/backlog

description: "View and manage pending backlog items. Use when user says '/backlog', '/backlog insights', '/backlog clear', 'what's pending', 'show backlogs', 'check backlog status'. (Code port — ADR-094.)"

/backlog — Backlog Viewer & Manager

View pending items across all four backlogs, or manage entries.

Step 0: Resolve Config

Read `~/.gemini/antigravity/aria-knowledge.local.md` and extract `knowledge_folder`. If the file doesn't exist, stop: "aria-knowledge is not configured. Run /setup to get started."

Set backlog paths:

• `{knowledge_folder}/intake/insights-backlog.md`
• `{knowledge_folder}/intake/decisions-backlog.md`
• `{knowledge_folder}/intake/extraction-backlog.md`
• `{knowledge_folder}/intake/rules-backlog.md`

Step 1: Parse Argument

• **No argument:** go to Step 2 (overview)
• **`insights`**, **`decisions`**, **`extraction`**, or **`rules`:** go to Step 3 (detail view)
• **`clear [type] [date]`:** go to Step 4 (clear entries)

Step 2: Overview Mode

Read all four backlog files. For each, count the number of `### YYYY-MM-DD` entries after the `---` separator and find the most recent date. **If any backlog file is missing**, show "missing — run /setup to repair" instead of a count for that file.

Output:

## Pending Backlogs
- Insights: N entries (latest: YYYY-MM-DD)
- Decisions: N entries (latest: YYYY-MM-DD)
- Extraction: N entries (latest: YYYY-MM-DD)
- Rules: N entries (latest: YYYY-MM-DD)

If a backlog has no entries (or contains only placeholder text like "(No pending insights)" or "(No pending rules)"), show 0 entries.

Step 3: Detail View

Read the requested backlog file. Output all entries after the `---` separator.

If no entries: "No pending [type] items."

Step 4: Clear Entries

**Arguments:** `clear [type] [date]`

• `type`: `insights`, `decisions`, `extraction`, or `rules`
• `date`: YYYY-MM-DD — remove entries on or before this date

**Validate the date argument before proceeding:**

• Must match `YYYY-MM-DD` format. If not: "Invalid date format. Use YYYY-MM-DD (e.g., 2025-03-15)."
• Must not be in the future. If it is: "Cannot clear future-dated entries. Today is [today's date]. Did you mean [suggestion]?"
• If more than 30 entries would be cleared, add a warning: "This will clear N entries — that's a large batch. Are you sure?"

Before clearing, show what will be archived: > "This will archive N entries from [type]-backlog.md dated on or before [date]: > - [date] — [brief context from each entry] > > Entries move to `{knowledge_folder}/archive/backlog-cleared-{type}-{YYYY-MM-DD-HHmmss}.md`. Proceed? (y/n)"

If user confirms, apply the **archive-then-remove pattern** (v2.15.2+): 1. Create `{knowledge_folder}/archive/` if it doesn't exist. 2. Write archive file at `{knowledge_folder}/archive/backlog-cleared-{type}-{YYYY-MM-DD-HHmmss}.md` with this shape:

   ---
   archived_at: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS
   source_backlog: intake/{type}-backlog.md
   cleared_through_date: YYYY-MM-DD
   entry_count: N
   reason: /backlog clear user-invoked
   ---

   # Archived {type} backlog entries — cleared {YYYY-MM-DD}

   The following N entries were cleared from `intake/{type}-backlog.md` on {YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS} via `/backlog clear {type} {date}`. They are preserved here for recovery if needed.

   ---

   ### YYYY-MM-DD — [entry 1 title]
   [full body of entry 1]

   ### YYYY-MM-DD — [entry 2 title]
   [full body of entry 2]

   ...

Copy the full body of each matching `### YYYY-MM-DD` entry (from the entry header down to the next `###` heading or end of file) into the archive file.

3. After the archive is written, remove the matching entries from `intake/{type}-backlog.md`. If all entries are removed, replace with the placeholder text (e.g., "(No pending insights)").

4. Report: "Archived N entries to `archive/backlog-cleared-{type}-{YYYY-MM-DD-HHmmss}.md`. Source backlog updated."

**Never delete (v2.15.2+):** Backlog entries are NEVER `rm`'d during clear. The archive-then-remove pattern moves user-authored content to the archive surface (full body preserved, not just a ledger) before removing from the live backlog. Rule 6 ("Don't delete — archive") is preserved on-disk, no git history dependency.

**User override (explicit, v2.15.2+):** If the user explicitly approves or asks for a bare deletion that skips the archive (phrases like *"delete without archiving"*, *"really delete these entries"*, *"don't archive this clear"*), the destructive operation is permitted. The default safety floor remains archive-then-remove; this override exists for cases where the user has explicit reason to skip preservation (e.g., backlog entries contain sensitive content they want untraceable, or they're clearing test/spam entries that don't deserve archive space). **Before honoring an override, surface the entry count + the date range that would have been archived** and confirm. User-approved bare deletes are one-off — a subsequent `/backlog clear` invocation defaults back to archive-then-remove.

If user declines: "No entries cleared."