Adopt policy provenance and documentation guidance
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# Documentation Policy
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**Base Policy Version:** 1.4
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**Base Policy Version:** 1.11
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**Last Updated:** 2026-09-26
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**Last Updated**: 2026-09-28
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**Upstream Source:** https://gitea.maximumdirect.net/eric/policy/src/commit/d84a38ebab26f048cafbe59a2246700c35d29843/docs/policy/documentation.md
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## Purpose
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This policy assigns each documentation topic to one canonical owner. Its goal is
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to keep this repository's documentation accurate, concise, discoverable, and
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resistant to drift for users, operators, developers, integrators, and LLM
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coding agents.
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to keep this application's documentation accurate, concise, discoverable, and resistant
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to drift for users, operators, developers, integrators, and LLM coding agents.
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## Core Rules
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Each authoritative fact belongs in one document. A non-owning document may give
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a short, stable summary for orientation, but it must link to the canonical owner
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instead of repeating volatile details.
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for volatile details.
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Volatile details include commands, flags, configuration fields and defaults,
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module keys, schemas, file names, paths, status codes, retry behavior, and
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runtime guarantees. If readers could reasonably treat a statement as a
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contract, maintain it only in the owning document.
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Minimal tested usage examples are allowed outside the owning contract when this
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policy assigns them an orientation or instructional purpose. They must link to
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the canonical contract and must not redefine complete syntax, defaults, or
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semantics.
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### Current And Future Behavior
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Outside `docs/roadmap/`, documentation describes implemented behavior only.
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Partial features may be described only to their implemented boundary.
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Architectural constraints may govern future changes without implying that the
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components or capabilities they would govern already exist. This does not
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permit describing a proposed system structure as implemented.
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Architectural constraints may govern future changes. Describe current structure
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from implemented behavior.
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ADRs may record an accepted architectural decision before implementation, but
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acceptance must not be presented as proof that the behavior exists. The roadmap
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owns implementation status and sequencing until the decision is implemented.
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Current architecture, user, operator,
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integration, and internal documentation are updated when the behavior lands.
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ADRs may record an accepted architectural decision before implementation. The
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roadmap owns implementation status and sequencing until the decision is
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implemented. Current architecture, user, operator, integration, and internal
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documentation are updated when the behavior lands.
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### Audience And Detail
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Write for the document's stated audience and include only the detail needed for
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its owned topic. User and operator docs should not expose implementation detail.
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Developer docs should link to user-facing and external contracts rather than
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restate them.
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its owned topic. Keep user and operator docs focused on using and operating the
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application. Developer docs should link to user-facing and external contracts
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for their definitions.
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### Examples
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Complete copyable files belong in `examples/`. Documentation may use the
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smallest illustrative snippet needed to explain its owned topic, but should link
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to maintained examples instead of embedding a second complete copy.
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to maintained examples for complete copyable files.
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Examples must be valid, secret-free, and tested where practical. Commands and
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configuration used in documentation should match the application.
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| Topic | Canonical owner | Owned content | Content owned elsewhere |
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| --- | --- | --- | --- |
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| Product orientation and minimal end-to-end quickstart | `README.md` | What this project is, why it is useful, one shortest successful invocation, and links onward, including license and attribution navigation. | Complete command reference, configuration reference, operational procedures, implementation detail. |
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| Contributor entry point | `docs/development.md` | Task-oriented reading guide, minimal contributor orientation, baseline validation commands, and links to canonical docs. | Package inventory, architecture rules, subsystem behavior, and detailed change recipes, which belong in the relevant internal component document. |
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| Application architecture policy | `docs/policy/architecture.md` | System shape, normative ownership, dependency direction, architectural boundaries, invariants, safety properties, and non-goals. | Concrete package inventory, implementation mechanics, contributor procedures, decision history, future work. |
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| Agent policy | `docs/policy/agents.md` | Agent implementation discipline, proportionality, idiomatic simplicity, local commit rules, and rules against inventing requirements, restrictions, guarantees, or repository policy. | Application contracts, architecture, testing policy, and contributor procedures. |
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| Documentation organization | `docs/policy/documentation.md` | Documentation ownership, audience boundaries, maintenance rules, and ADR/document lifecycle. | Application architecture or product behavior. |
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| Testing policy | `docs/policy/testing.md` | Test philosophy, risk-based sufficiency, test boundaries, doubles, coverage guidance, regression-test policy, and criteria for adding, rewriting, or deleting tests. | Subsystem behavior, application contracts, subsystem-specific test inventories, and implementation plans. |
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| Product orientation and minimal end-to-end quickstart | `README.md` | Purpose, value, shortest successful invocation, and navigation, including licensing and attribution. | Complete command reference, configuration reference, operational procedures, implementation detail. |
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| Contributor entry point | `docs/development.md` | Task-oriented reading guide, contributor orientation, baseline validation commands, and canonical links. | Package inventory, architecture rules, subsystem behavior, detailed change recipes. |
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| Application architecture policy | `docs/policy/architecture.md` | System shape, normative ownership, dependency direction, boundaries, invariants, safety properties, and non-goals. | Concrete package inventory, implementation mechanics, contributor procedures, decision history, future work. |
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| Policy-set provenance and upstream navigation | `docs/policy/meta.md` | Policy-set origin, local authority, adoption baselines, and upstream adoption and update links. | Task-specific reading triggers, detailed adoption procedures, and formal attribution notices. |
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| Agent policy | `docs/policy/agents.md` | Proportionate, idiomatic implementation; rules against inventing requirements, restrictions, guarantees, or policy. | Application contracts, architecture, testing policy, and contributor procedures. |
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| Documentation policy | `docs/policy/documentation.md` | Documentation ownership, audience boundaries, maintenance rules, and ADR/document lifecycle. | Application architecture or product behavior. |
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| Testing policy | `docs/policy/testing.md` | Test philosophy, risk sufficiency, boundaries, doubles, coverage, regressions, and test maintenance. | Subsystem behavior, application contracts, subsystem-specific test inventories, and implementation plans. |
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| Release policy | `docs/policy/release.md` | Versioning, compatibility, release integrity and immutability, release documentation, proportionate gates, publication controls, completion, and required versus optional checks. | Repository-specific commands, product installation guidance, CLI version semantics, historical release summaries, and CI implementation detail. |
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| Open source licensing and attribution policy | `docs/policy/oss.md` | License defaults and author choices, COPYRIGHT and attribution formats, license/notice links, discoverability, maintenance, and concrete exceptions. | Component entries, license texts, release commands, and dependency security review. |
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| Project copyright and license grant | `COPYRIGHT` | Project identity, copyright holders and years, SPDX expression, grant, warranty disclaimer, and third-party statement. | Complete license texts and upstream component attribution. |
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| Project license texts | `LICENSE` | Complete project and incorporated companion license texts, with required project-specific fields. | General licensing policy and upstream component attribution. |
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| Upstream component attribution | `docs/oss/attribution.md` | House Format component entries: identity, material scope and modifications where applicable, copyright, license, required notices, and license, notice, and source links. | General attribution policy, exception reasoning, research narratives, compliance commentary, and complete standard license texts. |
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| Standard dependency license texts | `docs/oss/licenses/` | Complete, verbatim standard license texts shared by applicable entries. | Project-specific upstream notices, attribution prose, and policy interpretation. |
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| Repository-specific release procedure | `docs/release.md` | Maintainer prerequisites, candidate preparation, validation and publication commands and automated guards, asynchronous deliverables, delivery status, optional consumer verification, and recovery. | General release requirements, product installation guidance, historical release summaries, and current compatibility contracts. |
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| CLI contract | `docs/cli.md` | Commands, arguments, flags, invocation semantics, and exit codes. | End-to-end operating procedures, configuration field definitions, runtime filesystem layout, module implementation details. |
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| Configuration contract | `docs/config.md` | Application discovery and precedence, source locations, server fields, render default, HTTP limits, and credential mapping. | Promptkit framework formats and defaults, complete example files, CLI syntax, runtime lifecycle, and implementation detail. |
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| Operations | `docs/operations.md` | Runtime workflows, physical filesystem and state layout, output, cache, and debug handling, resume, cleanup, permissions, recovery, and operational limits. | CLI flag syntax, configuration field definitions, logical output schemas, implementation mechanics. |
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| Release policy | `docs/policy/release.md` | Versioning and compatibility, release integrity and immutability, documentation requirements, proportionate gates, publication controls, source completion, and optional verification boundaries. | Repository-specific commands, installation guidance, historical summaries, and CI implementation details. |
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| Release procedure | `docs/release.md` | Maintainer prerequisites, candidate preparation, publication command and guards, asynchronous delivery, optional diagnostics, and failure recovery. | General release requirements, runtime operations, historical announcements, and current application contracts. |
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| Version-specific release notes | `docs/releases/` | Immutable release summaries, compatibility notices, and migration announcements for one published version. | Complete CLI, HTTP, configuration, operations, or dependency contracts. |
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| Open source licensing and attribution policy | `docs/policy/oss.md` | House attribution format, license-text and notice-link conventions, discoverability, maintenance, and handling of concrete exceptions. | Component entries, license texts, release commands, and dependency security review. |
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| Project license | `LICENSE` | The project's own license terms. | Upstream component attribution and dependency license texts. |
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| Upstream component attribution | `docs/oss/attribution.md` | Component names, copyright statements, license identification, and license, notice, and source links. | General attribution policy and complete standard license texts. |
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| Standard dependency license texts | `docs/oss/licenses/` | Complete, verbatim standard license texts shared by attribution entries where applicable. | Project-specific upstream notices, attribution prose, and policy interpretation. |
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| Configuration contract | `docs/config.md` | Application configuration discovery, precedence, schema, fields, defaults, environment overrides, validation, and selectable module and validator keys. | PromptKit framework formats and defaults, complete example files, CLI syntax, runtime state lifecycle, module implementation details. |
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| Operations | `docs/operations.md` | Runtime workflows, physical filesystem and state layout, output, cache and debug handling, resume, cleanup, permissions, recovery, and limits. | CLI flag syntax, configuration field definitions, logical output schemas, implementation mechanics. |
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| Public HTTP contract | `docs/api.md` | Routes, authentication, media types, request and response schemas, status codes, pagination, caching, idempotency, rate limits, and HTTP retry semantics. | Client walkthroughs, upstream or downstream integration internals, implementation detail. |
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| Consumer guidance | `docs/consumers/` | Choosing between Scriptorium's executable interfaces and understanding consumer responsibilities. | HTTP wire semantics, CLI syntax, Promptkit's Go package, and internal implementation detail. |
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| External and durable integration contracts | `docs/integrations/` | Scriptorium-owned process and executable integration contracts. | Promptkit framework formats and outbound provider protocols, physical runtime placement, internal transformations, CLI syntax, and configuration defaults. |
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| Implemented component inventory | `docs/internal/overview.md` | Current packages and components, their implemented responsibilities, and links to focused internal docs. | Normative architecture, contributor reading policy, external contracts. |
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| Internal component behavior | Other files under `docs/internal/` | Implementation flow, internal collaborators and state transitions, package-local guarantees and failures, and relevant tests. | Global architecture invariants, configuration definitions and defaults, external schemas, operator procedures. |
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| Architectural decision history | `docs/adr/` | Significant decisions, context, alternatives, rationale, consequences, and supersession history. | Current behavior reference, implementation status, task sequencing. |
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| Future work and implementation status | `docs/roadmap/` | Proposed, accepted, deferred, or rejected work; implementation status; sequencing; and task breakdowns. | Implemented behavior reference and architectural decision rationale. |
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| Complete copyable artifacts | `examples/` | Maintained configuration, inputs, and other files intended to be copied or run. | Field-by-field reference, command reference, prose explanation. |
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| Consumer guidance for executable use and migration | `docs/consumers/` | Task-oriented executable use, migration to PromptKit, minimal examples, and consumer responsibilities. | HTTP wire semantics, CLI syntax, PromptKit's public Go API, external protocol contracts, internal implementation detail. |
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| Scriptorium-owned integration contracts | `docs/integrations/` | Scriptorium-owned executable and process contracts, logical output paths and schemas, media types, and compatibility. | PromptKit framework formats and outbound provider protocols, physical runtime placement and lifecycle, internal transformations, CLI syntax, configuration defaults. |
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| Inventory of implemented internal packages | `docs/internal/overview.md` | Implemented packages and components, responsibilities, and links to focused internal docs. | Normative architecture, contributor reading policy, external contracts. |
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| Behavior and architecture of internal packages | Other files under `docs/internal/` | Implementation flow, collaborators, state transitions, package-local guarantees and failures, and relevant tests. | Global architecture invariants, configuration definitions and defaults, external schemas, operator procedures. |
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| Architectural decision records | `docs/adr/` | Significant decisions, context, alternatives, rationale, consequences, and supersession history. | Current behavior reference, implementation status, task sequencing. |
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| Future work and implementation status | `docs/roadmap/` | Proposed, accepted, deferred, or rejected work; implementation status, sequencing, and task breakdowns. | Implemented behavior reference and architectural decision rationale. |
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| Release-note history | `docs/releases/` | One checked-in summary per source release under the procedure; the note at its immutable tag is the release record. | Current commands, behavior, contracts, and compatibility definitions. |
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| Complete copyable artifacts | `examples/` | Maintained configuration, inputs, and other copyable or runnable files. | Field-by-field reference, command reference, prose explanation. |
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Documents that do not exist are required only when the corresponding interface
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or responsibility exists. Do not create placeholder API, consumer, integration,
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or operations documents for behavior the application does not have.
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Create supporting documents for existing interfaces and responsibilities when
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substantive content is available.
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## Boundary Rules
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### Orientation
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The README owns product orientation. The developer guide routes contributors.
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Architecture owns normative structure. Internal overview owns the current
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concrete component map. These documents may link to one another but should not
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maintain parallel package or behavior descriptions.
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Link among orientation, architecture, and internal documents; maintain each
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package or behavior description in its canonical owner.
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### Commands, Configuration, And Operations
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### Releases
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The release policy owns release requirements; the release procedure supplies
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the commands that satisfy them. Release notes are historical summaries, not
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current-state contract owners. The checked-in note at an immutable tag records
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that release; current documentation changes with the behavior it describes.
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Neither a procedure nor a note may weaken policy or defer required updates to
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canonical contracts.
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The release policy defines requirements and invariants that every release must
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satisfy. The repository-specific release procedure defines the commands and
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workflow maintainers use to satisfy that policy. Release notes record history
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at immutable tags. Maintain current behavior in its canonical documentation,
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update it with the corresponding behavior changes, and keep release procedures
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consistent with adopted policy.
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### Open Source Attribution
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### Project Licensing And Upstream Attribution
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The [OSS policy](oss.md) defines the House Format and README and release-link
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conventions. Attribution entries own component-specific information. README
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and release documents provide navigation to those canonical materials; the
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release procedure owns URL construction and publication mechanics.
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README and release documents link to the canonical licensing and attribution
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materials under the [OSS policy](oss.md). The release procedure owns URL
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construction and publication mechanics.
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### Contracts And Implementation
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Integration and API documents define externally observable shapes and
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semantics. Internal documents explain how this project implements or consumes
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those contracts. Internal docs may name a field, file, or protocol to identify
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a dependency, but must link to its canonical contract for the definition.
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semantics. Internal documents explain how this application implements or consumes those
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contracts. Internal docs may name a field, file, or protocol to identify a
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dependency, but must link to its canonical contract for the definition.
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### Security Topics
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6. alternatives considered;
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7. consequences.
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Use one of these statuses:
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- **Proposed:** the decision is under consideration and may change;
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- **Accepted:** the decision is approved, whether or not implementation is
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complete;
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- **Rejected:** the proposed decision was considered and not adopted;
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- **Superseded:** a later ADR replaces the accepted decision.
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A proposed ADR transitions to accepted or rejected. An accepted ADR transitions
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to superseded only when a later accepted ADR replaces it. An ADR may be created
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as accepted when the decision has already been made.
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Treat the decision content of an accepted ADR as immutable. Its status and
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supersession metadata may be updated, but a changed decision requires a new ADR.
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A superseded ADR must link to its replacement, and the replacement must link
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back to the superseded ADR. Rejected architectural alternatives belong in the
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ADR; rejected product ideas belong in the roadmap.
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Treat the decision content of an accepted ADR as immutable. When a decision
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changes, create a new ADR and update the earlier ADR's status to superseded.
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Rejected architectural alternatives belong in the ADR; rejected product ideas
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belong in the roadmap.
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## Maintenance
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Every policy document records its underlying template version and local
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last-updated date immediately below the title. Update the date when revising
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local policy; change the base version only when adopting a newer template.
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Do not retain template adoption instructions in the local policy.
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When behavior changes, update its canonical owner in the same change. If
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ownership moves, remove the old definition and replace it with a link where
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navigation remains useful.
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