tikalk/adlc-team-skills/architect-boot

architect-boot

Overview

One of the five class boots surfaced by team-boot's Class Boots catalog. team-boot injects the always-relevant team context (constitution, CDR index, skills registry) at session start; this skill loads the architecture decision layer on demand — the Accepted ADR index from project memory — and pairs it with a capture suggestion so new architecture choices are routed to /architect-specify rather than evaporating. The boot never writes files: it suggests the capture skill, and the user runs it.

Reading decisions and recording decisions are one loop: existing ADRs inform the work; decisions made during the work flow back into the same record system through the capture skill.

When to Use

Invoke at the START of a matching task — before planning the todo list and before implementation — so the ADR context informs planning. Never defer to session end.

Invoke when:

• Starting architecture work (system design, AD.md generation,

cross-subsystem refactoring, dependency changes).

• The session turns architectural mid-flight: a tech-stack choice, pattern

selection, or "we chose X over Y" moment emerges.

• Reviewing or validating an architecture and you need the decision

backdrop.

For technology selection, also invoke tech-radar-boot — radar context should inform the ADR.

Core Process

Step 1: Locate the ADR Index

From the current working directory (do NOT walk up parent directories):

1. Primary: docs/adlc/memory/adr/adr.md (generated /architect-implement;

rows start | ADR)

1. Fallback: .adlc/memory/adr/adr.md (legacy layout, legacy)

If neither exists but docs/adlc/memory/adr/ADR-*.md or legacy .adlc/memory/adr/ADR-*.md files do, synthesize a lean table from each file (ID from filename; Sub-System/Decision/Status from frontmatter or first heading). If the directory is empty or absent, report 0 ADRs — never fabricate rows.

When no local memory index exists in the current working directory and the directory sits inside a workspace (detected via a .gitmodules marker in an ancestor), read the workspace root's docs/adlc/memory/ index instead (the dual-read order applies: docs/adlc/memory first, legacy .adlc/memory fallback).

Step 1b: Read the ADR Drafts Index

Check .adlc/drafts/adr/ for ADR-*.md files with status: proposed in frontmatter. These are draft ADRs pending clarification. Collect ID / Title / Type / Status / Date from each file. If the directory is empty or absent, report 0 pending drafts.

Absent Context

If team-boot injected no team context this session (no Team Context & Decisions section in the first user message — unconfigured project or hook failure): say so in one line, emit the section heading with a 0 ADRs matched (no team context injected — run /team-setup) source line, and continue the task on the directly-read ADR index. Never treat a missing injection as an empty record set. Recovery: run /team-diagnose.

Step 2: Inject ADR Context (Output Contract)

Emit before the task answer:

## ADR Context
 
| ID | Sub-System | Decision | Status |
|--|--|--|--|
| ADR-001 | lanes | Workflow lanes over flat queue | Accepted |
 
_Searched N ADRs, K matched._
 
## Drafts Pending Review
 
| ID | Title | Type | Status | Date |
|----|-------|------|--------|------|
| (from .adlc/drafts/adr/) |
 
_N pending drafts — run /architect-clarify to review._

• Render ID / Sub-System / Decision / Status from the index (the full index

also carries Date, Decision Makers, File — read the individual ADR-*.md when a task matches a row).

• N = total index rows; K = rows relevant to the current task. **K MUST

equal the table rows shown.** 0 rows matched → emit the section heading + the _Searched N ADRs, K matched._ line only — no table. A 0-row table header collapses into unrendered single-line markdown; never emit one. Emit the section as markdown blocks — heading, table rows, and counts line each on their own lines.

Step 3: Suggest Architecture Decision Capture

Emit one line per detected decision, in the visible response:

_Suggested capture: <decision name> → run /architect-specify._

Never write a draft (or any file) yourself — /architect-specify writes the .adlc/drafts/adr/ draft when the user runs it, and /architect-clarify gates it afterwards.

Add/refresh rows in Team Context & Decisions (ID | Name | Type | Rel | Status | Clarify) for every ADR-class decision detected this session — including ones from before this boot was invoked. Mirror each decision as a task-list todo (suggest /architect-specify → matching clarify skill at session end for drafts that exist); after code-modifying tasks, add a trailing todo to sweep Team Context & Decisions until _Unrecorded: 0 pending · Unclarified: 0 drafts_ (a draft leaves Unclarified only via its clarify skill or an explicit user handoff to a named clarify or execute skill). At session end, deliver the clarify prompt naming each uncaptured decision (ID + capture skill) and each captured ADR draft in .adlc/drafts/adr/ (ID + clarify skill); if the user defers clarify, mark those rows handed off.

Failure Handling

• Missing index + missing records → emit the section heading +

_Searched 0 ADRs, 0 matched._ only — no table — and continue the user's task; never block.

• Unparseable index rows → skip malformed rows, note the skip count.

Red Flags

• Fabricating ADR rows or inflating K beyond the table shown.
• Injecting the index but ignoring the capture suggestion — the pairing is the point.
• Writing a draft (or any file) yourself — the boot only suggests;

/architect-specify writes.

• Walking up parent directories to find .adlc/.
• Tech-selection ADRs recorded without radar context when the radar is

available.

Verification

• [ ] ADR Context table emitted with _Searched N ADRs, K matched._

(K = table rows).

• [ ] Detected ADR-class decisions added as Team Context & Decisions rows.
• [ ] No files written; each detected ADR-class decision carries a

_Suggested capture: … → run /architect-specify._ line.

• [ ] Tech-selection decisions routed through tech-radar-boot →

/architect-specify.