*Skald dev-docs — architectural reference for coding agents. Entry point: [../CLAUDE.md](../CLAUDE.md)*

# dev-docs — index

These files hold the **design rationale of one subsystem each**. They are not loaded into an agent's context automatically: [`../CLAUDE.md`](../CLAUDE.md) is, and it names the file to open before touching a given area.

The split criterion is *not* importance. Everything here is load-bearing — most paragraphs exist to record a trap somebody already fell into ("the obvious alternative is X, and it is wrong because Y"). The criterion is **blast radius**: a rule a change *anywhere* can violate stays in `CLAUDE.md`; the mechanism of one subsystem lives here and is read on entry to that subsystem.

**When you change one of these areas, update its file in the same change** — same standing rule as `docs/` and `CHANGELOG.md`. A doc written later is written from the diff, which is the version nobody can use.

| File | Read it before touching |
| ---- | ---- |
| [users-auth-and-boot.md](users-auth-and-boot.md) | login, sessions, `UserManager`, `UserContext`, per-user DB encryption, what boot unlocks and spawns |
| [database.md](database.md) | any table or accessor under `db/`, the registry/owner bucket split, memory notes, reports, prompt substitutions |
| [filesystem-and-containers.md](filesystem-and-containers.md) | `container/`, the fs-tools, mounts, path routing, skills, the memory signposts, built-in tools |
| [projects-and-files.md](projects-and-files.md) | projects, shared folders, `<file-explorer>`, the `#files` page |
| [agent-loop.md](agent-loop.md) | `crates/agent-loop/`, `loop_adapters/`, `session/handler/`, sub-agents, cancellation, restart recovery, the approval gate |
| [context-and-compaction.md](context-and-compaction.md) | compaction, the history window, the cached system-prompt prefix |
| [llm-stack.md](llm-stack.md) | LLM clients, `providers.yaml`, retriability, request logging, token streaming, multimodal attachments |
| [mcp-connectors.md](mcp-connectors.md) | MCP runtimes, connectors, marketplace installs, OAuth, device/QR login |
| [plugins.md](plugins.md) | plugin visibility, per-user config, HTTP routers, plugin-contributed web pages |
| [default-access.md](default-access.md) | anything grantable (plugin, connector) and who receives it by default |
| [system-agents.md](system-agents.md) | event triage, the memory lints, the conversation review, their scheduler and settings |
| [frontend.md](frontend.md) | anything under `web/` — components, chat tabs, routing, i18n, theme, the security-group picker |

Two sources of truth sit outside this directory and outrank it:

- **`blueprint/project-family.md`** — the design document, gitignored and not under version control. Referenced by section number (§0.1, §5.1, §6, §7, §9, §11, §12, §14, §15, §16, §17, §19). Never assume a section says what you remember; open it.
- **`../CLAUDE.md`** — the always-loaded rules: the commit rule, the production/schema constraint, domain neutrality, the event-bus rule, the crate boundaries.