adr

name	adr
description	Anton ADR lifecycle — author new architectural decision records, list existing ones by status or affects-category, and mark old decisions superseded. Use when capturing a decision (especially after `cluster-intake-gatekeeper` returns an ADD/DEFER/REJECT verdict), when reviewing prior decisions before changing direction, when checking if a candidate component has been removed before, or when promoting a decision out of memory into a durable record. ADRs live in `context/adrs/` and are immutable — supersession is the only way to change a decision. The ADR index is built by scanning ADR files directly and injected into every Claude Code session by `.claude/hooks/inject_adr_index.py`. Keywords — ADR, architecture decision record, decision log, supersede, decision history, why did we, prior decision, recorded decision, MADR, immutable, intake handoff, cluster-intake-gatekeeper handoff, removal graveyard, reverted decision.
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, Bash

ADR

Anton-local skill for the architectural decision record lifecycle. Owns three workflows: new, list, supersede. ADRs live at context/adrs/NNNN-kebab-slug.md and are immutable — once accepted, the body never changes. Supersession is the only way to revise a decision.

Why this skill exists

Anton needs one durable home for architectural decisions so that:

• cluster-intake-gatekeeper has somewhere to hand off its ADD/DEFER/REJECT verdicts (instead of stopping at "ADR-ready").
• Future Claude Code sessions can discover prior decisions automatically via the SessionStart hook (.claude/hooks/inject_adr_index.py) without the operator typing them in.
• cluster-intake Step 2 can query past Reverted decisions by category instead of grepping a single shared file.
• The operator (and future-Will) can recover why the cluster looks the way it does without mining git log.

The skill is anton-local and has no runtime dependency on ~/.claude/skills/context-repo-adr — the format is intentionally compatible with the global context-repo conventions, but invoking this skill never delegates to that one.

Hard rules

• ADRs are immutable. Once an ADR's status: is Accepted (or Reverted / Rejected / Deferred), the body never changes. The only edit allowed on an existing ADR is flipping the status: line to Superseded-by NNNN. Any other change must go through supersede.
• Numbers are never reused. The next number is always max(existing) + 1, zero-padded to four digits, regardless of whether earlier numbers were superseded.
• Status: Reverted is anton-specific. Use it for any decision that was once live and is now removed. Standard MADR has no equivalent.

References:

• Field reference and immutability rule → conventions
• Canonical template for new ADRs → template

Workflow — new

Triggered by:

• The user says "create an ADR" / "record this decision" / /adr new "<title>"
• cluster-intake-gatekeeper hands off an ADD / DEFER / REJECT verdict (the verdict object substitutes for the interactive interview — see "Handoff from intake" below)

Steps

1. Allocate the next number. Glob('context/adrs/0[0-9][0-9][0-9]-*.md'). Sort. The next number is max + 1, zero-padded to 4 digits. Never reuse a number.

2. Generate the slug. Lowercase the title, kebab-case it, drop articles and prepositions, take the first 4–6 meaningful words. Example: "Adopt Cilium over Calico for CNI" → adopt-cilium-over-calico-for-cni → file 0018-adopt-cilium-over-calico-for-cni.md.

3. Interview the user (skip this when invoked from intake — see Handoff from intake). Ask only the questions whose answers aren't already known:

   • Title (one short sentence)
   • One-sentence summary (the blockquote after the H1)
   • status — usually Accepted for forward-looking decisions; Deferred / Rejected / Reverted if known
   • affects — pick the broadest applicable category from: storage, observability, databases, registries, demos, networking, security, compute, all, or a new category if none fit
   • intent — concrete-need / learning / unknown
   • supersedes — list of NNNNs being superseded by this one (usually empty)
   • Context (1–3 paragraphs — what situation prompts this decision, what forces are in play)
   • Decision (active voice, one or two sentences — "We will adopt X" / "We will not")
   • Alternatives considered (do-nothing + 1–2 alternatives, with a one-line "why rejected" each)
   • Consequences — accepted costs, lessons (if Reverted), follow-ups

4. Write the ADR file at context/adrs/NNNN-slug.md using the shape from template. Frontmatter is mandatory; missing frontmatter fields default to the template's defaults.

5. If supersedes: is non-empty, also flip the status: line of each superseded ADR to Superseded-by NNNN. This is the only allowed in-place edit on an existing ADR. Use Edit with a precise old/new string for the status line only — never touch the body.

6. Confirm to the user with the file path and the new ADR number.

Handoff from intake

When cluster-intake-gatekeeper invokes this skill at the end of its evaluation, it passes the verdict object directly. Map the verdict to ADR fields without re-interviewing:

Gatekeeper verdict	ADR status:	Notes
Add (concrete need)	Accepted	intent: concrete-need. Decision section names the hand-off skill (add-flux-app / flux-app-author). Consequences section includes the Renovate-PR tax line.
Add (learning)	Accepted	intent: learning. Consequences section must include the timebox, exit plan, and review date — these are load-bearing under the contained-learning rubric. The frontmatter should add a review-by: field with the review date.
Defer	Deferred	Body holds the exact measurable unblock conditions (what would have to be true to convert to Accepted).
Reject	Rejected	Body holds the failed gate (1–7) or known-bad pattern, and — if appropriate — whether reframing as a learning intake would change the answer.

After writing the ADR, return to the gatekeeper with the ADR number so it can include it in its memory append.

Workflow — list

Triggered by:

• /adr list or /adr list --status Reverted or /adr list --affects databases
• cluster-intake Step 2 (the removal-detection lookup) — internally invokes this with --status Reverted --affects <candidate-category> to find prior reverts

Steps

1. Glob('context/adrs/0[0-9][0-9][0-9]-*.md').
2. For each file, read the frontmatter and extract status, date, affects, intent, and the H1 title.
3. Apply filters:
   • --status <X> → keep only ADRs whose status: matches X (case-insensitive)
   • --affects <X> → keep only ADRs whose affects: contains X
   • With no filter, return all
4. Format as a markdown table sorted by NNNN (columns: #, Title, Status, Date, Affects, Intent).
5. If used as the data source for cluster-intake Step 2: also read the matching ADRs' "Re-adoption guidance" section so the intake can surface the conditions under which a re-attempt would be valid.

Workflow — supersede

Triggered by:

• /adr supersede <NNNN> "<reason>" — the user wants to revise an existing decision

Steps

1. Verify the target exists. Read context/adrs/NNNN-*.md. If missing, abort with a clear error.
2. Verify the target's current status. If it is already Superseded-by NNNN, abort — supersession chains exist (NNNN can be superseded by MMMM which is superseded by PPPP), so the user must supersede the latest in the chain.
3. Author the replacement by invoking the new workflow with supersedes: [<NNNN>] pre-populated. Walk the interview as normal.
4. Flip the old ADR's status line — and only the status line — from Accepted (or whatever it was) to Superseded-by <new NNNN>. Use Edit with the precise old/new strings. Do not touch the body, the date, or any other field.
5. Confirm to the user with both ADR numbers (old → new) and the file paths.

What this skill does NOT do

• Does not write Flux manifests — that is add-flux-app.
• Does not run cluster intake — that is cluster-intake (which hands off here).
• Does not edit ADR bodies after the fact. Ever. Use supersede.
• Does not auto-detect when a decision should be superseded. Manual via /adr supersede.
• Does not push, commit, or tag — the user owns git operations.
• Does not delete ADRs. ADRs are append-only forever, even superseded ones.

Related skills and agents

• cluster-intake / cluster-intake-gatekeeper — the dominant authoring path. Hand off here on every verdict.
• add-flux-app / flux-app-author — invoked after an Accepted ADR that involves new manifests.
• ~/.claude/skills/context-repo-adr (user-level) — format-compatible but not invoked at runtime. If the user adopts the full context-repo convention later, the existing ADRs will Just Work.

Anti-patterns

• Editing an ADR body to reflect a changed decision. That's what supersede is for. Editing in place destroys the historical record.
• Re-using a number after a delete. ADRs are never deleted, so this shouldn't come up — but if it does, allocate the next number, never the gap.
• Authoring an ADR before the decision is actually made. ADRs document decisions that happened, not aspirations. If the user is still considering, they're not ready for an ADR.
• Verbose ADRs. One screen of body is the target. If the decision genuinely needs more context, link to a doc — don't inline it.