# Archive or delete items, and clean up old inventory

> Archive keeps an item and its history but hides it; Delete removes it from Treecat. When to use each, and how to clean up old sold and ended items.

Source: https://wiki.treecat.io/archive-and-delete · Section: Inventory, import and matching · Updated: 2026-10-21

**Archive** keeps an item and its history (photos, description and so on) in Treecat but hides it from your default views. **Delete** removes the item from Treecat completely. If the item is still live somewhere, leave the delist option ticked so Treecat takes it down from the marketplaces in the same step.

## What is the difference between Archive and Delete?

| | Archive | Delete |
|---|---|---|
| Keeps photos, description and history | Yes | No |
| Shown in your default views | No (hidden by the "- Archived" filter) | No, it is gone |
| Can be listed again later | Yes, without starting over | No, you would recreate it |
| Quantity | Set to 0 | Removed |

Sold items are archived automatically, so you can later find one and relist it without starting over. To see archived items, remove the "- Archived" chip on the filter bar or filter for the Archived label. See [Find items with filters](https://wiki.treecat.io/find-items-with-filters#archived).

## Archive items

1. Select the items on the Inventory page, or open one item.
2. Click **Archive**.
3. In the **Archive item** dialog, leave **Delist any active listings before Archiving from the Treecat inventory** ticked if the item is still live anywhere.
4. Confirm.

Active listings are removed from the marketplaces first, which can take several minutes. An item whose delist fails is not archived; the reason appears in its Events timeline.

To bring an archived item back, open it and click **Unarchive**, or simply list it again.

## Delete items

1. Select the items you want to remove.
2. Click **⋯ → Delete** in the action bar (or **Delete** on the item page).
3. Leave **Delist any active listings before deleting from the Treecat inventory** ticked if the item is still live, and confirm.

> **Important:** Deleting removes the items from Treecat. Double-check your selection first, especially if you used Select all.

Treecat re-imports a deleted item if its listing is still live on a marketplace, so delist before deleting.

## Why does Treecat show far more items than I have listed?
Treecat imports your whole history from each marketplace, including ended and sold items, and these stay until you archive them. To clean up:

1. Filter for items with **Quantity = 0** that are **Not Listed** on any marketplace.
2. Select them (use **Select all** for every match).
3. Click **Archive**.

Duplicates are another common cause; see [Fix duplicate items](https://wiki.treecat.io/fix-duplicates).

## Does archiving cost anything?

No. Archived listings and backups of inactive listings are stored at no charge.