diff --git a/components/renku_data_services/migrations/versions/d71f0f795d30_allow_environments_to_be_archived.py b/components/renku_data_services/migrations/versions/d71f0f795d30_allow_environments_to_be_archived.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b1cee71b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/renku_data_services/migrations/versions/d71f0f795d30_allow_environments_to_be_archived.py
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+"""allow environments to be archived
+
+Revision ID: d71f0f795d30
+Revises: d1cdcbb2adc3
+Create Date: 2025-01-10 07:50:44.144549
+
+"""
+
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+from alembic import op
+
+# revision identifiers, used by Alembic.
+revision = "d71f0f795d30"
+down_revision = "d1cdcbb2adc3"
+branch_labels = None
+depends_on = None
+
+
+def upgrade() -> None:
+    # ### commands auto generated by Alembic - please adjust! ###
+    op.add_column(
+        "environments",
+        sa.Column("is_archived", sa.Boolean(), server_default=sa.text("false"), nullable=False),
+        schema="sessions",
+    )
+    # ### end Alembic commands ###
+
+
+def downgrade() -> None:
+    # ### commands auto generated by Alembic - please adjust! ###
+    op.drop_column("environments", "is_archived", schema="sessions")
+    # ### end Alembic commands ###
diff --git a/components/renku_data_services/session/api.spec.yaml b/components/renku_data_services/session/api.spec.yaml
index 995828a5d..8be1a97b1 100644
--- a/components/renku_data_services/session/api.spec.yaml
+++ b/components/renku_data_services/session/api.spec.yaml
@@ -11,6 +11,19 @@ paths:
   /environments:
     get:
       summary: Get all global environments
+      parameters:
+        - in: query
+          style: form
+          explode: true
+          name: get_environment_params
+          schema:
+            type: object
+            additionalProperties: false
+            properties:
+              with_archived:
+                type: boolean
+                default: false
+                description: Whether to return archived environments or not
       responses:
         "200":
           description: List of global environments
@@ -277,6 +290,8 @@ components:
           $ref: "#/components/schemas/EnvironmentCommand"
         args:
           $ref: "#/components/schemas/EnvironmentArgs"
+        is_archived:
+          $ref: "#/components/schemas/IsArchived"
       required:
         - id
         - name
@@ -298,6 +313,7 @@ components:
         mount_directory: /home/jovyan/work
         uid: 1000
         gid: 1000
+        is_archive: false
     EnvironmentGetInLauncher:
       allOf:
         - $ref: "#/components/schemas/Environment"
@@ -358,6 +374,9 @@ components:
           $ref: "#/components/schemas/EnvironmentCommand"
         args:
           $ref: "#/components/schemas/EnvironmentArgs"
+        is_archived:
+          $ref: "#/components/schemas/IsArchived"
+          default: false
       required:
         - name
         - container_image
@@ -395,6 +414,8 @@ components:
           $ref: "#/components/schemas/EnvironmentCommand"
         args:
           $ref: "#/components/schemas/EnvironmentArgs"
+        is_archived:
+          $ref: "#/components/schemas/IsArchived"
     SessionLaunchersList:
       description: A list of Renku session launchers
       type: array
@@ -597,6 +618,9 @@ components:
         type: string
       description: The arguments that will follow the command, i.e. will overwrite the image Dockerfile CMD, equivalent to args in Kubernetes
       minLength: 1
+    IsArchived:
+      type: boolean
+      description: Whether this environment is archived and not for use in new projects or not
     ErrorResponse:
       type: object
       properties:
diff --git a/components/renku_data_services/session/apispec.py b/components/renku_data_services/session/apispec.py
index 574fa0621..7aa8f5d1d 100644
--- a/components/renku_data_services/session/apispec.py
+++ b/components/renku_data_services/session/apispec.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # generated by datamodel-codegen:
 #   filename:  api.spec.yaml
-#   timestamp: 2024-12-19T08:38:19+00:00
+#   timestamp: 2025-01-10T08:17:36+00:00
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
@@ -29,6 +29,19 @@ class ErrorResponse(BaseAPISpec):
     error: Error
 
 
+class GetEnvironmentParams(BaseAPISpec):
+    model_config = ConfigDict(
+        extra="forbid",
+    )
+    with_archived: bool = Field(
+        False, description="Whether to return archived environments or not"
+    )
+
+
+class EnvironmentsGetParametersQuery(BaseAPISpec):
+    get_environment_params: Optional[GetEnvironmentParams] = None
+
+
 class Environment(BaseAPISpec):
     id: str = Field(
         ...,
@@ -99,6 +112,10 @@ class Environment(BaseAPISpec):
         description="The arguments that will follow the command, i.e. will overwrite the image Dockerfile CMD, equivalent to args in Kubernetes",
         min_length=1,
     )
+    is_archived: Optional[bool] = Field(
+        None,
+        description="Whether this environment is archived and not for use in new projects or not",
+    )
 
 
 class EnvironmentGetInLauncher(Environment):
@@ -163,6 +180,10 @@ class EnvironmentPost(BaseAPISpec):
         description="The arguments that will follow the command, i.e. will overwrite the image Dockerfile CMD, equivalent to args in Kubernetes",
         min_length=1,
     )
+    is_archived: bool = Field(
+        False,
+        description="Whether this environment is archived and not for use in new projects or not",
+    )
 
 
 class EnvironmentPatch(BaseAPISpec):
@@ -216,6 +237,10 @@ class EnvironmentPatch(BaseAPISpec):
         description="The arguments that will follow the command, i.e. will overwrite the image Dockerfile CMD, equivalent to args in Kubernetes",
         min_length=1,
     )
+    is_archived: Optional[bool] = Field(
+        None,
+        description="Whether this environment is archived and not for use in new projects or not",
+    )
 
 
 class SessionLauncher(BaseAPISpec):
diff --git a/components/renku_data_services/session/blueprints.py b/components/renku_data_services/session/blueprints.py
index 93359fd7f..67e58aa38 100644
--- a/components/renku_data_services/session/blueprints.py
+++ b/components/renku_data_services/session/blueprints.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 from renku_data_services import base_models
 from renku_data_services.base_api.auth import authenticate, only_authenticated
 from renku_data_services.base_api.blueprint import BlueprintFactoryResponse, CustomBlueprint
+from renku_data_services.base_api.misc import validate_query
 from renku_data_services.base_models.validation import validated_json
 from renku_data_services.session import apispec, models
 from renku_data_services.session.core import (
@@ -31,8 +32,9 @@ class EnvironmentsBP(CustomBlueprint):
     def get_all(self) -> BlueprintFactoryResponse:
         """List all session environments."""
 
-        async def _get_all(_: Request) -> JSONResponse:
-            environments = await self.session_repo.get_environments()
+        @validate_query(query=apispec.GetEnvironmentParams)
+        async def _get_all(_: Request, query: apispec.GetEnvironmentParams) -> JSONResponse:
+            environments = await self.session_repo.get_environments(with_archived=query.with_archived)
             return validated_json(apispec.EnvironmentList, environments)
 
         return "/environments", ["GET"], _get_all
diff --git a/components/renku_data_services/session/core.py b/components/renku_data_services/session/core.py
index de4ab4637..d3ee48d8e 100644
--- a/components/renku_data_services/session/core.py
+++ b/components/renku_data_services/session/core.py
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ def validate_unsaved_environment(
         environment_kind=environment_kind,
         args=environment.args,
         command=environment.command,
+        is_archived=environment.is_archived,
     )
 
 
@@ -59,6 +60,7 @@ def validate_environment_patch(patch: apispec.EnvironmentPatch) -> models.Enviro
         gid=patch.gid,
         args=RESET if "args" in data_dict and data_dict["args"] is None else patch.args,
         command=RESET if "command" in data_dict and data_dict["command"] is None else patch.command,
+        is_archived=patch.is_archived,
     )
 
 
diff --git a/components/renku_data_services/session/db.py b/components/renku_data_services/session/db.py
index e13888646..822414158 100644
--- a/components/renku_data_services/session/db.py
+++ b/components/renku_data_services/session/db.py
@@ -31,14 +31,15 @@ def __init__(
         self.project_authz: Authz = project_authz
         self.resource_pools: ResourcePoolRepository = resource_pools
 
-    async def get_environments(self) -> list[models.Environment]:
+    async def get_environments(self, with_archived: bool = False) -> list[models.Environment]:
         """Get all global session environments from the database."""
         async with self.session_maker() as session:
-            res = await session.scalars(
-                select(schemas.EnvironmentORM).where(
-                    schemas.EnvironmentORM.environment_kind == models.EnvironmentKind.GLOBAL.value
-                )
+            statement = select(schemas.EnvironmentORM).where(
+                schemas.EnvironmentORM.environment_kind == models.EnvironmentKind.GLOBAL.value
             )
+            if not with_archived:
+                statement = statement.where(schemas.EnvironmentORM.is_archived.is_(False))
+            res = await session.scalars(statement)
             environments = res.all()
             return [e.dump() for e in environments]
 
@@ -82,6 +83,7 @@ def __insert_environment(
             command=new_environment.command,
             args=new_environment.args,
             creation_date=datetime.now(UTC).replace(microsecond=0),
+            is_archived=new_environment.is_archived,
         )
 
         session.add(environment)
@@ -141,6 +143,9 @@ def __update_environment(
         elif isinstance(update.command, list):
             environment.command = update.command
 
+        if update.is_archived is not None:
+            environment.is_archived = update.is_archived
+
     async def update_environment(
         self, user: base_models.APIUser, environment_id: ULID, patch: models.EnvironmentPatch
     ) -> models.Environment:
@@ -288,6 +293,10 @@ async def insert_launcher(
                     raise errors.MissingResourceError(
                         message=f"Session environment with id '{environment_id}' does not exist or you do not have access to it."  # noqa: E501
                     )
+                if environment_orm.is_archived:
+                    raise errors.ValidationError(
+                        message="Cannot create a new session launcher with an archived environment."
+                    )
 
             environment = environment_orm.dump()
             environment_id = environment.id
diff --git a/components/renku_data_services/session/models.py b/components/renku_data_services/session/models.py
index 98bfe70fe..1a28d85e5 100644
--- a/components/renku_data_services/session/models.py
+++ b/components/renku_data_services/session/models.py
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ class UnsavedEnvironment:
     environment_kind: EnvironmentKind
     args: list[str] | None = None
     command: list[str] | None = None
+    is_archived: bool = False
 
     def __post_init__(self) -> None:
         if self.working_directory and not self.working_directory.is_absolute():
@@ -88,6 +89,7 @@ class EnvironmentPatch:
     gid: int | None = None
     args: list[str] | None | ResetType = None
     command: list[str] | None | ResetType = None
+    is_archived: bool | None = None
 
 
 @dataclass(frozen=True, eq=True, kw_only=True)
diff --git a/components/renku_data_services/session/orm.py b/components/renku_data_services/session/orm.py
index 3b9442180..1354de50c 100644
--- a/components/renku_data_services/session/orm.py
+++ b/components/renku_data_services/session/orm.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 from datetime import datetime
 from pathlib import PurePosixPath
 
-from sqlalchemy import JSON, DateTime, MetaData, String, func
+from sqlalchemy import JSON, Boolean, DateTime, MetaData, String, false, func
 from sqlalchemy.dialects.postgresql import JSONB
 from sqlalchemy.orm import DeclarativeBase, Mapped, MappedAsDataclass, mapped_column, relationship
 from sqlalchemy.schema import ForeignKey
@@ -63,6 +63,10 @@ class EnvironmentORM(BaseORM):
     )
     """Creation date and time."""
 
+    is_archived: Mapped[bool] = mapped_column(
+        "is_archived", Boolean(), default=False, server_default=false(), nullable=False
+    )
+
     def dump(self) -> models.Environment:
         """Create a session environment model from the EnvironmentORM."""
         return models.Environment(
@@ -81,6 +85,7 @@ def dump(self) -> models.Environment:
             port=self.port,
             args=self.args,
             command=self.command,
+            is_archived=self.is_archived,
         )
 
 
diff --git a/test/bases/renku_data_services/data_api/test_sessions.py b/test/bases/renku_data_services/data_api/test_sessions.py
index 8a14c538d..d70d45e60 100644
--- a/test/bases/renku_data_services/data_api/test_sessions.py
+++ b/test/bases/renku_data_services/data_api/test_sessions.py
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ async def test_get_all_session_environments(
     await create_session_environment("Environment 1")
     await create_session_environment("Environment 2")
     await create_session_environment("Environment 3")
+    await create_session_environment("Environment 4", {"is_archived": True})
 
     _, res = await sanic_client.get("/api/data/environments", headers=unauthorized_headers)
 
@@ -57,6 +58,17 @@ async def test_get_all_session_environments(
         "Environment 2",
         "Environment 3",
     }
+    _, res = await sanic_client.get("/api/data/environments?with_archived=true", headers=unauthorized_headers)
+
+    assert res.status_code == 200, res.text
+    assert res.json is not None
+    environments = res.json
+    assert {env["name"] for env in environments} == {
+        "Environment 1",
+        "Environment 2",
+        "Environment 3",
+        "Environment 4",
+    }
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
@@ -104,6 +116,7 @@ async def test_post_session_environment(sanic_client: SanicASGITestClient, admin
     assert res.json.get("name") == "Environment 1"
     assert res.json.get("description") == "A session environment."
     assert res.json.get("container_image") == image_name
+    assert not res.json.get("is_archived")
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
@@ -192,6 +205,57 @@ async def test_patch_session_environment(
     assert res.json.get("mount_directory") is None
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_patch_session_environment_archived(
+    sanic_client: SanicASGITestClient,
+    admin_headers,
+    create_session_environment,
+    create_project,
+    valid_resource_pool_payload,
+    create_resource_pool,
+) -> None:
+    env = await create_session_environment("Environment 1")
+    environment_id = env["id"]
+
+    payload = {"is_archived": True}
+
+    _, res = await sanic_client.patch(f"/api/data/environments/{environment_id}", headers=admin_headers, json=payload)
+
+    assert res.status_code == 200, res.text
+    assert res.json is not None
+    assert res.json.get("is_archived")
+
+    # Test that you can't create a launcher with an archived environment
+    project = await create_project("Some project")
+    resource_pool_data = valid_resource_pool_payload
+    resource_pool_data["public"] = False
+
+    resource_pool = await create_resource_pool(admin=True, **resource_pool_data)
+
+    payload = {
+        "name": "Launcher 1",
+        "project_id": project["id"],
+        "description": "A session launcher.",
+        "resource_class_id": resource_pool["classes"][0]["id"],
+        "environment": {"id": environment_id},
+    }
+
+    _, res = await sanic_client.post("/api/data/session_launchers", headers=admin_headers, json=payload)
+
+    assert res.status_code == 422, res.text
+
+    # test unarchiving allows launcher creation again
+    payload = {"is_archived": False}
+
+    _, res = await sanic_client.patch(f"/api/data/environments/{environment_id}", headers=admin_headers, json=payload)
+    assert res.status_code == 200, res.text
+    assert not res.json.get("is_archived")
+
+    _, res = await sanic_client.post("/api/data/session_launchers", headers=admin_headers, json=payload)
+
+    assert res.status_code == 201, res.text
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_patch_session_environment_unauthorized(
     sanic_client: SanicASGITestClient, user_headers, create_session_environment