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 co…
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name: documentation-and-adrs
description: 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.
---
# 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.… install to load the full skill