diff --git a/.github/workflows/archive-old-specs.yml b/.github/workflows/archive-old-specs.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1c870a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/archive-old-specs.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+name: Archive Old Worktree Kit Specs
+
+on:
+  schedule:
+    - cron: '0 6 * * *'
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+  issues: write
+  pull-requests: write
+
+concurrency:
+  group: archive-old-worktree-kit-specs
+  cancel-in-progress: false
+
+jobs:
+  archive-old-specs:
+    name: Archive old specs
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Setup Node.js
+        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+        with:
+          node-version: '20'
+
+      - name: Install published zest-dev CLI
+        run: npm install -g zest-dev
+
+      - name: Ensure archive labels exist
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+        run: |
+          [ "$(gh label list --search "spec:change" --json name --jq 'any(.name == "spec:change")')" = "true" ] \
+            || gh label create "spec:change" --color "5319e7" --description "Zest Dev change spec"
+          [ "$(gh label list --search "archive" --json name --jq 'any(.name == "archive")')" = "true" ] \
+            || gh label create "archive" --color "cfd3d7" --description "Archived spec snapshot"
+
+      - name: Archive eligible specs
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+        run: node scripts/ci/archive-old-specs.js
+
+      - name: Create PR for spec removals
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+        run: |
+          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
+          git config user.email "41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
+          git add specs/change
+          git diff --cached --quiet && { echo "No spec removals to commit."; exit 0; }
+          branch="archive-old-specs/${{ github.run_id }}-${{ github.run_attempt }}"
+          git switch -c "$branch"
+          git commit -m "chore: archive old specs"
+          git push origin "$branch"
+          gh pr create \
+            --base "${{ github.ref_name }}" \
+            --head "$branch" \
+            --title "Archive old specs" \
+            --body "Automated archive of old Worktree Kit specs."
+
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 065f082..5b172a9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -45,6 +45,9 @@ jobs:
       - name: Validate local install script
         run: sh scripts/test-install-local.sh
 
+      - name: Test old spec archival automation
+        run: node scripts/ci/test-archive-old-specs.js
+
       - name: Run test suite with coverage
         run: |
           cargo llvm-cov clean --workspace
diff --git a/scripts/ci/archive-old-specs.js b/scripts/ci/archive-old-specs.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b671f98
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/ci/archive-old-specs.js
@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+
+const fs = require('fs');
+const path = require('path');
+const { execFileSync } = require('child_process');
+
+const DEFAULT_SPECS_DIR = path.join('specs', 'change');
+const SPEC_ID_PATTERN = /^\d{8}-[a-z0-9][a-z0-9-]*$/;
+const DAY_MS = 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000;
+
+function parseUtcDatePrefix(specId) {
+  const prefix = specId.slice(0, 8);
+  const year = Number(prefix.slice(0, 4));
+  const month = Number(prefix.slice(4, 6));
+  const day = Number(prefix.slice(6, 8));
+  const timestamp = Date.UTC(year, month - 1, day);
+  const date = new Date(timestamp);
+
+  if (
+    date.getUTCFullYear() !== year ||
+    date.getUTCMonth() !== month - 1 ||
+    date.getUTCDate() !== day
+  ) {
+    throw new Error(`Invalid spec date prefix: ${specId}`);
+  }
+
+  return timestamp;
+}
+
+function cutoffTimestamp(now = new Date(), maxAgeDays = 10) {
+  return Date.UTC(now.getUTCFullYear(), now.getUTCMonth(), now.getUTCDate()) - maxAgeDays * DAY_MS;
+}
+
+function listEarliestSpecs({ specsDir = DEFAULT_SPECS_DIR, limit = 10 } = {}) {
+  if (!fs.existsSync(specsDir)) {
+    throw new Error(`Specs directory not found: ${specsDir}`);
+  }
+
+  return fs.readdirSync(specsDir, { withFileTypes: true })
+    .filter(entry => entry.isDirectory() && SPEC_ID_PATTERN.test(entry.name))
+    .map(entry => entry.name)
+    .sort()
+    .slice(0, limit);
+}
+
+function selectSpecsToArchive({ specsDir = DEFAULT_SPECS_DIR, now = new Date(), limit = 10, maxAgeDays = 10 } = {}) {
+  const cutoff = cutoffTimestamp(now, maxAgeDays);
+  return listEarliestSpecs({ specsDir, limit })
+    .filter(specId => parseUtcDatePrefix(specId) < cutoff);
+}
+
+function archiveIssueExists(specId, { runner = execFileSync } = {}) {
+  const title = `[archive] ${specId}`;
+  const output = runner('gh', [
+    'issue',
+    'list',
+    '--state',
+    'all',
+    '--search',
+    `${JSON.stringify(title)} in:title`,
+    '--json',
+    'number',
+    '--limit',
+    '1'
+  ], { encoding: 'utf8' });
+  const issues = JSON.parse(output);
+  if (!Array.isArray(issues)) {
+    throw new Error(`Unexpected gh issue list output for ${specId}`);
+  }
+  return issues.length > 0;
+}
+
+function archiveSpecs({ specsDir = DEFAULT_SPECS_DIR, now = new Date(), limit = 10, maxAgeDays = 10, runner = execFileSync } = {}) {
+  const specIds = selectSpecsToArchive({ specsDir, now, limit, maxAgeDays });
+  const archived = [];
+  const skippedExistingIssue = [];
+
+  for (const specId of specIds) {
+    if (archiveIssueExists(specId, { runner })) {
+      fs.rmSync(path.join(specsDir, specId), { recursive: true, force: false });
+      skippedExistingIssue.push(specId);
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    runner('zest-dev', ['dump', specId], { stdio: 'inherit' });
+    fs.rmSync(path.join(specsDir, specId), { recursive: true, force: false });
+    archived.push(specId);
+  }
+
+  return { archived, skippedExistingIssue };
+}
+
+function main() {
+  const result = archiveSpecs();
+  if (result.archived.length === 0 && result.skippedExistingIssue.length === 0) {
+    console.log('No old specs eligible for archival.');
+    return;
+  }
+  if (result.archived.length > 0) {
+    console.log(`Archived and removed ${result.archived.length} spec(s): ${result.archived.join(', ')}`);
+  }
+  if (result.skippedExistingIssue.length > 0) {
+    console.log(`Removed ${result.skippedExistingIssue.length} spec(s) with existing archive issue: ${result.skippedExistingIssue.join(', ')}`);
+  }
+}
+
+if (require.main === module) {
+  main();
+}
+
+module.exports = {
+  archiveIssueExists,
+  archiveSpecs,
+  cutoffTimestamp,
+  listEarliestSpecs,
+  parseUtcDatePrefix,
+  selectSpecsToArchive
+};
diff --git a/scripts/ci/test-archive-old-specs.js b/scripts/ci/test-archive-old-specs.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1a39a5a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/ci/test-archive-old-specs.js
@@ -0,0 +1,159 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+
+const assert = require('assert');
+const fs = require('fs');
+const os = require('os');
+const path = require('path');
+
+const {
+  archiveSpecs,
+  listEarliestSpecs,
+  selectSpecsToArchive
+} = require('./archive-old-specs');
+
+function noExistingArchiveRunner(calls = []) {
+  return (cmd, args) => {
+    calls.push({ cmd, args });
+    if (cmd === 'gh' && args[0] === 'issue' && args[1] === 'list') {
+      return '[]';
+    }
+    return '';
+  };
+}
+
+function makeSpec(specsDir, specId) {
+  const dir = path.join(specsDir, specId);
+  fs.mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true });
+  fs.writeFileSync(path.join(dir, 'spec.md'), '# Test\n');
+}
+
+function fixture() {
+  const root = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'zest-archive-specs-'));
+  const specsDir = path.join(root, 'specs', 'change');
+  fs.mkdirSync(specsDir, { recursive: true });
+  return { root, specsDir };
+}
+
+function testListsEarliestTenAndIgnoresActiveSymlinkEntry() {
+  const { specsDir } = fixture();
+  for (let day = 1; day <= 12; day += 1) {
+    makeSpec(specsDir, `202601${String(day).padStart(2, '0')}-spec-${day}`);
+  }
+  fs.symlinkSync('20260101-spec-1', path.join(specsDir, 'active'));
+
+  assert.deepStrictEqual(listEarliestSpecs({ specsDir }), [
+    '20260101-spec-1',
+    '20260102-spec-2',
+    '20260103-spec-3',
+    '20260104-spec-4',
+    '20260105-spec-5',
+    '20260106-spec-6',
+    '20260107-spec-7',
+    '20260108-spec-8',
+    '20260109-spec-9',
+    '20260110-spec-10'
+  ]);
+}
+
+function testSelectsOnlyMoreThanTenDaysOld() {
+  const { specsDir } = fixture();
+  makeSpec(specsDir, '20260620-old');
+  makeSpec(specsDir, '20260624-exactly-ten-days');
+  makeSpec(specsDir, '20260625-newer');
+
+  assert.deepStrictEqual(
+    selectSpecsToArchive({ specsDir, now: new Date('2026-07-04T12:00:00Z') }),
+    ['20260620-old']
+  );
+}
+
+function testDeletesOnlyAfterSuccessfulDump() {
+  const { specsDir } = fixture();
+  makeSpec(specsDir, '20260601-ok');
+  makeSpec(specsDir, '20260602-fails');
+  const calls = [];
+
+  assert.throws(() => archiveSpecs({
+    specsDir,
+    now: new Date('2026-07-04T00:00:00Z'),
+    runner: (cmd, args) => {
+      calls.push({ cmd, args });
+      if (cmd === 'gh' && args[0] === 'issue' && args[1] === 'list') {
+        return '[]';
+      }
+      if (cmd === 'zest-dev' && args[1] === '20260602-fails') {
+        throw new Error('dump failed');
+      }
+      return '';
+    }
+  }), /dump failed/);
+
+  assert.deepStrictEqual(
+    calls.filter(call => call.cmd === 'zest-dev').map(call => call.args),
+    [['dump', '20260601-ok'], ['dump', '20260602-fails']]
+  );
+  assert.strictEqual(fs.existsSync(path.join(specsDir, '20260601-ok')), false);
+  assert.strictEqual(fs.existsSync(path.join(specsDir, '20260602-fails')), true);
+}
+
+function testExistingArchiveIssueDeletesWithoutDumpingAgain() {
+  const { specsDir } = fixture();
+  makeSpec(specsDir, '20260601-already-archived');
+  const calls = [];
+
+  const result = archiveSpecs({
+    specsDir,
+    now: new Date('2026-07-04T00:00:00Z'),
+    runner: (cmd, args) => {
+      calls.push({ cmd, args });
+      if (cmd === 'gh' && args[0] === 'issue' && args[1] === 'list') {
+        return '[{"number":123}]';
+      }
+      throw new Error(`unexpected command: ${cmd} ${args.join(' ')}`);
+    }
+  });
+
+  assert.deepStrictEqual(result, {
+    archived: [],
+    skippedExistingIssue: ['20260601-already-archived']
+  });
+  assert.strictEqual(calls.length, 1);
+  assert.strictEqual(fs.existsSync(path.join(specsDir, '20260601-already-archived')), false);
+}
+
+function testMissingSpecsDirectoryFailsFast() {
+  const root = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'zest-archive-specs-missing-'));
+  assert.throws(
+    () => listEarliestSpecs({ specsDir: path.join(root, 'specs', 'change') }),
+    /Specs directory not found/
+  );
+}
+
+function testRunsGlobalZestDevDump() {
+  const { specsDir } = fixture();
+  makeSpec(specsDir, '20260601-eligible');
+  const calls = [];
+
+  archiveSpecs({
+    specsDir,
+    now: new Date('2026-07-04T00:00:00Z'),
+    runner: noExistingArchiveRunner(calls)
+  });
+
+  assert.deepStrictEqual(
+    calls.filter(call => call.cmd === 'zest-dev').map(call => call.args),
+    [['dump', '20260601-eligible']]
+  );
+}
+
+function main() {
+  testListsEarliestTenAndIgnoresActiveSymlinkEntry();
+  testSelectsOnlyMoreThanTenDaysOld();
+  testDeletesOnlyAfterSuccessfulDump();
+  testExistingArchiveIssueDeletesWithoutDumpingAgain();
+  testMissingSpecsDirectoryFailsFast();
+  testRunsGlobalZestDevDump();
+  console.log('archive-old-specs tests passed');
+}
+
+main();