Archive and unarchive OKRs
Last updated: September 12, 2026
Archiving takes an OKR out of the working set without deleting it. An archived Objective, Key Result or Initiative drops out of lists and views, stops contributing to its parent's rollup, stops sending check-in reminders, and becomes read-only — but it keeps its place in the hierarchy and its full check-in history, and you bring it back with one click. Archived OKRs never expire and live in a dedicated Archived OKRs view. Archive from the goal's ⋯ menu. You need manage permission on the goal, which by default means its owners, their managers and Rhythms Admins.
When to archive
Archive an OKR when you want it out of the way but kept on the record — last quarter's finished goals cluttering this quarter's list, an abandoned draft, a duplicate, or something that was mis-scoped or left behind by a reorg. Archiving is the tidy-up that closing and deleting were never meant to do:
- Closing records an outcome. A closed OKR stays in your lists and views on purpose, so you can filter and report on it — closing does not put it away.
- Deleting (Move to trash) starts a 30-day countdown to permanent removal. It is for goals that should never have existed, not for real work you want to keep.
- Archiving removes an OKR from the working set, keeps its history forever, and is reversible in one click.
| Archived | Closed | Postponed | Trash | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shows in lists and views | No — only in the Archived OKRs view | Yes (filterable) | Yes | No |
| Contributes to parent's rollup | No | Yes, with its final progress | No | No |
| Check-in reminders | Stop | Stop | Stop | Stop |
| Editable | No — read-only until unarchived | Yes | Yes | No |
| Keeps its history | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, for 30 days |
| How to reverse | Unarchive — one click, never expires | Reopen with a check-in | Reactivate with a check-in | Restore within 30 days |
Archive an OKR
- Find the goal in a list or open its detail panel, click ⋯, then Archive.
- A dialog titled Archive this objective? (or key result, initiative) opens. If the goal has children, choose how far to reach:
- Also archive its immediate child OKRs: archives the direct children as well.
- Archive the entire hierarchy: archives every descendant at every level. (Ticking this ticks the first option too; they nest.)
- Click Archive. A toast confirms it, with a View archived link to the Archived OKRs view.
Children aligned to more than one parent are never archived with a parent — they are still contributing elsewhere, so they stay in the working set and simply keep their other alignments. Unarchiving later brings back exactly the set that was archived in the same action.
What changes when a goal is archived
- It disappears from every list and view. The only place it appears is the Archived OKRs view.
- It becomes read-only. Editing, checking in, changing alignment or weights, and changing roles are all blocked — Rhythms shows "This goal is archived. Unarchive it to make changes." until you unarchive it.
- It stops contributing to its parents' progress, and its contribution weight is redistributed among the remaining children.
- Its check-in reminders stop, any due or overdue state is cleared, and it stops counting against check-in compliance. Connected auto-update playbooks pause.
- You cannot align a new child to an archived goal — "Cannot align to an archived goal. Unarchive it first."
- Its check-in history, activity timeline and provenance are all kept. The goal shows an Archived badge and a banner with a one-click Unarchive.
Archived OKRs still count in reports by default, so archiving something today does not erase it from history; a report filter lets you exclude them when you want a live-only view. The one exception is check-in compliance reporting, which always excludes archived goals because their reminders have stopped.
Find archived OKRs
Open the saved Archived OKRs view to see everything that has been archived, most recently archived first. Archived goals also still turn up in search — each one is marked with an Archived badge — but they are never offered when you are picking a goal to align to or to source from. Every tenant gets the Archived OKRs view automatically.
Unarchive an OKR
Unarchiving returns a goal to the working set. Click Unarchive from the goal's banner or its ⋯ menu — there is no confirmation dialog. The goal reappears in lists, resumes rolling up to its parents, and becomes editable again, and its check-in reminders resume.
When it rejoins its parents, Rhythms recalibrates its contribution weight to the parents' current split rather than restoring a number that may be months out of date. If you archived a hierarchy, unarchiving the top goal brings back exactly the descendants that were archived with it, in the right order.
Frequently asked questions
Archive or delete? Archive keeps the OKR forever and brings it back in one click; deleting (Move to trash) is a 30-day countdown to permanent removal. Archive finished or cluttering goals you want to keep; delete only what should never have existed.
Archive or close? Closed OKRs stay in your lists and views on purpose, so you can filter and report on them. Archive when you want the goal gone from the working set entirely but kept on the record.
Can I edit an archived OKR? No. It is read-only until you unarchive it. This also means you cannot check in on it or change its alignment while it is archived.
Do archived OKRs still show in reports? Yes, by default, with a filter to exclude them. Check-in compliance reporting is the exception — it always excludes archived goals, because their reminders have stopped.
Who can archive a goal? Anyone with manage permission: owners, their managers and Rhythms Admins by default. Delegates can edit and check in but cannot archive, unarchive, trash or delete.
Does archiving delete check-ins? No. History, timeline and provenance survive untouched and come back exactly as they were when you unarchive.
Can I archive from chat? Yes. Ask Rhythms to archive an OKR by name or short ID; it archives just like the menu, and you can unarchive the same way.