Agent skill · software engineering · affaan-m
architecture-decision-records
Capture architectural decisions as numbered ADR markdown files in docs/adr/ with context, alternatives considered, consequences, and an index README. Use when the user says 'record this decision' or 'ADR this', chooses between frameworks or databases, discusses trade-offs, or asks why the codebase is shaped this way.
Why this skill is useful
Adds structured documentation for architectural decisions that enhances team understanding and future development.
What it needs
About 4k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-08-06. 238,342 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
Architecture Decision Records Capture architectural decisions as they happen during coding sessions. Instead of decisions living only in Slack threads, PR comments, or someone's memory, this skill produces structured ADR documents that live alongside the code. When to Activate User explicitly says "let's record this decision" or "ADR this" User chooses between significant alternatives (framework, library, pattern, database, API design) User says "we decided to..." or "the reason we're doing X instead of Y is..." User asks "why did we choose X?" (read existing ADRs) During planning phases when architectural trade-offs are discussed ADR Format Use the lightweight ADR format proposed by Michael Nygard, adapted for AI-assisted development: Workflow Capturing a New ADR When a decision moment is detected: 1. Initialize (first time only) — if docs/adr/ does not exist, ask the user for confirmation before creating the directory, a README.md seeded with the index table header (see ADR Index Format below), and a blank template.md for manual use. Do not create files without explicit consent. 2. Identify the decision — extract the core architectural choice being made 3. Gather context — what problem prompted this? What constraints exist? 4. Document alternatives — what other options were considered? Why were they rejected? 5. State consequences — what are the trade-offs? What becomes easier/harder? 6. Assign a number — scan existing ADRs in docs/adr/ and increment 7. Confirm and write — present the draft ADR to the user for review. Only write to docs/adr/NNNN-decision-title.md after explicit approval. If the user declines, discard the draft without writing any files. 8. Update the index — append to docs/adr/README.md Reading Existing ADRs When a user asks "why did we choose X?": 1. Check if docs/adr/ exists — if not, respond: "No ADRs found in this project. Would you like to start recording architectural decisions?" 2. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills affaan-m/architecture-decision-records--b9335a