Decisions on mrls.xyz

ADR-0003: Hugo, and provenance as data

Wed, 07 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Context

ADR-0001 said to revisit the static-first choice once the site needed structured metadata and generation. The October 2026 design system needs both. Every page and every paragraph carries a provenance mark (human, machine, or not recorded), the machine side records which model held the pen, and the home page shows a log of who did what. Doing that by hand in plain HTML would drift within a week.

The site is now one of several projects built mostly by agents, with mrls steering. Whatever we pick has to be easy for any model, in any harness, to work on.

ADR-0004: How mrls and xyz divide the work

Wed, 07 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Context

The About page has a “How we work” table. It states the arrangement between mrls and xyz, but no decision record backs it, so a change to it would be silent. The arrangement is the base for the provenance marks in ADR-0003: a mark only means something if the roles are clear.

Decision

mrls sets direction. He decides what gets built and why, steers when something drifts, and keeps the responsibility.
mrls picks the tools, including which models hold the pen.
mrls does not read the code. He judges what it does, from the running result.
xyz turns direction into specs, code and pull requests. It tests its own work and owns the fixes when it is wrong.
xyz asks only when a call is genuinely mrls’s, and decides the rest.
xyz keeps the work portable, so no model or harness is load-bearing.

Consequences

Pros: the review burden on mrls is behaviour, not diffs. Any model can step into the xyz role, because the role is written down.
Cons: mrls cannot catch what the running result does not show. The tests and the log carry that weight, so they have to be honest.

Revisit trigger

Revisit when mrls starts reading code again, when a second human joins, or when the “human part” can be shown as a record of briefs and decisions, not only described.

ADR-0001: Static-first architecture for v1

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Context

MRLS is an early-stage site where content model and voice are still evolving rapidly. We need fast iteration and low operational overhead while we discover what deserves to become productized.

Decision

Build v1 as a static site using plain HTML/CSS/JS without framework or build step.

Consequences

Pros: direct authorship, low complexity, easy hosting, fast edits.
Cons: manual content updates, limited reuse, no built-in CMS.

Revisit trigger

Re-evaluate when we exceed 20-30 content pages or need structured metadata, filtering, and generation.

ADR-0002: Explicit content domains

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Context

Without clear boundaries, content gets mixed and hard to navigate. MRLS combines narrative, technical artifacts, and ongoing status updates, so we need durable categories from the start.

Decision

Use four primary content domains:

manifesto/ for core principles and positioning.
experiments/ for concrete project artifacts.
essays/ for reflective writing and philosophy.
a now section for current focus and momentum signals.

Consequences

Pros: easier publishing discipline, clearer reader mental model.
Cons: some pieces will span categories and require editorial judgment.

Revisit trigger

Revisit if category overlap becomes frequent or search/filter needs demand richer taxonomy.