoverably instead. Look for them in [Trash](/settings/trash).
</Note>

## What archiving actually does

Each kind of item says exactly what happens, and the confirmation shows it
before you archive.

| Kind             | What archiving does                                                                                 |
| ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Client           | It disappears from pickers and the client list. Its projects, invoices and history are untouched    |
| Project          | It leaves the project list and pickers. Tasks, time entries, budgets and invoices are all preserved |
| Section          | The stage is hidden from the board. Its tasks are untouched                                         |
| Task             | It leaves the board and task lists. Its time entries and history are preserved                      |
| Tag              | It leaves the tag picker. Tasks already carrying it keep it                                         |
| Group            | It leaves group pickers. Its members keep their group                                               |
| Role             | It can no longer be assigned. Members already holding it keep it                                    |
| Expense category | It leaves the category picker. Existing expenses stay filed under it                                |
| Holiday          | It stops applying to future leave calculations. Past calculations are unchanged                     |
| Leave policy     | It leaves the policy picker. Existing balances and requests are preserved                           |
| Report           | It leaves the report library. You can restore it at any time                                        |
| Scheduled report | It stops sending. The schedule is kept                                                              |
| Saved view       | It leaves the saved-view list                                                                       |

## What is on this page

* A **Search by name** box at the top, filtering every group at once.
* One card per kind, showing the kind's name and how many items it holds.
* One row per item: its name, and the date it was archived.
* **Restore** and a permanent-delete button on each row, if you may act on that
  kind of item.

If a search matches nothing, the page says so. If nothing is archived at all,
you get **Nothing archived** – "Anything you archive appears here and can be
restored at any time."

## How to restore something

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Archive">
    Go to **Settings → Archive**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Find the item">
    Type part of its name in the search box, or scroll to its group.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Restore">
    The item returns to your active lists at once. There is no confirmation
    step, because restoring destroys nothing.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Restoring also gives back whatever the archiving took with it. Restore a project
and its sections and tasks come back too.

## Deleting from the Archive

Each row also has a permanent-delete button, marked with a bin icon.

<Warning>
  Permanent delete cannot be undone. The item does not pass through Trash – it is
  destroyed.

  You must type the item's exact name to confirm. The name is shown ready to copy,
  with a copy button, and the delete button stays disabled until what you type
  matches.
</Warning>

The confirmation tells you exactly what will be destroyed. For a project that
reads: "The project and every task, section and comment in it are destroyed."

### When permanent delete is refused

Some items cannot be destroyed because something still points at them. The
confirmation names what, with counts – for example "It is referenced by
412 time entries."

This is a safety rule, not a bug. Destroying the item would orphan those
records. Deal with the references first, or leave the item archived.

## Example

Bluebird Coffee's Website Redesign wraps up. Priya Raman archives the project.

It leaves the project list and every picker, so nobody logs time to it by
mistake. The 340 hours tracked against it, its \$40,000 budget and its invoices
are all untouched, and it still appears in Northwind Studio's quarterly
profitability report.

Six weeks later Bluebird asks for a small follow-up. Priya opens
**Settings → Archive**, searches for "Website", and clicks **Restore**. The
project is back where it was, with everything intact.

## Permissions

Anyone can open Archive. That is deliberate – it is a recovery screen, and
hiding it would recreate the problem it exists to solve.

**Restore** and **permanent delete** only appear on rows you may act on. The
capability depends on the kind of item, as listed in the table above. A Member
sees archived clients but no buttons on them, because restoring a client needs
`client.manage`.

## Common questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Do archived items still count in reports?">
    Yes. That is the main difference from Trash. Archiving hides finished work
    from day-to-day lists without removing it from your history.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Is there a time limit on the Archive?">
    No. Archived items stay until you restore them or delete them yourself.
    Only Trash has a retention window.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Where do I archive something in the first place?">
    From the item itself. Each list and detail screen has an archive action for
    the kinds that support it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why can I not archive a time entry?">
    Time entries, expenses and schedules run their own status workflow, so
    archiving would not mean anything for them. They are deleted recoverably
    into Trash instead.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Someone archived something and I cannot restore it">
    You do not hold the capability for that kind of item. Ask someone who does –
    the table above says which one it is.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related guides

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Archive, Trash and delete" icon="box-archive" href="/concepts/archive-trash-and-delete">
    The whole recovery model in one place.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Trash" icon="trash" href="/settings/trash">
    Deleted items, and how long they stay recoverable.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Archive something" icon="inbox" href="/data/archive-something">
    How to archive an item from its own screen.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Archive a project" icon="folder" href="/projects/archive-a-project">
    Putting a finished engagement away.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Workspace settings" icon="gear" href="/settings/overview">
    Every settings page and who can open it.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Delete permanently" icon="triangle-exclamation" href="/data/delete-permanently">
    What permanent delete destroys.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>