What is an ADR in software architecture?
An ADR (Architecture Decision Record) is a document used to track important architectural decisions, implementation choices, and system changes over time.
Document architectural decisions, implementation trade-offs, and long-term system changes with an Architecture Decision Record template designed to preserve context as projects and workflows evolve.
As projects grow, important architectural context is often lost between releases, migrations, handoffs, and new contributors joining the work. Architecture Decision Records help preserve that context by creating a consistent way to track why certain implementation paths were chosen and how systems evolved over time.
Use this ADR template to standardize technical decision-making, support onboarding, document system changes, and maintain clearer software architecture documentation across evolving projects and workflows. It can also serve as a useful reference during onboarding, planning, and technical architecture discussions.
DownloadThis resource is a Markdown file. It opens in any text editor, but we recommend Obsidian for the best editing and visualization experience.
TRY KRELLIX FOR FREE
Solo or with a team, Krellix gives you the collaborators you need to move faster and ship better work.
Learn moreAn ADR (Architecture Decision Record) is a document used to track important architectural decisions, implementation choices, and system changes over time.
ADRs help preserve technical context, reduce repeated debates, improve onboarding, and make architectural decisions easier to understand as systems evolve.
An ADR template provides a structured format for documenting implementation decisions, risks, trade-offs, and architectural reasoning consistently across projects and workflows.
Yes. This template supports software architecture documentation by helping organize system changes, migration planning, implementation notes, and technical governance in a reusable format.