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clayloclaylo/pikchr-tools/.claude/skills/capturing-decisions/SKILL.md

Capturing Decisions

Skill0 starsChanged 10 months agoApache-2.0View on GitHub

Create and maintain MADR-format Architectural Decision Records in Markdown under `docs/decisions`. Use when the user wants to document important decisions.

The file

We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent

9 rules. About 0 are common, 5 are distinctive, and 4 are very specific to this project.

  • ≈0

    Common · estimate

    Many files like this have a rule of this kind.

  • ≈5

    Distinctive · estimate

    This author's own choices. Worth a look.

  • 4

    Very specific

    Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.

  • Common
  • Distinctive
  • Very specific
  1. Distinctive:

    All ADRs live in:

    line 17
  2. Very specific:

    If docs/decisions/ does not exist yet, create it.

    line 26
  3. Distinctive:

    Use this copy of the MADR 4.0.0 long-form template

    line 30
  4. Distinctive:

    Create new ADRs by copying the template and replacing placeholders.

    line 32
  5. Very specific:

    Default status to proposed unless the change set includes implementation and agreement to accept.

    line 62
  6. Distinctive:

    Add the ADR in numeric order.

    line 64
  7. Very specific:

    Ensure the emoji matches the ADR's status.

    line 65
  8. Very specific:

    If an ADR is superseded, keep the old ADR file, set its status to superseded by ADR-NNNN, and update the index row emoji to 🔁.

    line 66
  9. Distinctive:

    Keep ADRs concise, but include enough context that a new reader can understand why the decision was made.

    line 71

≈ “Common” is an estimate: at least 1 in 5 of the 350,495 skill files we read have a rule of the same kind, not the same words. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.

Keep what fits and drop the rest. Your version, ready for your agents.
Files
SKILL.md

MADR ADRs

This skill creates (and keeps tidy) Architectural Decision Records (ADRs) using MADR (Markdown Architectural Decision Records) v4.0.0.

A helpful bar for what "counts" as an architectural decision is Martin Fowler's: "a decision you wish you could get right early." ("Who needs an architect?", IEEE Software, 2003)

Primary reference: Markdown Architectural Decision Records

Repository layout and naming

All ADRs live in:

  • docs/decisions/NNNN-title-with-dashes.md

Where:

  • NNNN is a zero-padded 4-digit sequence number (0001, 0002, …)
  • title-with-dashes is a lowercase slug (letters/digits/hyphens)

If docs/decisions/ does not exist yet, create it.

Template

Use this copy of the MADR 4.0.0 long-form template

Create new ADRs by copying the template and replacing placeholders. Optional sections may be removed (the template marks them clearly).

Required metadata

Each ADR must include YAML front matter at the top with:

  • status: one of proposed, accepted, rejected, deprecated, or superseded by ADR-NNNN
  • date: YYYY-MM-DD (update when the ADR is materially changed)

Status emoji for the index

Maintain an index at docs/decisions/README.md that lists all ADRs with:

  • status emoji
  • ADR title (matching the H1 of the ADR), as a link to the full ADR
  • date last updated

Use this mapping:

  • 🟡 proposed
  • ✅ accepted
  • ❌ rejected
  • ⚠️ deprecated
  • 🔁 superseded

Process

  1. Pick the next number by scanning existing ADR filenames in docs/decisions/ and incrementing the highest NNNN. Start at 0001 if none exist.
  2. Slugify the title into title-with-dashes (lowercase, hyphens, no punctuation).
  3. Create the ADR from ADR_TEMPLATE.md.
    • Default status to proposed unless the change set includes implementation and agreement to accept.
  4. Update docs/decisions/README.md:
    • Add the ADR in numeric order.
    • Ensure the emoji matches the ADR's status.
  5. If an ADR is superseded, keep the old ADR file, set its status to superseded by ADR-NNNN, and update the index row emoji to 🔁.

Output expectations

  • ADR markdown should be clean and readable in GitHub rendering.
  • Keep ADRs concise, but include enough context that a new reader can understand why the decision was made.

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