Use adr-generator

Generate an Architecture Decision Record (ADR) from a context-decision-consequences brief

Generate an Architecture Decision Record (ADR) from a context-decision-consequences brief. Supports the two common formats — MADR (Markdown Any Decision Records) and Michael Nygard's original ADR template.

Reach for it when Use whenever the user wants to capture an architectural decision, write an ADR, or document a "we decided X because Y" moment.

Install it

npx skilldrop-cli install adr-generator                 # Claude Code, your user folder
npx skilldrop-cli install adr-generator --project       # Claude Code, this repo
npx skilldrop-cli install adr-generator --ide cursor    # or kiro, codex, antigravity, copilot

It is part of the Solution architect pack: --pack solution-architect installs it with its neighbours.

Ask for it

Say it the way you would to a colleague. Requests like these route to it:

• "Write an ADR for this decision"
• "Document the 'we decided X because Y' moment as an architecture decision record"
• "Capture this architectural decision in MADR format"
• "We picked Postgres over Dynamo — record the decision properly"

Requests like these belong to a different skill, so it shouldn't answer them:

• "Extract the decisions and owners from these meeting notes"
• "Write a full engineering design doc for this feature"
• "Critique the ADR I already wrote"

If another skill answers instead, ask for this one by name: "use adr-generator".

Check what you get

A good result:

• Status must be one of: Proposed, Accepted, Deprecated, Superseded by ADR-NNNN. Default to Proposed unless the user says it's already been agreed. "We decided", "we chose" and "we're going with" all say it was agreed: write Accepted.
• Title is a noun phrase, not a verb phrase. ✅ "Postgres as the primary datastore" — ❌ "Decide what database to use".
• Consequences must include trade-offs, not just upsides. If you can't list a downside, the decision wasn't real.
• Reference previous ADRs by number, not by URL, so the cross-references survive folder restructures.
• Don't editorialize. An ADR records what was decided, not what you (the AI) think was wisest.

Where a loop runs it

• Stage record of the design loop

Next

• SKILL.md, the instructions the agent reads
• Its page on the site

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