ADR Tools

A command-line tool for working with Architecture Decision Records (ADRs).

Especially it use a specific adr format : madr. This is not the default choice and is enforced through a configuration file named .adr-type containing the kind of template you want to use. Currently only madr is available.

Quick Start

Install ADR Tools.

Use the adr command to manage ADRs. Try running adr help.

ADRs are stored in your project as Markdown files in the doc/adr directory.

0. Specify you want to use madr format for adr in the root of your project

    echo "madr" > .adr-type
   

1. Create an ADR directory in the root of your project:

    adr init doc/architecture/decisions
   

   This will create the first ADR recording that you are using ADRs to record architectural decisions and linking to Michael Nygard's article on the subject.

2. Create Architecture Decision Records

    adr new Implement as Unix shell scripts
   

   This will create a new, numbered ADR file and open it in your editor of choice (as specified by the VISUAL or EDITOR environment variable).

   To create a new ADR that supercedes a previous one (ADR 9, for example), use the -s option.

    adr new -s 9 Use Rust for performance-critical functionality
   

   This will create a new ADR file that is flagged as superceding ADR 9, and changes the status of ADR 9 to indicate that it is superceded by the new ADR. It then opens the new ADR in your editor of choice.

3. For further information, use the built in help:

    adr help
   

See the tests for detailed examples.

The decisions for this tool are recorded as architecture decision records in the project repository.