archivator 0.1.1

Project-based archive and trash manager for VFX pipelines

Archivator

A project-based storage and trash management tool designed for VFX pipelines.

Archivator provides a structured way to manage multiple projects, each with its own storage and dedicated trash system — enabling safe deletion, recovery, and future automation of cleanup workflows.

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Overview

Archivator acts as a centralized storage manager where each project is defined by:

• A Project Root (active working directory)
• A Trash Directory (safe deletion zone)

Instead of permanently deleting files, tools can move them to a project-specific trash folder, allowing recovery and controlled cleanup.

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Features

• Manage multiple projects
• Per-project trash directories
• Add, edit, and remove projects
• Search projects by name
• Custom project thumbnails
• Open project or trash in file explorer
• Empty trash safely per project
• Basic CLI support (work in progress)

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Screenshots

Project Browser

Project Settings

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Example Integration

Archivator is designed to integrate with production tools.

A reference implementation is available via the Prism plugin:

👉 https://github.com/ClaireBenes/PrismPlugin-TrashManager

This plugin demonstrates how Archivator can be used as a backend to:

• Redirect file deletion to a safe trash system
• Restore deleted files
• Provide direct access to project trash from within a DCC pipeline

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Data & Architecture

Archivator relies on a lightweight, filesystem-based approach for managing data and state.

Persistence

The system maintains a persistent state through two main mechanisms:

• Project Registry (JSON)
  A central configuration file stores all registered projects, including their root paths, trash directories, and metadata.

• Per-File Metadata (.archivator.json)
  When files are moved to trash, associated metadata files are created to store:

  • Original file path
  • Deletion date
  • Grouping information (for related files)

This approach keeps the system simple, transparent, and easy to inspect or modify without requiring a database.

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Execution Model

Archivator currently operates in an on-demand mode:

• Actions such as move to trash and restore are executed immediately
• No background processing or job queue is implemented yet

This design keeps the tool lightweight while allowing future extension toward more advanced workflows.

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Configuration Granularity (Planned)

Configuration is currently defined at the project level, but the system is designed to support more granular rules in the future.

Planned extensions include:

• Rules based on file types (e.g. .exr, .ma, .abc)
• Context-aware behavior (e.g. render vs compositing outputs)
• Department-specific configurations

Example use case:

• Limit the number of stored versions for heavy render outputs (EXR)
• Keep more history for lighter or critical files

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Future Architecture

Archivator is currently a local application, but a client/server architecture is being considered for future development.

This would enable:

• Centralized file analysis and cleanup
• Background processing (scheduler-based tasks)
• Better permission and access management
• Integration via APIs (e.g. REST) with external tools such as Prism

This evolution would allow Archivator to scale from a local tool to a more production-ready pipeline service.

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Roadmap

Planned improvements include:

Packaging

• Distribute Archivator as a pip-installable package
• Remove need for local path dependencies in integrations

Automated Cleanup System

• Detect unused or unreferenced files
• Move candidates to trash safely
• Configurable rules:
  • Target directories
  • Time-based thresholds
  • Dependency validation

Pipeline Intelligence

• Non-destructive cleanup workflows
• Smarter file analysis to prevent breaking projects

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Technical Details

• Python 3.11
• PySide6 (Qt-based UI)
• Windows (currently supported platform)

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Installation (Current)

Archivator is not yet packaged.

Clone the repository and run locally:

git clone https://github.com/ClaireBenes/Archivator