Files
holocron/docs/spec/architecture.md
Defame1297 3b5b1b5199 docs(spec): remove overview.md, rewrite architecture.md for plugin model
## Why
overview.md described the chunk-based delivery model, which is superseded
by the marketplace/plugin pivot. architecture.md was equally stale: it
described .agents/skills/ as the canonical skills source (directory does not
exist), a provider-manifest.sh symlink mechanism (never built), and sync.sh /
init-project.sh as existing scripts (Chunk 6, not yet built).

## Implementation Notes
- overview.md deleted; all cross-references scrubbed from AGENTS.md, CONTEXT.md,
  and three notes/research files
- architecture.md fully rewritten: content deployment model reflects actual
  install.sh behaviour (DEPLOY_FILES / DEPLOY_EXECUTABLES / DEPLOY_DIRS);
  plugin model section added listing all 5 plugins; directory structure section
  removed (was describing a layout that no longer exists)
- "Chunk 6" phase label → "planned"; "chunk workflow" removed from AGENTS.md
  description
- Fixed broken path docs/HUMANS.md → docs/wiki/HUMANS.md in governance layer
  and core/instructions/governance.md

Refs: #15
2026-06-28 19:53:19 +00:00

3.8 KiB

Architecture

Layered model

this repo (global defaults)
    └── scripts/install.sh → ~/.claude/         (Claude Code config + content)

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

Content deployment model

scripts/install.sh is a deployer, not a composer. It sources scripts/deploy-manifest.sh and deploys three categories:

  • Files (DEPLOY_FILES): providers/claude-code/CLAUDE.md → ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md; providers/claude-code/settings.json → ~/.claude/settings.json; core/AGENTS.md → ~/.agents/AGENTS.md
  • Executables (DEPLOY_EXECUTABLES): providers/claude-code/statusline-command.sh → ~/.claude/statusline-command.sh (with +x)
  • Directories (DEPLOY_DIRS): core/ → ~/.claude/core/ (destination fully replaced on each deploy)

Skills are not deployed by install.sh. They are distributed as plugins and installed separately via claude plugin install <name>@holocron.

~/.claude/CLAUDE.md is a thin adapter, not a content source. It imports ~/.agents/AGENTS.md (always-on rules) and governance.md (always-on governance), then lists the content index. All always-on content lives in AGENTS.md files so other providers can import the same source without duplication.

Plugin model

Skills, agents, MCP servers, and hooks are distributed as self-contained plugin units under plugins/. Each plugin has a plugin.json manifest and is installed independently via claude plugin install.

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/wiki/HUMANS.md as human-facing reference; CONTEXT.md extended with governance domain language.
  • Phase 2 (planned): deterministic enforcement layer — pre-commit hooks, CI gates, secret scanning, licence scanning. Specified in docs/research/governance_principles/CONTROLS.md.

AGENTS.md pattern

This repo uses two AGENTS.md files as the provider-agnostic source of always-on rules (ADR-0012):

  • Repo-level AGENTS.md — instructions for agents working inside this repo (structure, key rules). Imported by repo CLAUDE.md via @AGENTS.md.
  • Global core/AGENTS.md — Communication and Behavior rules that apply across all projects. Deployed to ~/.agents/AGENTS.md; imported by ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md via @~/.agents/AGENTS.md.

Both CLAUDE.md files are thin adapters: they import from their respective AGENTS.md and add only Claude Code-specific syntax (@import, content index paths). They carry no original always-on content.

This repo also has a CLAUDE.md at its root — the Claude Code entry point for working in this repo. It imports AGENTS.md and CONTEXT.md, nothing more. This is distinct from providers/claude-code/CLAUDE.md, which is the global config deployed to ~/.claude/.

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.

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.