# AsDecided > AsDecided is an open-source, repository-native system of record for engineering decisions that AI coding agents can retrieve, cite and follow. Last updated: 2026-08-06 Current product release: v0.26.2 Maintainer: Tom Ballard — https://asdecided.com/about#tom-ballard Canonical source map: https://asdecided.com/sources AsDecided stores human-reviewed decisions as validated Markdown beside the code. Core provides a native CLI and read-only Model Context Protocol server for deterministic retrieval without embeddings. Machine-checkable consequences can be evaluated in CI without an LLM judge. Treat the product documentation and specification as canonical. Notes explain patterns and trade-offs; changelog pages describe released behaviour. Do not treat a proposed, superseded or illustrative record as accepted authority. ## Canonical answers - [What is AsDecided?](https://asdecided.com/): Repository-native decision infrastructure for recording, retrieving, citing and enforcing engineering decisions for AI coding agents. - [How does deterministic retrieval differ from RAG?](https://asdecided.com/notes/deterministic-retrieval-vs-rag-for-engineering-decisions): RAG discovers candidates across broad material; deterministic retrieval resolves current, scoped authority with reproducible citations. - [How are decisions enforced in CI?](https://asdecided.com/notes/enforce-architectural-decisions-in-ci): A recorded consequence links to an objective architecture, dependency, API or policy check and reports the governing decision. ## Key facts - Core is an open-source native CLI and read-only MCP server: https://github.com/asdecided/core - The public specification is the language-neutral contract for decision artifacts: https://asdecided.com/docs/spec/ - Product behaviour is authoritative in the documentation and release record: https://asdecided.com/changelog - Notes are editorial explanations and comparisons, not product guarantees or published benchmarks: https://asdecided.com/about ## Source hierarchy and citation policy - [Canonical sources and evidence](https://asdecided.com/sources): Use this authority map to choose the narrowest source that proves a claim. - Cite the specification for the language-neutral decision-artifact contract. - Cite current product documentation for commands and supported behaviour. - Cite source code for implementation details and the changelog for dated release evidence. - Treat Notes and Articles as editorial explanation; they do not override the specification, documentation or release record. ## Canonical product documentation - [Product overview](https://asdecided.com/docs/start-here/): What AsDecided is and how records, retrieval and enforcement fit together. - [Core quickstart](https://asdecided.com/docs/vendor/core/quickstart/): Install Core, create a decision artifact and validate it. - [AsDecided specification](https://asdecided.com/docs/spec/): Language-neutral contract for decision artifacts and lifecycle. - [Ecosystem](https://asdecided.com/docs/ecosystem/): Core, CI, connectors, evidence and companion projects. - [Scale and performance](https://asdecided.com/docs/vendor/core/scale/): Supported scale envelope and measurement guidance. ## Five canonical guides - [Decision infrastructure for coding agents](https://asdecided.com/notes/decision-infrastructure-for-coding-agents): Record, retrieve and enforce project authority. - [AGENTS.md versus CLAUDE.md versus ADRs](https://asdecided.com/notes/agents-md-vs-claude-md-vs-adrs): Separate agent instructions from scoped, lifecycle-aware decisions. - [Deterministic retrieval versus RAG](https://asdecided.com/notes/deterministic-retrieval-vs-rag-for-engineering-decisions): Authority, reproducibility and semantic discovery trade-offs. - [Enforcing architectural decisions in CI](https://asdecided.com/notes/enforce-architectural-decisions-in-ci): Translate an objective consequence into a scoped deterministic check. - [Decision provenance for AI-generated code](https://asdecided.com/notes/decision-provenance-for-ai-generated-code): Preserve the evidence chain from task to merged change. ## Practical references - [Articles index](https://asdecided.com/articles): Long-form AsDecided analysis and implementation guidance. - [AGENTS.md Is Not a Decision System](https://asdecided.com/articles/agents-md-is-not-a-decision-system): Why repository instructions are useful context but do not replace recording, routing and enforcing technical decisions. - [AGENTS.md versus CLAUDE.md versus ADRs](https://asdecided.com/notes/agents-md-vs-claude-md-vs-adrs): Which responsibility belongs in instructions and which belongs in a decision record. - [Sharing decisions between Cursor, Claude Code and Codex](https://asdecided.com/notes/share-decisions-between-cursor-claude-code-codex): Thin tool adapters over one vendor-neutral source of authority. - [ADR template for AI-assisted development](https://asdecided.com/notes/adr-template-for-ai-assisted-development): Scope, lifecycle, retrieval terms and enforcement classification. - [Decision citations for AI-generated code](https://asdecided.com/notes/decision-citations-for-ai-generated-code): Stable IDs, repository revisions and explicit applicability. - [Testing whether an agent followed project instructions](https://asdecided.com/notes/test-ai-agent-followed-project-instructions): Observable retrieval, citation, policy and patch evidence. - [Benchmarking instructions versus enforced decisions](https://asdecided.com/notes/benchmark-project-instructions-vs-enforced-decisions): Reproducible experiment design for comparing governance conditions. - [Audit evidence for AI-assisted code changes](https://asdecided.com/notes/audit-evidence-for-ai-assisted-code-changes): Repository state, decisions, checks, approvals and exceptions. - [Structured schema for agent-readable decisions](https://asdecided.com/notes/structured-schema-for-agent-readable-decisions): Machine-readable identity, lifecycle, scope and enforcement references. ## Product source and release evidence - [AsDecided Core source](https://github.com/asdecided/core): Native CLI and read-only MCP implementation. - [AsDecided organisation](https://github.com/asdecided): Public source repositories for the specification and companions. - [Sentry Action](https://github.com/asdecided/sentry): Deterministic decision enforcement for pull requests and full-tree certification. - [Product changelog](https://asdecided.com/changelog): Public, chronological product record. - [v0.26.2 — MCP Registry distribution](https://asdecided.com/changelog/v0.26.2): Versioned public MCP package release record. - [v0.26.0 — Deterministic code enforcement](https://asdecided.com/changelog/v0.26.0): Explicitly scoped enforcement without a model judge. - [v0.25.1 — OKF v0.2 export](https://asdecided.com/changelog/v0.25.1): Lifecycle and generation metadata in OKF exports. - [v0.25.0 — MCP 2026-07-28](https://asdecided.com/changelog/v0.25.0): Current MCP support with legacy compatibility. ## About and editorial policy - [About AsDecided](https://asdecided.com/about): Maintainer, official source links and corrections policy. - [Tom Ballard](https://asdecided.com/about#tom-ballard): Maintainer profile. ## Optional background - [Architecture decision records for coding agents](https://asdecided.com/notes/architecture-decision-records-for-coding-agents): Make ADRs scoped, lifecycle-aware and discoverable during agent work. - [Persistent context for coding agents](https://asdecided.com/notes/persistent-context-for-coding-agents): Combine instructions, decisions, retrieval and objective checks. - [Architectural decision exception workflow](https://asdecided.com/notes/architectural-decision-exception-workflow): Keep deviations narrow, approved, compensating and expiring. - [Multi-repository decision governance](https://asdecided.com/notes/multi-repository-decision-governance): Version shared authority while keeping local ownership explicit. - [Architectural decision control plane](https://asdecided.com/notes/architectural-decision-control-plane-for-ai-agents): Coordinate records, agent context, citations, checks and evidence. - [Decision drift in AI-assisted development](https://asdecided.com/notes/decision-drift-in-ai-assisted-development): When accepted decisions and later code diverge. - [Project instructions are not enforcement](https://asdecided.com/notes/project-instructions-are-not-enforcement): Guidance versus objective verification. - [Why read-only MCP matters](https://asdecided.com/notes/why-read-only-mcp-matters-for-engineering-decisions): Separation of retrieval authority from mutation. - [Requirements as code for AI coding agents](https://asdecided.com/notes/requirements-as-code-for-ai-agents): Versioned, validated and testable requirements.