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Architecture Designer

Guides system architecture design, trade-off analysis, and Architecture Decision Records (ADRs)

Source Download skill
Repository
Jeffallan/claude-skills
Stars
12,176
Licence
MIT
Files
6 files

What it does

When installed, the agent works like a senior software architect when you ask about system design. It gathers requirements, compares patterns such as monolith versus microservices, weighs technology trade-offs, and produces a structured design with a Mermaid architecture diagram, written ADRs explaining each key decision, and a list of risks. It loads bundled reference templates for ADRs, system design, database selection, architecture patterns and non-functional requirements checklists when they are relevant.

Great for

  • Engineers or tech leads planning a new service or system and wanting a structured design document
  • Teams that want consistent ADR write-ups for important technical decisions
  • Developers reviewing an existing architecture who want trade-offs made explicit

Skip it if

  • Code-level design patterns or small refactors, which the skill itself says it does not cover; the output is advisory and can be wrong for your constraints if requirements are not checked by people who know the system
  • Pure database schema work, which the description explicitly excludes
  • Non-technical users looking for a finished, approved architecture; the skill's output still needs stakeholder review

Try asking

  • “Design a high-level architecture for a multi-tenant order processing system with notifications”
  • “Write an ADR comparing PostgreSQL and DynamoDB for our checkout service”
  • “Review our current monolith and advise whether splitting it into microservices makes sense”
  • “Create a scalability plan and risk list for a service expecting 10x traffic growth”
Step-by-step guide: how to use Architecture DesignerInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

Install in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the skill

    The ZIP contains the 6 original files, the MIT licence and an attribution note.

    architecture-designer.zip
  2. 2

    Add it to your agent

    Claude Code (all projects)

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip architecture-designer.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

    Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)

    mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip architecture-designer.zip -d .claude/skills/

    Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.

  3. 3

    Ask for the task

    No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.

Get better results

  • Give the agent concrete requirements (traffic, latency, budget, team size) up front so the trade-offs reflect your situation rather than generic advice.
  • Ask for the ADR output and keep it in your repository so decisions are recorded alongside the code.
  • Treat the generated diagrams and technology recommendations as a starting draft to validate with your team.

What's inside

  • references/adr-template.md
  • references/architecture-patterns.md
  • references/database-selection.md
  • references/nfr-checklist.md
  • references/system-design.md
  • SKILL.md

Redistributed unmodified from Jeffallan/claude-skills under the MIT licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.