---
type: Section
title: Lifecycle (Status & Stale After)
sources: [SPEC.md]
generated: true
verified: false
status: current
stale_after: 2026-12-31
---

# Lifecycle (Status & Stale After)

Two fields describe a document's lifecycle:

- `status`: one of `draft`, `current`, `deprecated`, or `archived`.
- `stale_after`: an ISO‑8601 date after which the document should be reviewed.

These fields help automated tools decide when to flag a concept for revision.