Skill: Archive Orphaned Attachments

Command: /archive-attachments [--dry-run] Model: 🟢 Haiku Agent: None (direct execution)

Purpose

Find and archive attachments that are not referenced in any vault note. Orphaned attachments waste storage and clutter the vault without adding value.

When to Use

•During quarterly vault maintenance
•After bulk PDF/PPTX conversions that leave unreferenced files
•When Attachments folder grows unexpectedly
•Before committing large changes to reduce repo size

Usage

bash

# Preview what would be archived (recommended first step)
/archive-attachments --dry-run

# Archive orphaned files
/archive-attachments

What It Does

•Scans all markdown and canvas files for attachment references
•Identifies orphaned files in Attachments/ not referenced anywhere
•Moves orphans to Archive/Attachments/ preserving folder structure
•Updates manifest at Archive/Attachments/archive-manifest.json

Protected Files

These files are never archived:

•.gitkeep
•.DS_Store
•README.md

Output

The script reports:

•Total orphaned files and size
•Breakdown by file type
•Files moved (or would move in dry-run)

Implementation

Run the Python script:

bash

python3 .claude/scripts/archive-orphan-attachments.py [--dry-run] [--verbose]

Flags

Flag	Description
`--dry-run`	Show what would be archived without moving files
`--verbose`	Show detailed file list

Manifest Format

The manifest tracks all archive operations:

json

{
  "created": "2026-02-01T08:26:26",
  "last_updated": "2026-02-01T08:26:26",
  "archives": [
    {
      "date": "2026-02-01T08:26:26",
      "files_moved": 1176,
      "total_bytes": 826369700,
      "files": [
        {
          "filename": "example.png",
          "original_path": "subfolder/example.png",
          "size_bytes": 12345
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Restoring Files

If a file was archived by mistake:

•Check the manifest for the original path
•Move the file back from Archive/Attachments/ to Attachments/
•The next run will skip it if it's now referenced

•/vault-maintenance - Full quarterly health check
•/quality-report - Comprehensive vault metrics
•npm run health - Quick health check

Archive Attachments