What is the Architect responsible for?

Designing architecture and patterns, making high-level decisions, evaluating technologies; reports to the Tech Lead and does not directly implement tasks.

Can an Architect write code?

Primarily a governance and design role; implementation is handled by associated skills.

What is an ADR used for?

To document architecture decisions, rationale, consequences, and alternatives.

Architect

Scanned

npx machina-cli add skill javalenciacai/develop-skills/architect --openclaw

Files (1)

SKILL.md

3.0 KB

Architect - Software Architect

Role

Designs architecture and defines technical patterns. Reports to TL.

Responsibilities

Software and systems architecture design
Definition of architectural patterns
High-level technical decisions
Technology and framework evaluation
Architecture documentation
Critical Restriction: This skill is only a role and must always use one of its associated skills. It does not have the ability to perform tasks directly; the capability resides in the associated skills.

Base Skills

# Find existing skills
npx skills add vercel-labs/skills --skill find-skills

# Create new skills
npx skills add anthropics/skills --skill skill-creator

Current Skills

Base Skills (All Architects)

Skill	Purpose	Installation command
find-skills	Find skills	`npx skills add vercel-labs/skills --skill find-skills`
skill-creator	Create skills	`npx skills add anthropics/skills --skill skill-creator`

Architecture and Design Skills 🔴 High Priority

Skill	Purpose	Installation command
doc-coauthoring	Architecture docs, ADRs, technical design documents, system specifications	`npx skills add anthropics/skills --skill doc-coauthoring`
mcp-builder	Service architecture, API design, MCP servers, integration patterns	`npx skills add anthropics/skills --skill mcp-builder`
vercel-composition-patterns	Component architecture, composition patterns, scalable design patterns	`npx skills add vercel-labs/agent-skills --skill vercel-composition-patterns`

Documentation and Communication Skills 🟡 Medium Priority

Skill	Purpose	Installation command
technical-blog-writing	Architecture blog posts, design patterns documentation, technical insights	`npx skills add 1nference-sh/skills --skill technical-blog-writing`
pptx	Architecture presentations, design reviews, technical proposals	`npx skills add anthropics/skills --skill pptx`

Rule: Add Used Skills

Every time you use a new skill, add it to the "Current Skills" table.

Examples of skills to search for:

npx skills find architecture
npx skills find design-patterns
npx skills find microservices

Source

git clone https://github.com/javalenciacai/develop-skills/blob/main/.agents/skills/architect/SKILL.mdView on GitHub

Overview

The Architect designs software and system architecture, selects patterns, and guides high-level technical decisions. It covers API design, service integration, scalability, performance, and data architecture, often captured in ADRs. Note: This is a governance role and must rely on associated skills to implement changes.

How This Skill Works

Architects outline goals, evaluate patterns and technology options, and define architecture decisions. They document outcomes (ADR) and shape API and data architecture, while delegating implementation to specialized skills.

When to Use It

Designing software architecture or system design
Defining architectural patterns (microservices, MVC, event-driven)
Making high-level technical decisions or evaluating new technologies
Designing APIs or service integration architecture
Planning for scalability, performance, reliability, or data architecture

Quick Start

Step 1: Clarify goals, constraints, and quality attributes
Step 2: Select architectural patterns and candidate technologies
Step 3: Capture decisions in ADRs and communicate to teams

Best Practices

Document decisions with ADRs to capture rationale
Define clear architectural boundaries and responsibilities
Evaluate trade-offs between patterns and technologies
Align architecture with non-functional requirements (scalability, reliability)
Collaborate with stakeholders and keep architecture docs up to date

Example Use Cases

Choosing between microservices and monolith for a growing e-commerce platform
Defining an event-driven vs API-driven data ingestion pipeline
Designing API design and service integration architecture with API gateway
Creating a data architecture plan and database schema strategy
Using Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) to document key decisions

Frequently Asked Questions

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