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architecture

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by anthropic · part of anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins

Create or evaluate an architecture decision record (ADR). Use when choosing between technologies (e.g., Kafka vs SQS), documenting a design decision with trade-offs and consequences, reviewing a system design proposal, or designing a new component from requirements and constraints.

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🧩 One of 7 skills in the anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins package — works on its own, and pairs well with its siblings.

This is the playbook your agent receives when the skill activates — you don't need to read it to use the skill, but it's here to audit before installing.

/architecture

If you see unfamiliar placeholders or need to check which tools are connected, see CONNECTORS.md.

Create an Architecture Decision Record (ADR) or evaluate a system design.

Modes

Create an ADR: "Should we use Kafka or SQS for our event bus?" Evaluate a design: "Review this microservices proposal" System design: "Design the notification system for our app"

See the system-design skill for detailed frameworks on requirements gathering, scalability analysis, and trade-off evaluation.

Output — ADR Format

# ADR-[number]: [Title]

**Status:** Proposed | Accepted | Deprecated | Superseded
**Date:** [Date]
**Deciders:** [Who needs to sign off]

## Context

[What is the situation? What forces are at play?]

## Decision

[What is the change we're proposing?]

## Options Considered

### Option A: [Name]
| Dimension | Assessment |
|-----------|------------|
| Complexity | [Low/Med/High] |
| Cost | [Assessment] |
| Scalability | [Assessment] |
| Team familiarity | [Assessment] |

**Pros:** [List]
**Cons:** [List]

### Option B: [Name]
[Same format]

## Trade-off Analysis

[Key trade-offs between options with clear reasoning]

## Consequences

- [What becomes easier]
- [What becomes harder]
- [What we'll need to revisit]

## Action Items

1. [ ] [Implementation step]
2. [ ] [Follow-up]

If Connectors Available

If ~~knowledge base is connected:

  • Search for prior ADRs and design docs
  • Find relevant technical context

If ~~project tracker is connected:

  • Link to related epics and tickets
  • Create implementation tasks

Tips

  1. State constraints upfront — "We need to ship in 2 weeks" or "Must handle 10K rps" shapes the answer.
  2. Name your options — Even if you're leaning one way, I'll give a more balanced analysis with explicit alternatives.
  3. Include non-functional requirements — Latency, cost, team expertise, and maintenance burden matter as much as features.