# Architecture

Current deployed architecture. Updated in the same PR as any structural change.

## Layered model

```
this repo (global defaults)
    ├── install.sh → ~/.agents/skills/  (canonical skills location)
    ├── install.sh → ~/.claude/skills/  (symlink → ~/.agents/skills/, Claude Code adapter)
    └── install.sh → ~/.claude/         (Claude Code config + content)

project repo (local overrides)
    └── .claude/settings.json, CLAUDE.md (overrides global)
```

Projects consume from this repo by pulling updates via `sync.sh` (Chunk 6). Until then, install is a one-time manual step.

## Directory structure

```
ai-development/
├── docs/                        # Workflow artifacts and issues (prd/, ard/, bug/, notes/, adr/, issues/, spec/) + research/ (raw research audit trail)
├── .agents/                     # Agent Skills standard location (provider-agnostic)
│   └── skills/                  # SKILL.md files — canonical source, deployed to ~/.agents/skills/
├── core/                        # Provider-agnostic source of truth
│   ├── instructions/            # AI behavior definitions (plain markdown)
│   ├── agents/                  # Agent role definitions
│   ├── workflows/               # Workflow definitions
│   └── prompts/                 # Reusable prompt templates
├── providers/                   # Provider-specific adapters
│   ├── claude-code/             # CLAUDE.md, settings.json, provider-manifest.sh
│   └── copilot/                 # copilot-instructions.md, hooks, agents adapter
├── templates/                   # Project scaffolding templates
└── scripts/
    ├── deploy-manifest.sh       # Source→target mappings; sourced by install.sh and sync.sh
    ├── install.sh               # Deploys to ~/.agents/skills/, ~/.claude/, etc.
    ├── sync.sh                  # Pulls updates into an existing project
    └── init-project.sh          # Bootstraps a new or existing project
```

## Content deployment model

`install.sh` is a **deployer**, not a composer. It does not concatenate content into a single file. Instead:

- `.agents/skills/` → `~/.agents/skills/` — canonical skills location; each skill dir is replaced individually (parent not wiped, user-added skills preserved)
- Provider adapters declared in `providers/*/provider-manifest.sh` — symlinks from the provider's skill path to `~/.agents/skills/`; e.g. Claude Code gets `~/.claude/skills/ → ~/.agents/skills/` because it reads `~/.claude/skills/` natively. Providers that read `~/.agents/skills/` directly need no adapter.
- `core/` → `~/.claude/core/` — workflows, prompts, agent definitions; agent reads on demand
- `providers/claude-code/settings.json` → `~/.claude/settings.json`
- Writes a lean `~/.claude/CLAUDE.md` — universal rules only, plus pointers to where detailed content lives

`~/.claude/CLAUDE.md` is an index, not a content dump. It tells the agent where things are; the agent pulls what it needs using its Read tool. This keeps context size minimal — only what is needed for every session is loaded upfront.

## Governance layer

`core/instructions/governance.md` is the always-on governance instruction file. Unlike the on-demand instruction files in the content index, governance.md is loaded into every Claude session via `@import` in `providers/claude-code/CLAUDE.md`. This is a technical guarantee, not a behavioural instruction — `@import` causes Claude Code to expand and load the file at launch, before any interaction begins.

The governance layer has two phases:
- **Phase 1** (complete): instruction and documentation layer — `governance.md` loaded via `@import`; `docs/ai-constitution.md` and `docs/HUMANS.md` as human-facing reference; `CONTEXT.md` extended with governance domain language.
- **Phase 2** (Chunk 6): deterministic enforcement layer — pre-commit hooks, CI gates, secret scanning, licence scanning. Specified in `docs/research/governance_principles/CONTROLS.md`.

## This repo's own CLAUDE.md

This repo has a `CLAUDE.md` at its root — a meta file that tells Claude how to work *in this repo itself* (structure, conventions, how to add skills/workflows/providers). This is distinct from `providers/claude-code/CLAUDE.md`, which is the global config deployed to `~/.claude/` for use across all projects. Do not conflate the two.

## Provider model

`core/` is never tool-specific. `providers/` is never shared. When adding a new provider, write an adapter in `providers/<name>/` that translates core content into the tool's expected format and location. The core content itself does not change.

Skills are the strongest shared primitive — the `SKILL.md` format and [Agent Skills open standard](https://agentskills.io) are cross-provider. Providers that don't read `~/.agents/skills/` natively declare a symlink adapter in `providers/<name>/provider-manifest.sh`; `install.sh` discovers and wires these up automatically.

## Architectural decisions

Key hard-to-reverse decisions are recorded as ADRs in `docs/adr/`. See the index there for rationale on choices like the pull distribution model, copy-not-symlink coupling, and the two-tier CLAUDE.md structure.