feat: archive closed tickets for large stores

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,6 +2,16 @@
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Added
+- Add `archive` support for compacting closed tickets while preserving their
+  metadata for dependency, relationship, listing, and display commands
+
+### Fixed
+- Keep routine commands responsive on large stores by reading archived ticket
+  metadata from one compact index instead of opening every closed ticket
+- Prevent `closed` from exiting with SIGPIPE when more than 100 ticket files
+  are present
+
 ### Changed
 - Extracted `edit`, `ls`, `query`, and `migrate-beads` commands to plugins (ticket-extras)
 
@@ -15,9 +25,10 @@
 - CI scripts for publishing to Homebrew tap and AUR
 
 ### Plugins
-- ticket-edit 1.0.0: Open ticket in $EDITOR (extracted from core)
-- ticket-ls 1.0.0: List tickets with optional filters (extracted from core); `ticket-list` symlink for alias
-- ticket-query 1.0.0: Output tickets as JSON, optionally filtered with jq (extracted from core)
+- ticket-edit 1.0.1: Resolve archived IDs and require reopening before edits
+- ticket-ls 1.1.0: List active and indexed archived tickets without reopening
+  every archived Markdown file; `ticket-list` remains an alias
+- ticket-query 1.0.1: Include archived tickets in JSON output
 - ticket-migrate-beads 1.0.0: Import tickets from .beads/issues.jsonl (extracted from core)
 
 ## [0.3.2] - 2026-02-03

README.md

@@ -77,6 +77,8 @@ Commands:
   undep <id> <dep-id>      Remove dependency
   link <id> <id> [id...]   Link tickets together (symmetric)
   unlink <id> <target-id>  Remove link between tickets
+  archive [id...]          Move closed tickets into the indexed archive
+    --reindex              Rebuild archive metadata without moving tickets
   ls|list [--status=X] [-a X] [-T X]   List tickets
   ready [-a X] [-T X]      List open/in-progress tickets with deps resolved
   blocked [-a X] [-T X]    List open/in-progress tickets with unresolved deps
@@ -95,6 +97,22 @@ Searches parent directories for .tickets/ (override with TICKETS_DIR env var)
 Supports partial ID matching (e.g., 'tk show 5c4' matches 'nw-5c46')
 ```
 
+## Archiving closed tickets
+
+Large ticket stores can keep routine graph commands fast by moving closed
+tickets into the indexed archive:
+
+```bash
+tk archive                 # archive every closed ticket
+tk archive abc-1234        # archive selected closed tickets
+tk archive --reindex       # rebuild metadata after resolving archive merges
+```
+
+Archived Markdown files remain available to `show`, `closed`, `ls`, `query`,
+partial-ID lookup, and dependency graph commands. Reopening an archived ticket
+moves it back into the active directory. Relationship edits require reopening
+first so the compact archive index cannot become stale.
+
 ## Plugins
 
 Executables named `tk-<cmd>` or `ticket-<cmd>` in your PATH are invoked automatically. This allows you to add custom commands or override built-in ones.

features/steps/ticket_steps.py

@@ -536,6 +536,22 @@ def step_ticket_has_timestamp_in_notes(context, ticket_id):
         f"No timestamp found in notes\nContent: {content}"
 
 
+@then(r'ticket "(?P<ticket_id>[^"]+)" should be archived')
+def step_ticket_is_archived(context, ticket_id):
+    """Assert ticket moved from the active directory into the archive."""
+    tickets_dir = Path(context.test_dir) / '.tickets'
+    assert not (tickets_dir / f'{ticket_id}.md').exists()
+    assert (tickets_dir / 'archive' / f'{ticket_id}.md').exists()
+
+
+@then(r'ticket "(?P<ticket_id>[^"]+)" should remain active')
+def step_ticket_remains_active(context, ticket_id):
+    """Assert ticket is present in the active ticket directory."""
+    tickets_dir = Path(context.test_dir) / '.tickets'
+    assert (tickets_dir / f'{ticket_id}.md').exists()
+    assert not (tickets_dir / 'archive' / f'{ticket_id}.md').exists()
+
+
 @then(r'the output line (?P<line_num>\d+) should contain "(?P<text>[^"]+)"')
 def step_output_line_contains(context, line_num, text):
     """Assert specific line of output contains text."""

features/ticket_archive.feature

@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+Feature: Ticket Archive
+  As a user with a large ticket store
+  I want to archive closed tickets
+  So that routine commands stay fast without losing history
+
+  Background:
+    Given a clean tickets directory
+
+  Scenario: Archive all closed tickets
+    Given a ticket exists with ID "done-0001" and title "Done ticket"
+    And ticket "done-0001" has status "closed"
+    And a ticket exists with ID "open-0001" and title "Open ticket"
+    When I run "ticket archive"
+    Then the command should succeed
+    And the output should contain "Archived 1 ticket(s)"
+    And ticket "done-0001" should be archived
+    And ticket "open-0001" should remain active
+
+  Scenario: Archived dependency remains resolved
+    Given a ticket exists with ID "ready-0001" and title "Ready ticket"
+    And a ticket exists with ID "done-0001" and title "Done dependency"
+    And ticket "ready-0001" depends on "done-0001"
+    And ticket "done-0001" has status "closed"
+    When I run "ticket archive done-0001"
+    And I run "ticket ready"
+    Then the command should succeed
+    And the output should contain "ready-0001"
+
+  Scenario: Show archived ticket with relationships
+    Given a ticket exists with ID "done-0001" and title "Done ticket"
+    And a ticket exists with ID "open-0001" and title "Open child" with parent "done-0001"
+    And ticket "done-0001" has status "closed"
+    When I run "ticket archive done-0001"
+    And I run "ticket show done-0001"
+    Then the command should succeed
+    And the output should contain "# Done ticket"
+    And the output should contain "open-0001 [open] Open child"
+
+  Scenario: Reopen archived ticket restores it to active tickets
+    Given a ticket exists with ID "done-0001" and title "Done ticket"
+    And ticket "done-0001" has status "closed"
+    When I run "ticket archive done-0001"
+    And I run "ticket reopen done-0001"
+    Then the command should succeed
+    And ticket "done-0001" should remain active
+    And ticket "done-0001" should have field "status" with value "open"
+
+  Scenario: List includes archived closed tickets
+    Given a ticket exists with ID "done-0001" and title "Done ticket"
+    And ticket "done-0001" has status "closed"
+    When I run "ticket archive done-0001"
+    And I run "ticket ls --status=closed"
+    Then the command should succeed
+    And the output should contain "done-0001"
+
+  Scenario: Archived relationships require reopening
+    Given a ticket exists with ID "done-0001" and title "Done ticket"
+    And a ticket exists with ID "open-0001" and title "Open ticket"
+    And ticket "done-0001" has status "closed"
+    When I run "ticket archive done-0001"
+    And I run "ticket link done-0001 open-0001"
+    Then the command should fail
+    And the output should contain "must be reopened before editing relationships"
+
+  Scenario: Open ticket cannot be archived
+    Given a ticket exists with ID "open-0001" and title "Open ticket"
+    When I run "ticket archive open-0001"
+    Then the command should fail
+    And the output should contain "only closed tickets can be archived"

plugins/ticket-edit

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 # tk-plugin: Open ticket in $EDITOR
-# tk-plugin-version: 1.0.0
+# tk-plugin-version: 1.0.1
 set -euo pipefail
 
 if [[ $# -lt 1 ]]; then
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ read -r id <<< "$id"
 # Resolve ticket file (exact or partial match)
 file="$TICKETS_DIR/${id}.md"
 if [[ ! -f "$file" ]]; then
-    matches=$(find "$TICKETS_DIR" -maxdepth 1 -name "*${id}*.md" 2>/dev/null)
+    matches=$(find "$TICKETS_DIR" -maxdepth 2 -type f -name "*${id}*.md" 2>/dev/null)
     count=$(printf '%s\n' "$matches" | grep -c . 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
     if [[ "$count" -eq 1 ]]; then
         file="$matches"
@@ -27,6 +27,11 @@ if [[ ! -f "$file" ]]; then
     fi
 fi
 
+if [[ "$file" == "$TICKETS_DIR/archive/"*.md ]]; then
+    echo "Error: archived ticket '$(basename "$file" .md)' must be reopened before editing" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
 if [ -t 0 ] && [ -t 1 ]; then
     "${EDITOR:-vi}" "$file"
 else

plugins/ticket-ls

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 # tk-plugin: List tickets with optional filters
-# tk-plugin-version: 1.0.0
+# tk-plugin-version: 1.1.0
 set -euo pipefail
 
 status_filter="" assignee_filter="" tag_filter=""
@@ -15,8 +15,21 @@ while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
     esac
 done
 
+metadata_files=()
+for file in "$TICKETS_DIR"/*.md; do
+    [[ -f "$file" ]] && metadata_files+=("$file")
+done
+[[ -f "$TICKETS_DIR/archive/index" ]] && metadata_files+=("$TICKETS_DIR/archive/index")
+[[ ${#metadata_files[@]} -eq 0 ]] && metadata_files+=("/dev/null")
+
 awk -v status_filter="$status_filter" -v assignee_filter="$assignee_filter" -v tag_filter="$tag_filter" '
 BEGIN { FS=": "; in_front=0 }
+/^@@tk-file / {
+    if (prev_file) emit()
+    id=""; status=""; title=""; deps=""; assignee=""; tags=""; in_front=0
+    prev_file=substr($0, 11)
+    next
+}
 FNR==1 {
     if (prev_file) emit()
     id=""; status=""; title=""; deps=""; assignee=""; tags=""; in_front=0
@@ -46,4 +59,4 @@ function emit() {
         printf "%-8s [%s] - %s%s\n", id, status, title, dep_str
     }
 }
-' "$TICKETS_DIR"/*.md 2>/dev/null
+' "${metadata_files[@]}" 2>/dev/null

plugins/ticket-query

@@ -1,11 +1,17 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 # tk-plugin: Output tickets as JSON, optionally filtered with jq
-# tk-plugin-version: 1.0.0
+# tk-plugin-version: 1.0.1
 set -euo pipefail
 
 filter="${1:-}"
 
 # Generate all JSON in one awk pass
+ticket_files=()
+for file in "$TICKETS_DIR"/*.md "$TICKETS_DIR"/archive/*.md; do
+    [[ -f "$file" ]] && ticket_files+=("$file")
+done
+[[ ${#ticket_files[@]} -eq 0 ]] && ticket_files+=("/dev/null")
+
 json_output=$(awk '
 BEGIN { FS=": "; in_front=0 }
 FNR==1 {
@@ -48,7 +54,7 @@ function emit() {
     }
 }
 END { if (prev_file) emit() }
-' "$TICKETS_DIR"/*.md 2>/dev/null)
+' "${ticket_files[@]}" 2>/dev/null)
 
 if [[ -n "$filter" ]]; then
     echo "$json_output" | jq -c "select($filter)"