architecture-review

Architecture Review Skill

Create architecture review documents that comprehensively document an existing codebase's structure, patterns, and systems.

When to Use This Skill

• Onboarding to an unfamiliar codebase
• Starting significant work in a new area
• Creating reference documentation for team members
• Architecture audits or technical reviews
• Documenting a system before major refactoring

Don't use for:

• Planning new features (use feature-design skill)
• Tracking work progress (use progress-update skill)
• Strategic project context (use project-overview skill)

File Location

Architecture reviews live in the dev-plans repository:

dev-plans/
└── {project}/
    ├── architecture/
    │   ├── 2025-12-29-backend-architecture.md
    │   └── 2025-12-15-api-layer-review.md
    └── current-focus.md

Naming: YYYY-MM-DD-{system-or-area}-architecture.md

Document Template

Title and Metadata

# [System/Codebase Name] - Architecture Review

**Review Date:** [Date]
**Codebase:** [Path or repo name]
**Scope:** [What parts of the codebase this covers]

---

Executive Summary

One paragraph summarizing what this system does and its key architectural characteristics.

## Executive Summary

[Brief description of the system's purpose, its main components, and notable architectural patterns. Reader should understand what this codebase does and its general shape after this paragraph.]

Tech Stack

Document the languages, frameworks, and key dependencies.

## Tech Stack

**Language(s):** [TypeScript, Python, Go, etc.]
**Framework(s):** [React, Express, FastAPI, etc.]
**Runtime:** [Node.js, Bun, Deno, etc.]

### Key Dependencies

| Package | Purpose |
|---------|---------|
| `package-name` | [What it's used for] |
| `package-name` | [What it's used for] |

### Dev Dependencies

| Package | Purpose |
|---------|---------|
| `vitest` | Testing |
| `eslint` | Linting |

Include:

• Primary language(s) and version requirements
• Core framework(s)
• Key runtime dependencies (not every package, just important ones)
• Notable dev dependencies (testing, linting, building)