> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.nuvolos.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.nuvolos.com/how-to-guides/workflows-for-instructors/archiving-your-course.md).

# Archiving your course

## Archive your course

<mark style="color:$primary;">**Outcome**</mark>\
You set a date after which the course is archived, freeing up storage while preserving student work for download or distribution.

<mark style="color:$primary;">**Before you start**</mark>

* You are a **Space Administrator** of the course.
* The course is winding down or the term has ended.

Course spaces have a defined lifecycle. After a configured date, the space is archived automatically - its data moves to cold storage, freeing space for active courses. This is conceptually similar to resting spaces in research projects, but archival is specific to course spaces and managed automatically. See [Concepts › The hierarchy and resource model](/concepts/nuvolos-basic-concepts.md) for the conceptual model.

### Set or change the archival date

{% stepper %}
{% step %}
Open the course space.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
From the sidebar, navigate to the space **Settings**.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Select **General** settings menu.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Under the **Space details**, edit **Archive on** date.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

The space is archived automatically overnight on the configured date. You can change the archival date at any time before archival happens.

#### What archival means for you and students

* Application and personal data in student instances are backed up to cold storage.
* Applications can't be launched in an archived course directly.
* Data can be redistributed from snapshots, after which files can be downloaded and applications started again.

{% hint style="warning" %}
Archived courses are not for everyday use. Restored snapshots are periodically re-archived without taking new safety backups. Restore a snapshot in an archived course only when you need to either download specific data or distribute files, tables, or applications to another active space.
{% endhint %}

#### Assignments in archived courses

When a course is archived, the Assignments view remains accessible (moved to the bottom of the sidebar) but is shown in a read-only, dimmed state:

* Assignment rows are greyed out to indicate the archived state.
* Action buttons (submit hand-in, edit assignment, delete) are hidden.
* Clicking an assignment name does not navigate to its detail page.

Assignment history remains visible for reference, but no modifications are possible.

### Find archived courses

{% stepper %}
{% step %}
Either use the **Recent Spaces** on the bottom of the Dashboard or from the sidebar select **Spaces** to open the Space list.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
In the search bar click **Filters** and toggle on **Courses** and **Inactive**.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
All archived spaces will be listed once filtered, to see the full list select Rows per page count on the bottom of the list.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}