diff --git a/test/test_archive.py b/test/test_archive.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..64aca45ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/test_archive.py
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python
+
+from __future__ import unicode_literals
+
+# Allow direct execution
+import os
+import sys
+import unittest
+
+sys.path.insert(0, os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))))
+
+# TODO refactor test to actually test YoutubeDL archive functionality
+
+# from youtube_dl.archive import Archive
+#
+#
+# class TestArchive(unittest.TestCase):
+#     def setUp(self):
+#         cur_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
+#         test_archive = os.path.join(cur_dir, "test_archive.txt")
+#         self.archive = Archive(test_archive)
+#
+#     def tearDown(self):
+#         if os.path.exists(self.archive.filepath):
+#             os.remove(self.archive.filepath)
+#
+#     def test_archive_disabled(self):
+#         self.assertTrue(Archive(None)._disabled)
+#         self.assertTrue(Archive("")._disabled)
+#         self.assertFalse(Archive("/anything")._disabled)
+#
+#     def test_archive_read_empty_file(self):
+#         self.archive._read_file()
+#
+#     def test_archive_exists(self):
+#         self.archive.record_download("dl_id")
+#         self.assertTrue("dl_id" in self.archive._data)
+#         self.assertTrue("dl_id" in self.archive)
+#
+#     def test_archive_not_exists(self):
+#         self.assertFalse("dl_id" in self.archive)
+#
+#     def test_archive_multiple_writes(self):
+#         self.archive.record_download("dl_id 1")
+#         self.archive.record_download("dl_id 2")
+#         self.archive.record_download("dl_id 3")
+#         expected = "dl_id 1" + "\n" + "dl_id 2" + "\n" + "dl_id 3" + "\n"
+#         with open(self.archive.filepath, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f_in:
+#             self.assertEqual(f_in.read(), expected)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()
diff --git a/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py b/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
index 19370f62b..7afab0f16 100755
--- a/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
@@ -416,6 +416,9 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
                 'Parameter outtmpl is bytes, but should be a unicode string. '
                 'Put  from __future__ import unicode_literals  at the top of your code file or consider switching to Python 3.x.')
 
+        self._archive_filepath = self.params.get('download_archive')
+        self._archive_set = set()
+
         self._setup_opener()
 
         if auto_init:
@@ -2094,17 +2097,23 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
         return extractor.lower() + ' ' + video_id
 
     def in_download_archive(self, info_dict):
-        fn = self.params.get('download_archive')
-        if fn is None:
+        """ Checks if video from info_dict exists in archive"""
+
+        if self._archive_filepath is None:
             return False
 
         vid_id = self._make_archive_id(info_dict)
         if not vid_id:
             return False  # Incomplete video information
 
+        if vid_id in self._archive_set:
+            return True
+
+        # Read the archive file
         try:
-            with locked_file(fn, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as archive_file:
+            with locked_file(self._archive_filepath, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as archive_file:
                 for line in archive_file:
+                    self._archive_set.add(line.strip())
                     if line.strip() == vid_id:
                         return True
         except IOError as ioe:
@@ -2113,13 +2122,15 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
         return False
 
     def record_download_archive(self, info_dict):
-        fn = self.params.get('download_archive')
-        if fn is None:
+        """ Records a new entry in the archive for the info_dict """
+
+        if self._archive_filepath is None:
             return
         vid_id = self._make_archive_id(info_dict)
         assert vid_id
-        with locked_file(fn, 'a', encoding='utf-8') as archive_file:
+        with locked_file(self._archive_filepath, 'a', encoding='utf-8') as archive_file:
             archive_file.write(vid_id + '\n')
+        self._archive_set.add(vid_id)
 
     @staticmethod
     def format_resolution(format, default='unknown'):