living-architecture

Topics in the source

• Living architecture
• Alignment rules
• File layout — the tree is virtual
• arc42 element file — required shape
• Enforcement wiring — the one import law
• Maintenance
• Working under the architecture

Preflight: run la-doctor --plugin once per session before using any la- or dr- command; if it fails, stop and show the user its output. Four layers, one element id everywhere. Behaviour lives in OpenSpec (in repos that use it); everything cross-cutting lives here: | Layer | Question | Artifact | Property | |---|---|---|---| | Behaviour | what does it do, now? | openspec/specs/ /spec.md | living, merged by OpenSpec | | Structure | how is it arranged, now? | LikeC4 model + views | living; ONE model, diagrams are projected views | | Rationale | why is it this way, and what must all code here obey? | arc42 file per element that earns prose | living, edited in place | | Enforcement | is the code actually like this? | archcheck model-truth (the one import law) + LikeC4 model validation, run before a change is done and in CI | executable, blocking | History is NOT a layer here. Git history, plus the OpenSpec archive (per-change design + deltas, dated, immutable) in repos that use it, IS the decision trail. Never create ADR files or append-only decision logs (they are merge hell). "Why it is like this now" belongs in the element's arc42, present tense; "how we got here" is history. arc42 =

This is an excerpt. Refer to the complete source and its current requirements.