The archive known by many names, including the Hall of Imperial Register, the Hall of Imperial Records, The Pit, The Resource, the Imperial Archives, and the Emperor's data bank, functioned as a repository for Imperial records on the Imperial capital world of Coruscant. It housed backup copies of records originating from various sources, such as Imperial starships, navigation computers within offices, academies, and depots. These records encompassed a wide range of data, including trajectory calculations, inventory lists, and personnel files pertaining to Imperial Military operations, including those related to Star Destroyers and Super Star Destroyers. Furthermore, the archive contained records of all Imperial employees and officials, meticulously documenting their actions within the Imperial government and military. The entrance to the Pit was situated on the edge of the Verity District, a heavily defended Imperial section of Coruscant, with its storage capacity extending beneath the entire district. Several administrative droids were responsible for maintaining and operating the Pits. The information utilized by the Messenger droids during Operation: Cinder was sourced from the Hall of Imperial Register, where a complex set of formulas was employed to identify suitable candidates for carrying out the destructive operation. In the year 5 ABY, Grand Admiral Rae Sloane paid a visit to the Pits in order to examine records pertaining to the Imperial Navy's Star Destroyers and Super Star Destroyers. During her search, she made the startling discovery that a quarter of the Empire's Star Destroyers, along with Emperor Sheev Palpatine's flagship, the Eclipse, had vanished under mysterious circumstances. Sloane also came across a photograph featuring a young boy named Gallius Rax alongside several Imperial dignitaries, including the Emperor, Grand Vizier Mas Amedda, and military officers Wullf Yularen, Dodd Rancit, and Terrinald Screed.
During the events of the Battle of Jakku, the Hall became the target of an assault launched by Soran Keize, the leader of the 204th Imperial Fighter Wing, piloting a modified TIE fighter. Keize believed that the information stored within the Hall would prove highly detrimental to the soldiers of the Empire following the New Republic's takeover of the galaxy, subjecting former Imperials to years of legal battles as they attempted to rebuild their lives. However, his efforts were defeated by Yrica Quell and Kairos, who had pursued him to Coruscant. Following the Battle of Jakku, New Republic Intelligence gained access to the Hall's databases, although it was estimated that the sheer volume of information contained within would require years to analyze.
The Imperial Archives contained several reference materials utilized by the historian Beaumont Kin, such as File: Naboo Blockade in the Seized Trade Federation Records section, File T271 in the Emperor Palpatine section, File: Plans for Preventative Measures in the Occupation of former Separatist Systems section, File PG004—Executive Order Codes for the Grand Army of the Republic in the Galactic Republic Military Operations section, and File: Directives and Responses in the Galactic Republic—Population Observation section. Kin cited these sources in his book, The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire.