adr

name	adr
description	Create, list, supersede, deprecate, or audit Architecture Decision Records (MADR 4.0). Handles auto-numbering, directory detection, and cross-reference consistency. For quick stale-reference scans in markdown, use adr-ref-guard instead.

ADR Lifecycle Management

Manage Architecture Decision Records using MADR 4.0 format with full cross-reference consistency enforcement.

Do NOT use when:

• User is just discussing architecture without wanting formal ADR management
• User is directly editing an ADR file without asking for lifecycle help

Directory Detection

Auto-detect the ADR directory by scanning (in order):

1. docs/decisions/
2. docs/adr/
3. adr/
4. decisions/

Use Glob: {docs/decisions,docs/adr,adr,decisions}/[0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]-*.md

If no directory found and user wants to create an ADR, ask which location to use.

MADR 4.0 Format

Frontmatter

---
status: proposed
date: YYYY-MM-DD
decision-makers: ""
---

Status values: proposed | accepted | deprecated | superseded by [ADR-NNNN](file)

File Naming

• Pattern: NNNN-kebab-case-title.md
• 4-digit zero-padded number
• Scan existing files to determine next number

Template

Read ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/adr/references/madr-template.md for the full MADR 4.0 template.

---

Operations

1. Create New ADR

1. Detect ADR directory (or ask user to choose if none exists)
2. If this is the first ADR in the directory, create the bootstrap ADR first (see below)
3. Scan existing [0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]-*.md files, determine next number
4. Generate kebab-case filename from the title
5. Read the template from ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/adr/references/madr-template.md and apply with today's date
6. Search existing ADR titles for keyword overlap and suggest related ADRs
7. Present the created file path

Bootstrap ADR (First Use)

When no ADRs exist yet, read ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/adr/references/bootstrap-adr.md and create 0000-use-madr.md from its content, replacing {today} with the current date.

---

2. List ADRs

1. Glob for [0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]-*.md in the ADR directory
2. Read each file's YAML frontmatter (status, date) and first # heading
3. Display as table:

| #    | Title                  | Status                     | Date       |
|------|------------------------|----------------------------|------------|
| 0000 | Use MADR 4.0 for ADRs | [accepted]                 | 2025-03-16 |
| 0001 | Use PostgreSQL         | [superseded -> ADR-0003]   | 2025-01-10 |
| 0002 | REST API Design        | [accepted]                 | 2025-02-01 |
| 0003 | Use SQLite             | [accepted]                 | 2025-03-15 |

4. If supersession chains exist, show them: 0001 -> 0003
5. Summary: Total: 4 | accepted: 2 | proposed: 0 | superseded: 1 | deprecated: 0

---

3. Supersede ADR (Core Feature)

This is the most critical operation. Execute ALL steps in order.

Step 1 — Validate

• Locate the old ADR by number (e.g., "ADR-3" resolves to 0003-*.md)
• Read its frontmatter, verify current status
• If already superseded, warn about supersession chain and ask whether to proceed
• Extract its title for references

Step 2 — Create new ADR

• Follow the "Create New ADR" flow
• In the "More Information" section, add: Supersedes [ADR-NNNN](old-adr-file.md)

Step 3 — Update old ADR

Edit the old ADR file:

1. Change frontmatter status to: superseded by [ADR-{new}]({new-adr-file.md})
2. Insert callout immediately after the frontmatter closing ---, before the first heading:

> **SUPERSEDED**: This ADR has been superseded by [ADR-NNNN: New Title](new-adr-file.md). The decision described here is no longer in effect.

Step 4 — Full repo cross-reference scan

Search the ENTIRE repository for references to the old ADR using a 4-layer pattern:

Layer 1 — Filename: Grep for the old ADR filename

pattern: 0003-use-postgresql\.md

Layer 2 — ADR-N marker: Grep for ADR number in various formats

pattern: ADR[-\s]?0*3\b
(matches: ADR-3, ADR-0003, ADR 3, ADR-03)

Layer 3 — Markdown link: Grep for links containing the ADR number

pattern: \[.*?\]\(.*?0003-.*?\)

Layer 4 — Title substring: Grep .md files only for the old ADR's title

pattern: "Use PostgreSQL" (exact title, .md files only to reduce noise)

Exclude from all searches:

• The old and new ADR files themselves
• Directories: node_modules/, .git/, target/, dist/, build/, vendor/, .agents/

Step 5 — Categorize results

Group matches into categories and present as table:

Category	Files Found	Default Action
Other ADR files	0005-api-versioning.md	Auto-update
Documentation (non-ADR .md)	docs/setup.md	Auto-update
Source code comments	src/db.ts	Add (superseded) marker
Config files	config.yaml	Skip — manual review

Use AskUserQuestion per category for the user to choose:

• Auto-update: Replace old ADR references with new ADR
• Add notice: Append (superseded — see ADR-NNNN) after reference
• Skip: Leave unchanged, flag for manual review

Step 6 — Execute updates

For auto-update targets:

• In ADR files: update superseded by references, update markdown links
• In docs: replace ADR number references, update links, add "(formerly ADR-{old})" if helpful

For add notice targets:

• Append (superseded — see [ADR-NNNN](path/to/new-adr.md)) after each reference

Step 7 — Report

Supersession Complete:
  Created:    ADR-0007: Use SQLite (0007-use-sqlite.md)
  Superseded: ADR-0003: Use PostgreSQL (0003-use-postgresql.md)

Cross-Reference Updates:
  Auto-updated:  3 files
  Notice added:  1 file
  Skipped:       1 file (manual review needed)
    - config/database.yaml (line 12)

---

4. Deprecate ADR

Simpler than supersession — no replacement ADR is created.

Step 1 — Validate

• Locate the ADR by number
• Read its frontmatter, verify it is not already deprecated or superseded
• Extract its title

Step 2 — Update ADR

1. Change frontmatter status to: deprecated
2. Insert callout immediately after the frontmatter closing ---:

> **DEPRECATED**: This ADR is deprecated. The decision described here is no longer relevant.

Step 3 — Cross-reference scan

Run the same 4-layer search as supersede Step 4, but use add notice as the default action for all categories:

• Append (deprecated) after each reference found

Present findings and ask user per category whether to add notice or skip.

Step 4 — Report

Deprecation Complete:
  Deprecated: ADR-0005: Legacy Auth (0005-legacy-auth.md)

Cross-Reference Updates:
  Notice added:  2 files
  Skipped:       1 file (manual review needed)

---

5. Check ADR Consistency

Run these validation checks and report grouped by severity:

ERRORS (must fix)

• Broken links: Markdown links to non-existent ADR files. Scan all .md files for links matching NNNN-*.md, verify target exists.
• Circular supersession: A -> B -> A. Follow supersession chains, detect cycles.

WARNINGS (should fix)

• Stale references: Files referencing superseded ADRs without a supersession notice. Use the 4-layer search pattern (same as supersede Step 4) for each superseded ADR.
• Missing frontmatter: ADR files without status or date fields in YAML frontmatter.
• Orphaned supersession: Status says "superseded by X" but X doesn't contain "Supersedes" back-reference in its More Information section.

INFO

• Supersession chains: A -> B -> C (3+ links). Suggest simplification.
• Numbering gaps: Missing numbers in the sequence. Informational only.

Output format:

ADR Consistency Check:

ERRORS (2):
  [broken-link] docs/setup.md:15 links to 0009-missing.md — file does not exist
  [circular] ADR-0003 -> ADR-0007 -> ADR-0003

WARNINGS (1):
  [stale-ref] README.md:42 references ADR-0003 (superseded by ADR-0007)

INFO (1):
  [gap] Missing numbers: 0004, 0006

Summary: 2 errors, 1 warning, 1 info

If errors or warnings found, suggest running supersede or manual fixes.