| name | ad-architecture |
| description | Generate ARCHITECTURE.md at the repo root by scanning the code first, pre-filling layers/patterns/observability/deployment from observed signals, then asking only the genuine gaps. Use when the user wants to bootstrap, scaffold, generate, document, or audit ARCHITECTURE.md (system-level patterns and boundaries, paired with ADRs in doc/adr/). Covers brownfield (code exists) and audit (drift report against existing ARCHITECTURE.md). |
| summary | Generate or audit `ARCHITECTURE.md` at the repo root. |
| allowed-tools | Read, Write, Glob, Grep, Bash |
/ad-architecture
Produces ARCHITECTURE.md at the repo root. Pairs with ADRs in doc/adr/ — architecture is the binding pattern; ADRs are individual decisions with status. ADRs in doc/adr/ with Status: accepted are binding; read every one before writing.
Step 0 — Detect mode
Run from the consumer repo root before inspecting it:
node .claude/skills/ad-architecture/scripts/project-signals.mjs ARCHITECTURE.md --host claude-code
Parse its JSON. Its mode selects the branch below; use stacks to focus the code scan and surface every unreadable[] entry as a scan gap, never as an absent path. Then inspect the repo:
ARCHITECTURE.md exists at the repo root → audit mode. Do not rewrite it. Stop after producing a drift list (see Step 4).ARCHITECTURE.md absent → bootstrap mode. Scan first, pre-fill, ask only the gaps.
Step 1 — Scan the code
Read in this order, taking the first that exists for each category:
- Top-level directory listing — infer the layered/hexagonal/clean structure.
- Main entry points — servers (
main.go, app/server.ts, manage.py, cmd/), CLI binaries, background jobs.
- Boundary code —
handlers/, controllers/, repositories/, gateways/, middleware/.
- Config and env loading.
- Observability hooks — logger setup, metrics export, tracing init.
- Deploy config —
Dockerfile, docker-compose.yml, k8s/, terraform/, .github/workflows/, Procfile, serverless.yml.
doc/adr/ — doc/adr/ is the canonical ADR ledger. Read accepted ADRs to inform pattern descriptions; do not duplicate the index inside ARCHITECTURE.md.
Build a model of: layers and boundaries, data access pattern, HTTP middleware chain, async/messaging, error and validation patterns, naming conventions, logging/metrics/tracing, deployment topology.
Step 2 — Pre-fill
For every <placeholder> in the referenced template, fill from observed signals. No fabrication. If a section has no signal, write <TODO: not yet wired> in one line and move on.
Step 3 — Show only the gaps
Print to the user:
- (a) placeholders without a code signal;
- (b) places where the code shows two competing patterns (some handlers go through middleware, some don't; mixed data-access styles, etc.).
One question per gap.
When the host exposes Plan Mode, the agent may render the proposed ARCHITECTURE.md body inside the plan for user approval before write. Plan Mode is opt-in — skip for incremental edits where the user already saw the prior content.
Step 4 — Write the file
On user confirmation, write ARCHITECTURE.md at the repo root. Cut every line that does not lock a binding pattern. At the end of the response, list any decision that should become an ADR — flag, do not write the ADR yet (use the ad-adr skill for that).
Audit-mode override: do not write the file. Produce a drift list. Format each line as:
[file or section]: spec says X, code says Y. Suggested resolution: change spec / change code / discuss.
If something the user says contradicts what the code shows, surface the conflict. Don't silently trust the user; don't silently trust the code.
Template — ARCHITECTURE.md
The ARCHITECTURE.md skeleton lives in references/architecture-template.md — fill its <placeholders> from the scan; omit sections with no signal.
Output contract
A single ARCHITECTURE.md at the repo root. Every line locks a binding pattern. ADR candidates flagged in the response, not written. In audit mode: drift list only, no file written.
ARCHITECTURE.md is a narrative document, so the Documentation Discipline rules in WORKFLOW.md §2 apply at write time:
- No emoji anywhere in the file.
- No dates, version stamps,
DRAFT markers, or changelog blocks. Architecture is the current binding pattern; the lifecycle of "when did this become true" lives in ADRs and git history.
Overview is the business-context-first paragraph — what the system does and what would break without it before layers and patterns.- One scope: system-level patterns and boundaries. Per-decision rationale lives in ADRs; per-project operations live in
AGENTS.md. Link, do not copy.
- No speculation. If a layer has no observed signal, write
<TODO: not yet wired> once; do not propose patterns that aren't already in the code.
Next
/ad-spec when starting a feature whose scope spans the patterns this document records./ad-adr for any binding decision that surfaced while writing or auditing this file (one decision per ADR)./ad-drift periodically to check pattern drift between this document and the code.
