Archive or remove a bot
The difference between archiving a bot (reversible, only hides it in your app) and removing it from Machine (permanent, everywhere), and how to do each.
There are two ways to get rid of a bot. They sound similar but are very different.
| Archive | Remove from Machine | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it applies | Only your sidebar, in Machine Desktop and the phone app | Machine, and every device |
| What happens | The bot leaves your sidebar. Every thread, file, and computer stays exactly as it is. | The bot and all its conversations, files, memory, and computers are deleted. |
| Can you undo it? | Yes | No |
| Use it when | You want a tidier sidebar. | You're certain you'll never need the bot or anything it made. |
If in doubt, archive. You can always remove it later.
Archive a bot
- Right-click the bot in the sidebar and choose Archive.
- The confirmation explains that nothing changes on Machine. Click Archive.
A message appears saying the bot was archived, with an Undo button.
- The bot leaves your list on all your devices: Machine Desktop on your other computers and the Machine phone app hide it too. It still appears on the Machine website.
- You need at least one active bot, so you can't archive the last one.
- Archived bots don't answer in group chats.
Find and restore archived bots
- Click + at the top of the sidebar.
- Choose Archived bots. (It only appears when you have some, with a count.)
- Click Restore next to a bot, or Restore all.
Remove a bot from Machine
This can't be undone
Removing a bot deletes it from Machine and from every device: its conversations, files, memory, and any computer it owns, including that computer's files and browser sign-ins. Download anything you want to keep first.
- Right-click the bot in the sidebar and choose Remove from Machine.
- Read the warning.
- Click Remove from Machine.
The row shows Deleting bot and any owned computer… while it works.
You can also remove bots from the Archived bots list: Remove from Machine next to one bot, or Remove all from Machine for all of them.
Archive a whole team
Right-click a team's heading and choose Archive team…. This:
- archives every bot in the team (restore them any time from Archived bots), and
- deletes the team's group chats, on all your devices.
The bots' projects on Machine are kept.
Common questions
I archived a bot by mistake. Click Undo in the message straight away, or restore it from Archived bots.
Does archiving stop a bot's automations? No. Archiving only hides the bot in your sidebar. To stop scheduled work, pause its routines in Automations.
Does an archived bot still cost money? Its computers sleep when idle, like any other. Its automations keep running unless you pause them.