architecture-intelligence

Architecture Intelligence

Use for architecture quality in code. Trigger from task context and code evidence: designing a new project or feature, choosing structure, changing boundaries, moving behavior between layers, introducing runtime/integration paths, protecting quality attributes, or reviewing code whose shape affects changeability, reliability, scalability, security, operability, or testability.

Evidence First

Before judging:

1. Define system boundary, users/workloads, and the delivery constraint.
2. Inspect source evidence: repo guidance, README, manifests, tests, ownership files, architecture docs, ADRs, dependency graph, runtime boundaries, and recent changes.
3. Name quality attributes under pressure: modifiability, reliability, scalability, performance, security, observability, testability, cost, operability.
4. Frame key scenarios: stimulus, environment, response, response measure.
5. Separate observed, inferred, assumed, and unknown.

If context is thin, inspect source first or ask one decision-critical question. Do not invent scale, teams, boundaries, compliance, or domain facts.

Probe

From the plugin root:

python3 scripts/architecture_probe.py <repo-path> --json
python3 scripts/architecture_probe.py <repo-path> --json --git-history
python3 scripts/architecture_probe.py <repo-path> --json --policy <policy.json>

Probe output is an evidence map, not a verdict. It includes:

• structure metrics: fan-in/fan-out, instability, dependency cycles;
• runtime topology: deployment/config/observability/resilience/integration signals;
• ownership topology: CODEOWNERS/OWNERS sources, owner coverage, ownerless areas, cross-owned static dependency edges;
• git history when requested: churn and co-change signals;
• policy checks when provided: forbidden/required top-level edges and required docs.

Route

Use the smallest focused skill set:

• codebase-architecture-audit: current architecture, risks, scorecards.
• architecture-conformance: intended vs observed rules, drift, erosion.
• architecture-ownership-topology: CODEOWNERS/OWNERS, ownership coverage, cross-owned coordination risk, governance paths.
• architecture-runtime-topology: deployment, runtime calls, observability, resilience, operability.
• architecture-decisions: ADR creation/review, tradeoffs, owner, revisit trigger.
• architecture-fitness-functions: executable guardrails, CI checks, review gates.
• architecture-refactoring-strategy: incremental migration, blast radius, rollback.

When the current work will create, preserve, or materially change architecture, do not stop at the router. Use this minimum chain:

1. codebase-architecture-audit for observed architecture and risks.
2. architecture-refactoring-strategy for target boundary, slices, rollback.
3. architecture-fitness-functions for executable guardrails.

Add architecture-conformance when an architecture doc, ADR, policy, or explicit constraint exists. Add architecture-runtime-topology when CLI, app refresh, background work, deployment, integration, or operability paths change. Add architecture-ownership-topology when owner files, package ownership, or cross-owned dependencies affect the change.

Use adjacent plugins for UI/UX, game design, Kotlin/Tauri specifics, security threat modeling, or non-architecture cleanup.

Evidence Rules

• Tie every finding to files, commands, docs, traces, dependency relations, tests, or decisions.
• Explain tradeoffs; architecture changes rarely improve every quality attribute.
• Recommendations need validation plus rollback or revisit trigger.
• Treat metrics, ownership files, and co-change as warning signals. Confirm against intent, scenarios, runtime evidence, and domain context.
• Do not infer team health, communication quality, production behavior, or branch-protection enforcement from repository files alone.

Refactor Proof Gate

Before editing, capture dirty-tree state, the target boundary, and a pre-refactor probe when the repo can be scanned. After editing, provide tests, docs/ADR updates, runtime smoke or an explicit skip reason, and a post-probe comparison when structural metrics informed the change. End with a skill-usage self-check: skills used, specialized skills skipped, and the reason each skip was safe.

For durable handoff, emit architecture_intelligence.refactor_report.v1.

Durable Contracts

Use references/contracts.md for:

• architecture_intelligence.audit.v1
• architecture_intelligence.conformance.v1
• architecture_intelligence.decision.v1
• architecture_intelligence.fitness_plan.v1
• architecture_intelligence.refactor_report.v1
• architecture_intelligence.runtime_topology.v1
• architecture_intelligence.structure_metrics.v1
• architecture_intelligence.ownership_topology.v1

Boundaries

Do not approve high-risk architecture changes without validation. Do not prescribe microservices, event sourcing, DDD, clean/hexagonal architecture, or new tooling by default. Optimize codebase changeability and runtime qualities, not diagram polish.