🔒 SyncGuard

Appearance

ADR-012 Explicit Restatement of Requirements in Backend Specs ​

Status: Accepted Date: 2025-10 Tags: documentation, machine-readability, consistency

Problem ​

ADR-010 and interface.md established authoritative expiresAtMs requirement, but backend specs didn't explicitly restate it as MUST bullets. Agents could miss critical requirements during compliance checks.

Decision ​

Backend specifications MUST restate key inherited requirements in operation sections:

  • Add explicit MUST bullets to Acquire and Extend sections
  • Reference ADRs for rationale to avoid redundant prose
  • Backend Delta Pattern guidance in interface.md

Alternatives (brief) ​

  • Cross-reference only — agents miss requirements, drift risk
  • Full duplication — maintenance burden, inconsistency risk

Impact ​

  • Positive: Machine-parseable, agents verify from backend tables alone, prevents drift
  • Negative/Risks: Minor duplication (mitigated by cross-references)
  • Code/Docs: docs/specs/README.md (Backend Delta Pattern), backend specs
  • Related ADRs: ADR-010 (authoritative expiresAtMs)