[](https://dsh-insights.com/p/Ultronen/dsh-archived-chats/)
Session Archive gives DeepSeek Harness a first-class home for chats that disappear from the sidebar after archive. Browse every archived conversation by workspace, search its full content, recover deleted chats from the Recycle Bin, and manage them through explicit, reversible workflows.
> Formerly **Archived Chats**, now **Session Archive / 会话档案**. The package name, repository, install command, and local data location are unchanged; existing users need no data migration.
## Quick start
```sh
dsh plugin --profile web add dsh-archived-chats@latest
```
Restart DSH once, then open **Settings → Session Archive**.
Update an existing installation:
```sh
dsh plugin --profile web update dsh-archived-chats
```
## Core capabilities
| Area | What it provides |
| --- | --- |
| **Browse and search** | Workspace-grouped archive browsing, full-text search across messages and tool results, filters, sorting, tags, and notes. |
| **Archive a workspace** | From **Settings → Session Archive**, choose a workspace and open one confirmation for every eligible chat in it. Empty new-session windows are excluded; the workspace and its directory stay unchanged. |
| **Read-only preview** | Native conversation layout for Markdown, reasoning, tool activity, JSON, code, and available stored images, with responsive turn navigation. |
| **Existing data** | Prior snapshots appear directly in the **Recycle Bin** for read-only preview, recovery as a new archived copy, or confirmed permanent deletion. Archiving no longer creates versions. |
| **Backup and restore** | JSON + Markdown ZIP export with preview-first, conflict-safe import. Existing session IDs are never overwritten. |
| **Recoverable deletion** | Snapshot-protected Recycle Bin with immediate Undo, two-level restore, separately confirmed permanent deletion, and an optional direct permanent-delete action for users who do not need recovery. |
| **Storage and relationships** | Separate storage accounting, optional automatic Recycle Bin cleanup, and read-only Origins & Branches for forks and subagent trees. |
The four main views are **Archived**, **Recycle Bin**, **Storage & Retention**, and **Origins & Branches**. Existing snapshots are preserved during upgrades and folded into the Recycle Bin; the separate History entry and archive-time capture have been retired.
## Safety by design
- **Local only:** plugin metadata, recycle records, policies, and validated snapshots stay under `$DSH_HOME/plugin-data/archived-chats/`. Nothing is uploaded or cloud-synced.
- **No silent overwrite:** imports and legacy-snapshot recovery create or select non-conflicting IDs; they never replace an existing session.
- **Deletion stays explicit:** ordinary removal enters the Recycle Bin after snapshot protection. Physical removal is available only through confirmed permanent-purge actions.
- **Optional automatic cleanup:** off by default. After confirming a retention period, expired Recycle Bin chats are permanently deleted while DSH runs, with catch-up on startup. Enabling or shortening the period shows affected chats for confirmation; older saved policies stay disabled.
- **Confirmed workspace archive:** the chooser lists only workspaces with eligible chats and supports single, multiple, or toggleable Select all selection through a bottom-right Confirm button. The plugin prepares each exact set in the background, skips workspaces that became empty, then shows one aggregate confirmation. Only sessions whose inspected log contains a real `turn/start` are eligible; empty new-session windows and sessions whose content cannot be confirmed are skipped. Each workspace keeps its own five-minute, single-use credential, which excludes chats added later; a running chat is skipped, never stopped or moved.
- **Backup scope is visible:** ZIP exports preserve complete session JSON and readable Markdown, but do not include attachment bytes or descendant sessions.
## Compatibility
Features activate from the public capabilities exposed by the DeepSeek Harness Host instead of a hard-coded Host version.
| Host capability | Plugin behavior |
| --- | --- |
| Archive and session reads | Browsing, search, preview, legacy-snapshot inventory in the Recycle Bin, storage accounting, and lineage. |
| `settings.section` + public `archiveSession` | The plugin-owned settings page provides an eligible-only multi-workspace chooser and one aggregate confirmation without requiring a workspace-menu extension slot. Without archive capability, preparation returns `workspace-archive-unsupported` and makes no change. |
| Attachment reads | Stored images appear in conversation and snapshot previews; without it, text remains readable. |
| Session-scoped log location | Recycle Bin permanent deletion uses the persistence provider's public `locate(meta)` capability. Providers without a session-scoped location remain unsupported; failed operations retain their rows and display the reason. |
| Public session writer | ZIP import, legacy-snapshot recovery, and snapshot fallback when an original is missing all write through the Host's public `create` / `append` / `locate` capability, or a dedicated restore entry point where one exists. |
| Missing write capability | The operation returns `restore-unsupported` without writing or overwriting data. |
Back up `$DSH_HOME/plugin-data/archived-chats/` before downgrading to a release that does not understand the unified Recycle Bin or newer snapshot state.
## Demo preview
The eight fixed screenshots below come from an isolated Simplified Chinese light-theme Web environment with synthetic conversations. They contain no real user data, paths, notes, or credentials, and are the same ordered image set declared to the plugin market.
View all eight screenshots
Archive overview |
Full-text search |
Workspace archive chooser |
Read-only preview |
Unified Recycle Bin |
Empty Recycle Bin confirmation |
Automatic cleanup confirmation |
Origins and Branches |
## Documentation
| Resource | English | 简体中文 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| User guide | [Read the guide](docs/USER_GUIDE.md) | [查看指南](docs/USER_GUIDE.zh-CN.md) |
| Architecture | [Maintainer architecture](docs/ARCHITECTURE.en.md) | [维护者架构](docs/ARCHITECTURE.md) |
| Release history | [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/Ultronen/dsh-archived-chats/releases) | [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/Ultronen/dsh-archived-chats/releases) |
See also [Support](SUPPORT.md), [Security](SECURITY.md), [Contributing](CONTRIBUTING.md), [Code of Conduct](CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md), and [Discussions](https://github.com/Ultronen/dsh-archived-chats/discussions). Before claiming work or opening a pull request, contributors must read the [Contributing Guide](CONTRIBUTING.md) in full.
## Project status
Session Archive is actively maintained. The latest stable npm release receives fixes and security updates; older releases should be upgraded before reporting a problem. Reproducible bug reports and focused pull requests are welcome. Accepted community tasks are marked [`help wanted`](https://github.com/Ultronen/dsh-archived-chats/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen+label%3A%22help+wanted%22); read the [claim workflow](CONTRIBUTING.md#community-proposals-and-claims) before starting substantial work. Maintenance is performed as availability permits, so no fixed response or release schedule is promised.
## Development
```sh
npm test
```
The suite covers Host and browser behavior, export/import, older-snapshot recovery, Recycle Bin, retention, search, responsive layout, public types, package contents, and repository hygiene. It uses isolated temporary data and never reads real sessions.
## Uninstall
```sh
dsh plugin --profile web remove dsh-archived-chats
```
Uninstalling removes only the plugin package. It does not delete local data under `$DSH_HOME/plugin-data/archived-chats/` or trigger Recycle Bin permanent purge. Retained data includes `metadata.json`, `trash.json`, `legacy-recycle.json`, `retention.json`, the `snapshots/` directory, and any legacy `pending-deletions.json` that has not yet been migrated. A later reinstall can use this data. Before permanently removing the directory, restore and back up anything you need, then delete it manually only after confirming that none of its data is still required.
## License
[MIT](LICENSE)
