Designing Architecture

cloudai-x/designing-architecture

Designs software architecture and selects appropriate patterns for projects. Use when designing systems, choosing architecture patterns, structuring projects, making technical decisions, or when asked about microservices, monoliths, or architectural approaches.

2k tokens

context cost

the whole folder, loaded on every use

files

instructions only

copies elsewhere

how many repositories repackaged it

1395

stars on the repo

on the repository, not the skill itself

Install

one command, takes just this skill from the repository

npx skills add https://github.com/CloudAI-X/claude-workflow-v2 --skill designing-architecture

The instruction itself

18 sections, as written by the author

Designing Architecture

When to Load

Trigger: System design, module structure, new project scaffolding, choosing architecture patterns
Skip: Simple bug fixes or minor code changes that don't affect architecture

Architecture Decision Workflow

Copy this checklist and track progress:

Architecture Design Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Understand requirements and constraints
- [ ] Step 2: Assess project size and team capabilities
- [ ] Step 3: Select architecture pattern
- [ ] Step 4: Define directory structure
- [ ] Step 5: Document trade-offs and decision
- [ ] Step 6: Validate against decision framework

Pattern Selection Guide

By Project Size

| Size | Recommended Pattern |

| ----------------- | --------------------------------- |

| Small (<10K LOC) | Simple MVC/Layered |

| Medium (10K-100K) | Clean Architecture |

| Large (>100K) | Modular Monolith or Microservices |

By Team Size

| Team | Recommended |

| --------- | ---------------------------- |

| 1-3 devs | Monolith with clear modules |

| 4-10 devs | Modular Monolith |

| 10+ devs | Microservices (if justified) |

Common Patterns

1. Layered Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────┐
│       Presentation          │  ← UI, API Controllers
├─────────────────────────────┤
│       Application           │  ← Use Cases, Services
├─────────────────────────────┤
│         Domain              │  ← Business Logic, Entities
├─────────────────────────────┤
│      Infrastructure         │  ← Database, External APIs
└─────────────────────────────┘

Use when: Simple CRUD apps, small teams, quick prototypes

2. Clean Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│            Frameworks & Drivers      │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────┐    │
│  │     Interface Adapters       │    │
│  │  ┌─────────────────────┐    │    │
│  │  │   Application       │    │    │
│  │  │  ┌─────────────┐    │    │    │
│  │  │  │   Domain    │    │    │    │
│  │  │  └─────────────┘    │    │    │
│  │  └─────────────────────┘    │    │
│  └─────────────────────────────┘    │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

Use when: Complex business logic, long-lived projects, testability is key

3. Hexagonal (Ports & Adapters)

        ┌──────────┐
        │ HTTP API │
        └────┬─────┘
             │ Port
    ┌────────▼────────┐
    │                 │
    │   Application   │
    │     Core        │
    │                 │
    └────────┬────────┘
             │ Port
        ┌────▼─────┐
        │ Database │
        └──────────┘

Use when: Need to swap external dependencies, multiple entry points

4. Event-Driven Architecture

Producer → Event Bus → Consumer
              │
              ├─→ Consumer
              │
              └─→ Consumer

Use when: Loose coupling needed, async processing, scalability

5. CQRS (Command Query Responsibility Segregation)

┌─────────────┐      ┌─────────────┐
│  Commands   │      │   Queries   │
│  (Write)    │      │   (Read)    │
└──────┬──────┘      └──────┬──────┘
       │                    │
       ▼                    ▼
  Write Model          Read Model
       │                    │
       └────────┬───────────┘
                ▼
           Event Store

Use when: Different read/write scaling, complex domains, event sourcing

Directory Structure Patterns

Feature-Based (Recommended for medium+)

src/
├── features/
│   ├── users/
│   │   ├── api/
│   │   ├── components/
│   │   ├── hooks/
│   │   ├── services/
│   │   └── types/
│   └── orders/
│       ├── api/
│       ├── components/
│       └── ...
├── shared/
│   ├── components/
│   ├── hooks/
│   └── utils/
└── app/
    └── ...

Layer-Based (Simple apps)

src/
├── controllers/
├── services/
├── models/
├── repositories/
└── utils/

Decision Framework

When making architectural decisions, evaluate against these criteria:

Simplicity - Start simple, evolve when needed
Team Skills - Match architecture to team capabilities
Requirements - Let business needs drive decisions
Scalability - Consider growth trajectory
Maintainability - Optimize for change

Trade-off Analysis Template

Use this template to document architectural decisions:

## Decision: [What we're deciding]

### Context

[Why this decision is needed now]

### Options Considered

1. Option A: [Description]
2. Option B: [Description]

### Trade-offs

| Criteria         | Option A | Option B |
| ---------------- | -------- | -------- |
| Complexity       | Low      | High     |
| Scalability      | Medium   | High     |
| Team familiarity | High     | Low      |

### Decision

We chose [Option] because [reasoning].

### Consequences

- [What this enables]
- [What this constrains]

Validation Checklist

After selecting an architecture, validate against:

Architecture Validation:
- [ ] Matches project size and complexity
- [ ] Aligns with team skills and experience
- [ ] Supports current requirements
- [ ] Allows for anticipated growth
- [ ] Dependencies flow inward (core has no external deps)
- [ ] Clear boundaries between modules/layers
- [ ] Testing strategy is feasible
- [ ] Trade-offs are documented

If validation fails, reconsider the pattern selection or adjust the implementation approach.

How to use it

Copy the folder

Take cloudai-x/designing-architecture from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.

Check the name does not clash

The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.