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6 changes: 3 additions & 3 deletions CLAUDE.md
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Expand Up @@ -29,8 +29,8 @@ portable two-axis planning convention. `architecture/` (repo root) is the living
truth home; `planning/` records *how it got there*. **Start at the
[Quick path](planning/README.md#quick-path-start-here)** in
[`planning/README.md`](planning/README.md) to choose a lane (Full / Lightweight /
Tiny), create a bundle, and ship — that file is the authoritative spec. Run
`just check-planning` to validate bundles and `just index` to print the change
Tiny), create a change file, and ship — that file is the authoritative spec. Run
`just check-planning` to validate changes and `just index` to print the change
listing.

Per feature: brainstorming → `design.md` → writing-plans → `plan.md` →
Expand All @@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ and a subagent code review before landing (`superpowers:requesting-code-review`)

Planning artifacts live under `planning/` (not `docs/`, so they're excluded from
the mkdocs site automatically). When superpowers skills default to
`docs/superpowers/specs/` or `docs/superpowers/plans/`, use the change bundle
`docs/superpowers/specs/` or `docs/superpowers/plans/`, use the change file
under `planning/changes/` here instead.

**Cutting a release (maintainers)** is tag-driven via
Expand Down
2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion Justfile
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Expand Up @@ -35,6 +35,6 @@ docs-build:
index:
uv run python planning/index.py

# Validate planning bundles + decisions; CI runs this.
# Validate planning changes + decisions; CI runs this.
check-planning:
uv run python planning/index.py --check
2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion architecture/README.md
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Expand Up @@ -22,4 +22,4 @@ it got here*; this directory records *what it is*.
When a change alters a capability's behavior, hand-edit the matching
`architecture/<capability>.md` in the **same PR** as the code, reviewed in the
same diff — never as a separate post-merge step. That hand-edit is what keeps
this directory true; the change bundle in `planning/changes/` stays as the *why*.
this directory true; the change file in `planning/changes/` stays as the *why*.
2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion planning/.convention-version
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@@ -1 +1 @@
1.0.0
2.0.0
98 changes: 67 additions & 31 deletions planning/README.md
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Expand Up @@ -12,25 +12,22 @@ at the repo root; this directory records *how it got there*.
**1. Choose a lane — first matching rule wins:**

1. Any of: needs design judgment · new file/module · public-API change ·
cross-cutting or multi-file · non-trivial test design → **Full**
(`design.md` + `plan.md`)
cross-cutting or multi-file · non-trivial test design → **Full** (design template)
2. Purely mechanical: typo · dep bump · linter/formatter/CI tweak ·
mechanical rename · single-line config → **Tiny** (no bundle, conventional
mechanical rename · single-line config → **Tiny** (no change file, conventional
commit)
3. Small-but-real, none of the above: ≲30 LOC net · ≤2 files · no new file ·
no public-API change · one straightforward test → **Lightweight**
(`change.md`)
no public-API change · one straightforward test → **Lightweight** (change template)

Ambiguous between two? Take the heavier. A `change.md` that outgrows its lane
splits into `design.md` + `plan.md`.
Ambiguous between two? Take the heavier. A lightweight change file that outgrows its lane is rewritten from the design template.

**2. Create the bundle** (Full / Lightweight only):
`planning/changes/YYYY-MM-DD.NN-<slug>/`, where `.NN` is a zero-padded
intra-day counter. Copy the matching template from
**2. Create the change file** (Full / Lightweight only):
`planning/changes/YYYY-MM-DD.NN-<slug>.md`, where `.NN` is a zero-padded
intra-day counter — copied from the matching template (design or change) in
[`_templates/`](_templates/).

**3. Ship in the implementing PR:** hand-edit the affected
`architecture/<capability>.md`, finalize the bundle's `summary:` to the
`architecture/<capability>.md`, finalize the change file's `summary:` to the
realized result, and run `just check-planning` before pushing.

## Conventions
Expand All @@ -43,20 +40,41 @@ realized result, and run `just check-planning` before pushing.

### Two axes, never mixed

- **`architecture/` (repo root) — the present.** One file per capability,
living prose, updated in the same PR that ships the change. The truth home.
- **`planning/changes/` — the past-and-pending.** One folder per change,
- **`architecture/` (repo root) — the present.** One file per capability, plus
a single `glossary.md` (the ubiquitous language); living prose, updated in the
same PR that ships the change. The truth home.
- **`planning/changes/` — the past-and-pending.** One file per change,
kept in place after ship.

A change **promotes** its conclusions into the affected
`architecture/<capability>.md` by hand **in the implementing PR, alongside the
code** — the edit rides in the same diff and is reviewed with it, never applied
as a separate post-merge step. That hand-edit is what keeps `architecture/`
true; the bundle stays in `changes/` as the *why*.
true; the change file stays in `changes/` as the *why*.

### Change bundles
### Glossary

A change is a folder `changes/YYYY-MM-DD.NN-<slug>/`:
`architecture/glossary.md` is the project's **ubiquitous language** — one page
defining the domain terms that code, specs, and capability pages all share. Like
the capability files beside it, it is living prose with **no frontmatter**, dated
by git, and authored lazily: it appears when the first term is worth pinning down.

Each entry is a term, a one-or-two-sentence definition of what it *is* (not what
it does), and an optional `_Avoid_:` line naming the synonyms to reject:

```md
**Timer**:
A scheduled future delivery, identified by a timer id.
_Avoid_: job, task, alarm
```

Keep it a glossary, not a spec — no implementation detail. A change that
introduces or sharpens a term updates `glossary.md` in the same PR, the same way
a behavior change promotes into a capability file.

### Change files

A change is a file `changes/YYYY-MM-DD.NN-<slug>.md`:

- `YYYY-MM-DD` — proposal date; `.NN` — zero-padded intra-day counter
(`.01`, `.02`, …) that breaks same-date ties so the timeline sorts stably.
Expand All @@ -65,25 +83,44 @@ A change is a folder `changes/YYYY-MM-DD.NN-<slug>/`:
`summary` is written when the change is created (the intent one-liner) and
**finalized at ship** to state the realized result — set in the implementing
PR, alongside the code and the `architecture/` promotion. No post-merge
bookkeeping, no folder move. `date` and `slug` are never written — they are
read from the bundle's directory name.
bookkeeping, no file move. `date` and `slug` are never written — they are
read from the file name.

### Three lanes

| Lane | Artifacts | Use when |
|------|-----------|----------|
| **Full** | `design.md` + `plan.md` | design judgment; new file/module; public-API change; cross-cutting/multi-file; non-trivial test design |
| **Lightweight** | `change.md` | small-but-real: ≲30 LOC net, ≤2 files, no new file, no public-API change, single straightforward test |
| **Full** | one change file from the design template | design judgment; new file/module; public-API change; cross-cutting/multi-file; non-trivial test design |
| **Lightweight** | one change file from the change template | small-but-real: ≲30 LOC net, ≤2 files, no new file, no public-API change, single straightforward test |
| **Tiny** | none — conventional commit | typo, dep bump, linter/formatter/CI tweak, mechanical rename, single-line config |

Heavier lane wins on ambiguity. A `change.md` that outgrows its lane splits
into `design.md` + `plan.md`.
Heavier lane wins on ambiguity. A lightweight change file that outgrows its lane is rewritten from the design template.

### Plans are ephemeral

The executable plan — task checklists, embedded code, commit sequences,
whatever the executor needs — is a working artifact, not history. Keep it out
of `changes/` and out of version control (git-ignored scratch, e.g.
`.superpowers/`). Once the change ships, the diff and the PR are the record
of execution; a committed plan duplicates them. `check-planning` rejects
anything in `changes/` that is not a flat change file.

### Lean specs

The change file is the single home of a change's rationale:

- The PR body summarizes and links to the change file — it never restates it.
- Rejected alternatives live in `decisions/` and are referenced, not retold.
- Show a sketch when the design needs code; never the full diff-to-be.
- Delete template sections that don't apply — an empty section is ceremony.
- Most designs fit well under ~700 words; length must buy information.

### Artifacts at a glance

- **`design.md`** — the spec: the *thinking* (why, design, trade-offs, scope).
- **`plan.md`** — the plan: the *sequencing* (the executor's task checklist).
- **`change.md`** — both, condensed, for the lightweight lane.
- **design template** — the spec: the *thinking* (why, design, trade-offs,
scope); the change file it produces is the single home of rationale (see
[Lean specs](#lean-specs)).
- **change template** — the condensed spec for the lightweight lane.
- **`releases/<semver>.md`** — per-release user-facing notes.
- **`audits/<date>-<slug>.md`** — findings from a code/docs/bug-hunt sweep;
spawns fix changes.
Expand All @@ -97,11 +134,10 @@ Templates live in [`_templates/`](_templates/).

### Frontmatter

`date` and `slug` are **derived from the directory / file name** — never
`date` and `slug` are **derived from the file name** — never
repeated in frontmatter. So:

- `design.md` / `change.md`: `summary` (single line) only.
- `plan.md`: **no frontmatter** — its identity is the bundle directory.
- `changes/*.md`: `summary` (single line) only.
- `decisions/*.md`: `status` (accepted|superseded), `summary`, and optional
`supersedes` / `superseded_by`.
- Files in `architecture/` carry **no** frontmatter — living prose, dated by git.
Expand All @@ -113,9 +149,9 @@ only field the index renders.
## Index

The listing is **generated**, not maintained — run `just index` to print it:
changes then decisions, newest-first. The frontmatter in each bundle / decision
changes then decisions, newest-first. The frontmatter in each change / decision
file is the single source of truth; there is no committed copy to drift.
Run `just check-planning` to validate every bundle and decision.
Run `just check-planning` to validate every change and decision.

## Other

Expand Down
4 changes: 2 additions & 2 deletions planning/_templates/change.md
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Expand Up @@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ summary: One line — shown in the generated index. Written at creation; finaliz
# Change: One-line capitalized title

**Lane:** lightweight — ≲30 LOC net, ≤2 files, no new file, no public-API
change, a single straightforward test. If it outgrows this, split into
`design.md` + `plan.md`.
change, a single straightforward test. If it outgrows this, rewrite it from
the design template.

## Goal

Expand Down
34 changes: 12 additions & 22 deletions planning/_templates/design.md
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Expand Up @@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ summary: One line — shown in the generated index. Written at creation; finaliz

# Design: One-line capitalized title

<!-- The single home of this change's rationale: the PR body summarizes and
links here, never restates. Delete any section that doesn't apply — an empty
section is ceremony. Most designs fit well under ~700 words. -->

## Summary

One paragraph. What changes, at the level a reader needs to decide if this
Expand All @@ -12,37 +16,23 @@ spec is worth reading in full.
## Motivation

Why now. What is broken or missing. Concrete observations / numbers, not
abstract complaints. Link to memory entries or earlier specs when relevant.

## Non-goals

What is deliberately out of scope and (when nontrivial) why. Each item is
a sentence; one line each.
abstract complaints.

## Design

### 1. <First piece>

What changes, in enough detail that a reader who has not seen the codebase
can follow. Code samples / diagrams welcome.
can follow. Sketches and interface fragments welcome; never the full
diff-to-be. Reference rejected alternatives in `decisions/` instead of
retelling them.

### 2. <Second piece>

...

## Operations

Out-of-repo steps (DNS, infra, external account changes). Omit if none.

## Out of scope
## Non-goals

Already covered above under Non-goals if appropriate. Repeat-list of
explicitly-excluded follow-ups belongs here when the list is long.
What is deliberately out of scope and (when nontrivial) why. One line each.

## Testing

How we know it landed correctly. New pytest? Smoke check on live URL?
Lint pass? Be specific.
How we know it landed correctly. Be specific: the command and the expected
signal.

## Risk

Expand Down
15 changes: 15 additions & 0 deletions planning/_templates/glossary.md
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@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
# Glossary

The project's ubiquitous language — the domain terms that code, specs, and
capability pages share. Living prose, no frontmatter, dated by git. Each entry is
a term, what it *is* (not what it does), and the synonyms to avoid. No
implementation detail; this is a glossary, not a spec.

**Term**:
A one-or-two-sentence definition of what it is.
_Avoid_: rejected-synonym, another-one

**Another term**:
Define what it is, tightly. Group related terms under `##` subheadings when
natural clusters emerge; a flat list is fine when they don't.
_Avoid_: …
46 changes: 0 additions & 46 deletions planning/_templates/plan.md

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