type: architecture status: accepted last-reviewed: 2026-07-19 relates-to:
- docs/book/src/foundations/fnd-002-documentation-standards.md
Architecture Decision Records
Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) are the durable record of architecture choices that constrain future ZeroClaw work. They are shorter than RFCs: each one records the context, decision, consequences, and the sources that justify the decision.
Accepted ADRs are immutable. If the architecture changes, write a new ADR and mark the old one as superseded rather than rewriting history.
Current ADRs
| ADR | Status | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| ADR-001 | accepted | ZeroClaw’s runtime and first-party crates are implemented in Rust. |
| ADR-002 | accepted | First-party extension surfaces use explicit trait contracts. |
| ADR-003 | superseded by ADR-009 | WASM plugins initially used Extism as the execution bridge. |
| ADR-004 | accepted | Tool-held shared state follows daemon-owned identity, handle ownership, isolation, and reload rules. |
| ADR-005 | accepted | Memory storage uses a backend-neutral contract with SQLite as the default. |
| ADR-006 | proposed | Runtime plugins are the target for optional channels, with explicit capability-based native exceptions during migration. |
| ADR-007 | proposed | The gateway becomes a separate optional process over a supported local IPC contract. |
| ADR-008 | accepted | Goal mode uses the durable task control plane and canonical usage ledger. |
| ADR-009 | accepted | WIT components and direct wasmtime replace the Extism plugin bridge. |
| ADR-010 | proposed | Session history, curated memory, and enrichment have separate authority boundaries. |
| ADR-011 | accepted | Configured agents have explicit runtime boundaries under one daemon. |
| ADR-012 | proposed | Live config application uses canonical generations and target-specific results. |
ADR-006 and ADR-007 are implementation-gated roadmap decisions from FND-002. Their target directions are recorded, but they remain proposed until the acceptance boundaries in each record ship.
ADR-010 remains proposed until the acceptance gates in the record are met.
ADR-012 remains proposed until canonical config publication, generation-scoped results, and the bounded security and channel live-apply consumers meet the acceptance gates in the record.