senior-architect
System architecture design and review. Use when designing architecture, evaluating microservices vs monolith, writing ADRs, choosing a database, planning for scalability, reviewing system design, or generating architecture diagrams.
- Installs
- 235
- Last 24h
- —
- Trending rank
- —
- Security
- Not audited
Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/borghei/claude-skills --skill senior-architect- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads senior-architect automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
Senior Architect
Architecture design and analysis tools for making informed technical decisions: visualize system structure, analyze dependencies and coupling, detect architectural patterns, and run decision workflows for databases, patterns, and monolith-vs-microservices trade-offs.
Core Capabilities
- Diagram generation — produce component, layer, and deployment diagrams in Mermaid, PlantUML, or ASCII from a project directory.
- Dependency analysis — map the dependency tree, score coupling (0-100), and detect circular dependencies across npm, pip, Poetry, Go modules, and Cargo.
- Pattern detection — assess an existing codebase for layered/MVC/hexagonal/clean/microservices patterns, layer violations, god classes, and mixed concerns.
- Database selection — match data characteristics, scale, and consistency needs to SQL/NoSQL options with an ADR template.
- Pattern & topology selection — choose an architecture pattern by team size, deployment, and data-boundary requirements.
- Monolith vs microservices — apply decision checklists and a modular-monolith-first hybrid strategy.
When to Use
- Designing a new system or refactoring existing architecture.
- Evaluating microservices vs monolith, or choosing a database.
- Writing an ADR, planning for scalability, or reviewing a system design.
- Generating architecture diagrams for documentation or team review.
Clarify First
Before generating diagrams or an assessment, confirm these inputs. If any is unknown or vague, ASK — do not assume:
- Project root — the codebase directory to analyze (drives pattern detection, dependency scoring, and diagram contents)
- Diagram type & format — component / layer / deployment in Mermaid / PlantUML / ASCII (sets what the generator emits)
- Architecture decision in question — e.g. database choice or monolith vs microservices (selects the decision workflow and ADR)
Stop rule: ask only the 2-3 that most change the output. If the user says "just draft it," proceed and list your assumptions at the top of the artifact.
Tools
| Tool | Purpose | Command |
|---|---|---|
architecture_diagram_generator.py | Generate component/layer/deployment diagrams from project structure | python scripts/architecture_diagram_generator.py ./project --format mermaid --type component |
dependency_analyzer.py | Score coupling and find circular dependencies across package managers | python scripts/dependency_analyzer.py ./project --output json --check circular |
project_architect.py | Detect architecture pattern, layer violations, and code smells | python scripts/project_architect.py ./project --check layers --verbose |
Run any script with --help for full flags.
References
Load the reference that matches the task — keep this file lean and pull detail on demand:
- references/architecture_patterns.md — 9 architecture patterns (monolith, modular monolith, microservices, event-driven, CQRS, event sourcing, hexagonal, clean, API gateway) with trade-offs and code examples. Read when asked "which pattern?", "microservices vs monolith", "event-driven", or "CQRS".
- references/system_design_workflows.md — 6 step-by-step workflows: design interview, capacity planning, API design, database schema design, scalability assessment, migration planning. Read when asked "how to design?", "capacity planning", "API design", or "migration".
- references/tech_decision_guide.md — decision frameworks and comparison matrices for database, caching, message queue, auth, frontend framework, cloud provider, and API style. Read when asked "which database/framework/cloud/cache?".
- references/decision_workflows.md — the database-selection, architecture-pattern-selection, and monolith-vs-microservices decision workflows with matrices, checklists, and the ADR template. Read when making a documented architecture decision.
- references/tools-and-usage.md — detailed per-tool usage, example outputs, full flag tables, common-command catalog, tech-stack coverage, troubleshooting table, and success criteria. Read when running the scripts or interpreting their output.
Scope & Limitations
Covers: system-level architecture analysis (pattern detection, layer validation, component diagramming) for existing codebases; technology-agnostic dependency analysis across npm, pip, Poetry, Go modules, and Cargo; architecture decision workflows (database, pattern, monolith-vs-microservices); diagram generation in Mermaid, PlantUML, and ASCII.
Does NOT cover:
- Runtime performance profiling or load testing — use
senior-devops(capacity planning) andsenior-qa(performance test harnesses). - Security vulnerability scanning of dependencies — use
senior-securityorsenior-secopsfor CVE/SAST/DAST. - Frontend component architecture and design-system auditing — use
senior-frontendanddesign-auditor. - CI/CD pipeline design and deployment orchestration — use
senior-devopsandrelease-orchestrator.
Integration Points
| Skill | Integration | Data Flow |
|---|---|---|
senior-backend | Architecture patterns inform backend service boundaries and API contract design | Architect assessment output (detected pattern, layer assignments) feeds into backend module scaffolding |
senior-devops | Deployment diagrams and technology detection drive infrastructure-as-code decisions | Deployment diagram type output + detected technologies list consumed by DevOps for Terraform/K8s config |
senior-security | Dependency analysis surfaces packages that need security review | Dependency list JSON (--output json) passed to security scanning for CVE correlation |
senior-fullstack | Architecture pattern selection determines which fullstack scaffold template to use | Pattern selection workflow result (e.g., modular monolith) maps to project_scaffolder.py --type flag |
code-reviewer | Layer violation and god-class findings become review checklist items | project_architect.py --output json issues array integrated into code review checklists |
tech-stack-evaluator | Technology detection results feed tech stack evaluation for upgrade/migration decisions | Detected technologies list and dependency versions inform stack evaluation decision matrices |
FAQ
What does the senior-architect skill do?
System architecture design and review. Use when designing architecture, evaluating microservices vs monolith, writing ADRs, choosing a database, planning for scalability, reviewing system design, or generating architecture diagrams.
How do I install senior-architect?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/borghei/claude-skills --skill senior-architect in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/senior-architect/ (personal) or .claude/skills/senior-architect/ (project).
Which AI agents can use senior-architect?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is senior-architect safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains senior-architect?
It is published by borghei in borghei/claude-skills. It has 235 recorded installs.
More from borghei/claude-skills
product-designer
borghei/claude-skills
Product design across UI/UX, design systems, prototyping, and user research. Use when creating user journey maps, building wireframes, defining design tokens and component systems, planning usability tests, or establishing design principles.
business-intelligence
borghei/claude-skills
Business intelligence across dashboard design, visualization, and reporting automation. Use when designing dashboards, building KPI frameworks, automating reports, creating data stories, or optimizing BI tool performance.
brand-strategist
borghei/claude-skills
Brand strategy covering positioning, identity, brand architecture, messaging frameworks, and governance. Use when developing brand positioning, creating messaging frameworks, auditing brand health, or building brand architecture.
data-analyst
borghei/claude-skills
Data analysis across SQL, visualization, statistics, and reporting. Use when writing SQL queries, building dashboards, performing cohort or funnel analysis, running hypothesis tests, or presenting data-driven recommendations.
data-scientist
borghei/claude-skills
Data science across machine learning, statistical modeling, and experimentation. Use when selecting ML algorithms, engineering features, designing A/B tests, evaluating model performance, or building predictive pipelines.
Popular code quality & workflow skills
grill-me
mattpocock/skills
A relentless interview to sharpen a plan or design.
improve-codebase-architecture
mattpocock/skills
Scan a codebase for deepening opportunities, present them as a visual HTML report, then grill through whichever one you pick.
handoff
mattpocock/skills
Compact the current conversation into a handoff document for another agent to pick up.
domain-modeling
mattpocock/skills
Build and sharpen a project's domain model. Use when discussing codebase terminology, writing or editing a GLOSSARY.md, or recording or editing an ADR.
codebase-design
mattpocock/skills
Shared vocabulary for designing deep modules. Use when the user wants to design or improve a module's interface, find deepening opportunities, decide where a seam goes, make code more testable or AI-navigable, or when another skill needs the deep-module vocabulary.
diagnosing-bugs
mattpocock/skills
Diagnosis loop for hard bugs and performance regressions. Use when the user says "diagnose"/"debug this", or reports something broken/throwing/failing/slow.