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git-adr Claude Code Skill

A Claude Code skill for managing Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) using the git-adr CLI.

Why Use This Skill?

Instant ADR Creation from Conversation

Turn natural language into properly formatted ADRs:

You: "We decided to use PostgreSQL because it has better JSON support than MySQL"

Claude: I'll create that ADR for you.
> git adr new "Use PostgreSQL for primary database" --template madr
Created ADR: 20251216-use-postgresql-for-primary-database

Six Professional Formats, Zero Learning Curve

Claude automatically uses your project's configured format or helps you choose the right one:

Format Best For Example Use
MADR Option analysis with decision matrices "Compare three caching solutions"
Nygard Quick, minimal documentation "Record that we picked Redis"
Y-Statement Single-sentence decisions "Capture our API versioning choice"
Alexandrian Pattern-based thinking "Document our authentication pattern"
Business Case Stakeholder approval, ROI "Justify the cloud migration budget"
Planguage Measurable quality requirements "Define our performance SLAs"

Git-Native Storage

ADRs are stored in git notes, not files:

  • Non-intrusive: No docs/adr/ folder cluttering your repo
  • Portable: ADRs travel with git history (clone, fork, push, pull)
  • Linkable: Associate decisions with the commits that implement them
  • Searchable: Full-text search across all decisions

Direct Command Execution

Claude doesn't just generate markdown - it runs the commands:

# Claude executes these directly
git adr init                    # Start tracking ADRs
git adr new "Use PostgreSQL"    # Create ADR
git adr link 20251216-... abc1234   # Link to implementation commit
git adr sync push               # Share with team

Installation

Method 1: Copy from Repository (Recommended)

# Clone git-adr if you haven't already
git clone https://github.com/zircote/git-adr.git
cd git-adr

# Copy skill to Claude Code skills directory
cp -r skills/git-adr ~/.claude/skills/

Method 2: Download from Release

# Download the skill package from a release
curl -LO https://github.com/zircote/git-adr/releases/download/vX.Y.Z/git-adr-X.Y.Z.skill

# Extract to Claude Code skills directory
unzip git-adr-X.Y.Z.skill -d ~/.claude/skills/

Method 3: Manual Download

  1. Go to Releases
  2. Download git-adr-X.Y.Z.skill from the latest release
  3. Extract to ~/.claude/skills/

Verify Installation

ls ~/.claude/skills/git-adr/SKILL.md
# Should show the skill file

Quick Start (30 Seconds)

After installing the skill, try these in Claude Code:

1. "Initialize ADR tracking in this repo"
   → Claude runs: git adr init

2. "Create an ADR about our decision to use TypeScript"
   → Claude creates a properly formatted ADR

3. "What ADRs do we have?"
   → Claude runs: git adr list

4. "Show me the TypeScript decision"
   → Claude runs: git adr show 20251216-...

Feature Overview

Creating ADRs

From conversation:

"We decided to containerize with Docker because our deployment
environments vary and we need consistency."

Claude will:

  1. Check your project's configured template
  2. Generate properly structured content
  3. Create the ADR with git adr new

With specific format:

"Create a business case ADR for migrating to AWS"

Claude uses the business-case template for stakeholder-friendly documentation.

Searching and Viewing

"Find all ADRs about authentication"
→ git adr search "authentication"

"Show me accepted decisions from last month"
→ git adr list --status accepted --after 2025-11-01

"What's the status of our database decisions?"
→ git adr list --tag database

Linking to Implementation

"Link the PostgreSQL ADR to commit abc1234"
→ git adr link 20251216-use-postgresql abc1234

"Show which commits implement this decision"
→ git adr show 20251216-use-postgresql

Team Collaboration

"Pull the latest ADRs from the team"
→ git adr sync pull

"Share my new ADR with the team"
→ git adr sync push

Decision Lifecycle

"Supersede the MySQL decision with our PostgreSQL choice"
→ git adr supersede 20250101-use-mysql "Migrate to PostgreSQL"

"Mark the caching decision as deprecated"
→ git adr edit 20251201-... --status deprecated

Skill Contents

skills/git-adr/
├── SKILL.md                    # Core instructions (269 lines)
└── references/
    ├── commands.md             # All git-adr commands
    ├── configuration.md        # Configuration options
    ├── best-practices.md       # ADR writing guidance
    ├── workflows.md            # Team workflow patterns
    └── formats/
        ├── madr.md             # MADR 4.0 template
        ├── nygard.md           # Original minimal format
        ├── y-statement.md      # Single-sentence format
        ├── alexandrian.md      # Pattern-language format
        ├── business-case.md    # Business justification
        └── planguage.md        # Quantified requirements

Configuration

The skill respects your project's git-adr configuration:

# Set default template for new ADRs
git adr config adr.template madr

# View current configuration
git adr config list

Claude will automatically use your configured template when creating ADRs.

Prerequisites

The skill requires git-adr CLI to be installed:

# Install via pip
pip install git-adr

# Or via Homebrew
brew tap zircote/git-adr && brew install git-adr

# Verify installation
git adr --version

Further Reading