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Architecture Decision Records ​

Why we record decisions here:

  • The repo grows; the why behind a constraint stops being obvious.
  • AI agents and new contributors need durable, searchable context for rules they will otherwise question or accidentally undo.
  • git log carries the what. ADRs carry the why + the trade-offs considered + the consequences if you break the rule.

Convention ​

  • Filename: NNNN-kebab-title.md — zero-padded sequence, never reused.
  • First line: # NNNN — Title, with the number matching the filename.
  • One decision per file. Short. ≤1 page when possible.
  • Every ADR uses the same structure: see TEMPLATE.md.
  • Status: proposed → accepted → optionally superseded by NNNN / deprecated. Never delete an ADR; supersede it.
  • Date: the date status changed (ISO YYYY-MM-DD).
  • Cite source files (path:line) and tests so the rule is verifiable.

ADR vs features/ / technical/ ​

  • docs/adr/ — historical decisions that shape today's code. Read to understand why a rule exists.
  • docs/features/ — forward-looking product / UX briefs. What and why of a feature being shaped.
  • docs/technical/ — implementation plans and cross-cutting tech reference. How a feature is being built.

A design brief or tech plan may graduate to an ADR once the decision is locked in and worth defending against future drift.

When to write a new ADR ​

Triggers (any one):

  • A rule has been broken once and we want to make sure it isn't again.
  • A reviewer asked "why is it this way?" and the answer isn't in code.
  • We chose between two reasonable approaches and the loser will keep resurfacing.
  • A constraint is imposed by an external system (regulator, vendor, licensor) and we need to capture it once.

Index ​

There is deliberately no index table here. The one this section used to hold rotted silently — it stopped at 0006 while the directory held 21 files (issue #300) — and an index that reads as complete while covering a fraction of the decisions invites re-litigating what was already locked in.

The directory listing is the index. Filenames carry number and title (ls docs/adr/ reads as a table of contents), the first line of each file repeats them, and status/date live inside the file. CI's docs-layout job enforces the invariants that keep the listing trustworthy: strict NNNN-kebab-title.md names, no duplicate and no skipped numbers, and a first-line heading that matches the filename (issue #299, scripts/check_docs_layout.py::check_adrs).