Cycles are time periods (such as a quarter or month) during which your team defines and tracks OKRs. Each team has its own cycles. A cycle can be Draft, Active, or Archived, which controls whether OKRs can be edited and whether check-ins are available.

Cycle statuses

• Draft: OKRs are being prepared. The team can edit objectives and key results on the Create tab, but the Update, Status, and Check-in tabs stay locked until the cycle is published.
• Active: The live period. OKRs can be updated and check-ins can be created.
• Archived: Read-only. Past data is preserved for review but cannot be edited unless you unarchive the cycle.

Creating a new cycle

Cycles are created from the Create tab when you work in a period that does not have a cycle yet:

1. Navigate to your team's OKRs section from the sidebar
2. Use the period selector in the header to choose or move to the period you want (chevron buttons or the dropdown labelled with the period name)
3. Open the Create tab
4. Add objectives and key results, then click Save as draft or Publish

Save as draft creates the cycle in draft status so you can keep collaborating before the team goes live.

Publish saves your OKRs and sets the cycle to Active immediately.

You can also use ⌘+Enter (Mac) or Alt+Enter to save quickly.

Selecting a period

The period selector at the top of the OKR Manager shows the current cycle label and its status (Draft, Active, or Archived). Use Previous cycle and Next cycle to move between periods. The URL includes ?period=YYYY-MM-DD so you can bookmark or share a specific period.

By default, OKRnest opens the period that includes today's date, preferring an Active cycle over Draft or Archived when several overlap.

Publishing and saving a draft cycle

On the Create tab, the action bar reflects the cycle state:

Cycle state	Primary actions
New (no cycle record yet)	Save as draft, Publish
Draft	Save as draft, Publish, Discard changes (when edited)
Active	Save changes, Discard changes

Publish on a draft cycle activates it so updates, status, and check-ins become available.

Archiving a cycle

When a cycle period has ended, archive it to keep history without accidental edits:

1. Open OKR Cycles in the team sidebar, or use Archive cycle on the Create tab when the active cycle has ended
2. Choose Archive cycle from the row menu on the cycles list
3. Confirm in the dialog: archived cycles become read-only but can be unarchived later

You can also archive from the cycle editor sheet when viewing cycle details.

Unarchiving a cycle

To make an archived cycle editable again:

• On the Create tab empty state, click Unarchive Cycle, or
• On the OKR Cycles page, open the row menu and choose Unarchive cycle

Confirm in the dialog. The cycle returns to a state where OKRs can be edited again.

OKR Cycles page

The OKR Cycles section lists every cycle for the team:

• Cycle name and Period dates
• Status badge (Draft, Active, Archived)
• Progress and OKRs counts (objectives and key results)
• View status (eye icon) opens the team's Status tab for that period

From the row menu (when you have permission), you can Archive cycle, Unarchive cycle, Edit cycle (change dates; disabled while archived), or Delete cycle.

Editing cycle dates

Edit cycle opens a dialog where you can adjust the cycle's start and end dates. This is useful if your planning period shifts slightly. Editing is not available for archived cycles until you unarchive them.

Deleting a cycle

Delete cycle permanently removes that team's OKRs, check-ins, and status updates for that cycle. Only organisation Admins and Owners can delete cycles. You must type DELETE in the confirmation dialog to proceed.

Permissions

Action	Who can do it
Create, edit, publish OKRs	Team members with edit OKRs permission (or org Admin+)
Archive, unarchive, edit cycle dates	Same as edit OKRs
Delete cycle	Org Admin or Owner (admin settings)

What each tab allows by cycle status

Tab	Draft	Active	Archived
Create	Edit OKRs	Edit OKRs	Read-only (unarchive to edit)
Update	Locked until published	Updates allowed	Read-only
Status	Locked until published	Status view	Read-only
Check-in	Not available	Check-ins allowed	Check-ins on published cycles

Tips for managing cycles

• Use draft for collaboration: Publish only when the team is ready to report progress
• Archive ended cycles: Keeps the period selector tidy and prevents accidental edits to old data
• Plan the next period early: Create a draft for the upcoming quarter while the current cycle is still active
• Use OKR Cycles for oversight: Leads can scan progress and status across all periods from one list