ADR-0005: Where a rule's source of truth lives¶
Status: Accepted Date: 2026-09-29 Deciders: Alex Nodeland
Records decision D5 of stackr RFC-0002, the combined system.
Context¶
A rule drafted in a thread is a rule artifact: a reflexr Rule as JSON, reviewed as a proposal before it goes live. Once accepted, relayr installs it in reflexr's stored rules (reflexr RFC-0003). The same rule then exists in two places, and one of them has to be the record.
Decision¶
- The artifact is the reviewed record: drafted, discussed, changed and archived where people work.
- reflexr's stored rules hold the running definition, installed through reflexr's API.
- Provenance goes both ways. Each installed version records the artifact, its version, the proposal and who approved it.
- Drift is proposed back. If the rule is changed in reflexr directly, for example by an operator, relayr proposes the same change to the artifact, so the two don't drift apart silently.
Options considered¶
| Option | For | Against |
|---|---|---|
| The artifact for review, reflexr's store for running, with provenance both ways (chosen) | Reviewed and discussed where people work, and run where rules run | Two records to keep in step, so drift has to be detected |
| reflexr's store only; the artifact is a draft, archived once installed | One record | No review trail in the workspace, and people can't see or change a live rule from chat |
| The artifact only; reflexr reads rules from artifactr | One record | reflexr would depend on artifactr at runtime, against reflexr ADR-0003 |
Consequences¶
- Easier: every live rule has a reviewed record that people can read and change in chat.
- Harder: relayr has to notice changes made in reflexr and propose them back.
- This is phase 5's work, and waits on reflexr's runtime rule management.