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

# Archiving and Deleting Batches

> Archiving hides a finished batch and is reversible; deleting is permanent and only possible while the batch is still a Draft. Why the difference exists.

Archiving and deleting are not two grades of the same action. Archiving hides a batch from the
default view and can be undone at any time. Deleting destroys the record permanently and only
works on a Draft batch. If a batch has moved past Draft, archiving is your only option.

## Archiving a batch

Open the batch and choose **Archive** in the footer, or use the row menu in the Access Media
table. Archived batches:

* drop out of the default batch list
* come back with the **Show archived** toggle on the Access Media page, or the **Archived** filter
  chip in the Print History panel
* still appear in a link's own print history, so the record of what a code was printed in is
  never hidden
* keep their CSV, photo, notes, tags and every per-code deployment status

**Unarchive** is the same button, and it restores the batch to the default view immediately.
Archiving works at any status — including Deployed — which makes it the normal way to retire a
completed run.

## Deleting a batch

Deleting is only available while the batch is in **Draft**. In the batch panel the **Delete**
button appears in the footer; in the batch list a delete icon appears on hover. Either way you
get a confirmation prompt, because there is no undo.

Deleting a Draft batch removes:

* the batch record
* its stored CSV file
* its cover photo
* every per-code print event belonging to it

The links themselves are untouched. Deleting a batch never deletes a Link, an Item, or anything
those codes point at — it only discards the record of the run.

## Why deletion stops at Draft

Attempt to delete a batch that has reached Printing, Printed or Deployed and QRtub refuses with
**"Cannot delete a batch that is past draft. Archive it instead."** This is deliberate. Once a
batch has been sent to a printer, its codes may be physically on equipment, and the batch is the
only record of what was produced. Losing it would leave stickers in the field with no trace of
where they came from.

The same protection extends to the links inside the batch: a link that appears in any batch past
Draft cannot be hard-deleted. Unassigning it from its Item is still fine — see
[Deleting, Unassigning, and Releasing Links](/links/deleting-and-releasing-links).

Bulk-deleting several batches at once processes them one at a time and stops at the first batch
that is past Draft, showing that error. Batches earlier in the selection are already gone by
then, so check the statuses before you confirm a bulk delete.

If you prepared a run you never sent, leave it as a Draft. That is the only state you can
discard cleanly.

## Related

* [Batch Status: Draft to Deployed](/print-batches/batch-status)
* [Finding and Filtering Your Batches](/print-batches/finding-batches)
* [Viewing a Link's Print History](/print-batches/link-print-history)