> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.pmbai.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Deleting memories

> Archive, restore, or permanently purge - soft delete by default, hard delete when you mean it.

## Soft delete vs hard delete

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Archive (soft)" icon="box-archive">
    Hides a memory from recall but keeps the row - fully **reversible**. The
    default for `forget` / `delete`.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Purge (hard)" icon="trash">
    Removes the row, its search vector, and graph links - **not** reversible.
    `delete --hard` only.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Commands

```bash theme={null}
pmb forget <ulid>            # archive one memory (reversible)
pmb delete <ulid...>         # archive after preview + confirmation
pmb delete <ulid...> --hard  # permanently purge after confirmation
pmb restore <ulid>           # bring back a soft-deleted / archived memory
pmb forget-topic project-x --dry-run   # archive everything about a topic
```

## Clean up automatic writes

If an untrusted session or a noisy agent run may have polluted memory, archive
what the ambient layer wrote itself:

```bash theme={null}
pmb forget-auto --minutes 120   # archive source=autowrite from the last 2h
```

<Note>
  Set an expiry instead of deleting: `pmb ttl <ulid> 30d`, then
  `pmb prune-expired` (from cron) archives anything past its TTL. Pinned
  memories (`pmb pin <ulid>`) are never auto-archived.
</Note>