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skilldrop·docs·How-to

Stage 2 · design

Use the Solution architect pack

Install the Solution architect pack, run its first task, and follow a typical session step by step.

Design-phase artifacts: diagrams, decision records, design docs, contracts, schemas, threat models, and the reviews that gate them.

Reach for it when: You have an agreed requirement and need to decide how to build it, then record that decision.

1. Install it

npx skilldrop-cli install --pack solution-architect                 # Claude Code, your user folder
npx skilldrop-cli install --pack solution-architect --project       # Claude Code, this repo
npx skilldrop-cli install --pack solution-architect --ide cursor    # or kiro, codex, antigravity, copilot
npx skilldrop-cli install --pack solution-architect --local         # this repo, hidden from git

In Claude Code you can also add the marketplace once (/plugin marketplace add sananthanarayan/skilldrop) and run /plugin install solution-architect@skilldrop.

It brings core with it, so the shared skills are there too.

2. Run the first task: record an architecture decision your team already made

Paste this into your agent:

Write an ADR: we're moving our session store from Redis to DynamoDB. We considered staying on Redis, DynamoDB, and Postgres; we chose DynamoDB for managed scaling and lower ops load.

How to tell it worked: adr-generator returns an ADR with context, the options considered with their trade-offs, the decision, and its consequences.

If nothing happens: If adr-generator does not activate, ask for it by name ("use adr-generator") and check that its folder exists in your skills folder (~/.claude/skills/ by default).

3. A typical session

Bring:

A session takes about 1–3 hours.

  1. nfr-spec: Describe the feature or system and what you know about load, data and users. You get: Every non-functional category set to a measurable target, an explicit n/a, or a tagged default.
  2. design-doc: Give it the requirement and the NFR targets. You get: A design doc with problem, goals and non-goals, options considered, the recommended approach, risks and rollout.
  3. architecture-diagrams: Ask for diagrams of the recommended approach from the design doc. You get: Mermaid, PlantUML or C4 diagrams that must agree with the doc.
  4. threat-model: Hand it the design doc and diagrams. You get: A STRIDE threat model with assets and trust boundaries, attack scenarios at each boundary crossing, and ranked, verifiable mitigations.
  5. council-review: Put the design and threat model in front of the review panel. You get: Independent positions from each seat, the named cruxes, and a Chair's verdict that records dissent and what would change the decision. You decide: Gate G1: PROCEED or PROCEED WITH CONDITIONS moves on; REVISE sends you back to the design doc; SPLIT or RECONSIDER leaves the loop.
  6. adr-generator: Ask for the ADR once the panel has agreed, including any conditions it set. You get: An ADR in MADR or Nygard format with context, the options and why each was rejected, the decision and its consequences.

You end with: NFR targets, a design doc with matching diagrams, a threat model, the panel's verdict, and an ADR that carries its conditions.

4. Run it as a loop

A loop runs the skills in order and stops at each gate for a verdict. Install and start one:

npx skilldrop-cli install --loop --pack solution-architect

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