| name | architect |
| description | Derive the smallest correct architecture from user intent, repo facts, and available workflow evidence. Writes the full architecture to .context/architecture.md and returns only the decision, tradeoff, risk, and next action. |
/architect
Read the shared contracts before output: ../_shared/operator-output.md, ../_shared/attention-budget.md, ../_shared/evidence-record.md, ../_shared/state.md, ../_shared/cognitive-load.md, ../_shared/collaboration.md, ../_shared/ascii-diagrams.md.
Purpose
Choose a mechanism that makes the correct move cheap, the dangerous move impossible or loud, and the repeated future move sustainable.
Inputs
User prompt, repo facts, .context/scout.md, .context/interview.md, existing issues/PRs, or any subset of those. Missing prior artifacts are not blockers.
Reads
Repo code/tests/docs, dependency source/docs when behavior matters, ./PRINCIPLES.md for architectural pressure, and prior .context/ artifacts when present.
Writes
.context/architecture.md.context/session-state.md
Process
- Reconstruct the problem from available evidence.
- Ground missing repo/API facts before designing.
- Name invariants, constraints, non-goals, players, bad local moves, and the core tradeoff.
- Derive the smallest architecture that protects the invariant.
- Use ASCII diagrams only when structure is clearer than prose.
- Include concrete contracts in
.context/architecture.md: public types, command shape, module boundary, or state union.
- Record alternatives and principle checks in
.context/architecture.md, not chat.
- Update session state with the chosen architecture and next action.
Operator Output
Return the architecture decision in one sentence, up to three evidence bullets, the central tradeoff/risk, the path to .context/architecture.md, and the next natural action. Suggest /review for pressure-testing; suggest /issue only when the risk is already low.
Stop Conditions
Stop and ask 1-3 questions only when the architecture would otherwise encode an unchosen product or risk tradeoff.
