Agent skill · writing content · sickn33
documentation-and-adrs
Records decisions and documentation. Use when making architectural decisions, changing public APIs, shipping features, or when you need to record context that future engineers and agents will need to understand the codebase.
Why this skill is useful
Provides a structured approach to documenting architectural decisions that enhances the AI's ability to generate context-aware documentation.
What it needs
About 6k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-08-07. 44,571 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
Documentation and ADRs Overview Document decisions, not just code. The most valuable documentation captures the why — the context, constraints, and trade-offs that led to a decision. Code shows what was built; documentation explains why it was built this way and what alternatives were considered. This context is essential for future humans and agents working in the codebase. When to Use Making a significant architectural decision Choosing between competing approaches Adding or changing a public API Shipping a feature that changes user-facing behavior Onboarding new team members (or agents) to the project When you find yourself explaining the same thing repeatedly When NOT to use: Don't document obvious code. Don't add comments that restate what the code already says. Don't write docs for throwaway prototypes. Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) ADRs capture the reasoning behind significant technical decisions. They're the highest-value documentation you can write. When to Write an ADR Choosing a framework, library, or major dependency Designing a data model or database schema Selecting an authentication strategy Deciding on an API architecture (REST vs. GraphQL vs. tRPC) Choosing between build tools, hosting platforms, or infrastructure Any decision that would be expensive to reverse ADR Template Follow the repository's existing ADR location and numbering; use docs/decisions/ only if no convention exists. The following decision and alternatives are fictional project assumptions, not universal database rankings: ADR Lifecycle Don't delete old ADRs. They capture historical context. When a decision changes, write a new ADR that references and supersedes the old one. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills sickn33/documentation-and-adrs--505841