ADR 0017 Visible Four Repository Workspace

Context

ADR-0016 put role clones below the Assembly repository in hidden .repos/ paths. That made the workspace root itself the Assembly role and obscured the four-role boundary during navigation, automation, and agent admission.

Decision

/home/devuser/work/fractalops is a non-repository workspace container. It contains exactly four visible, standalone Git clones:

assembly/
backend/
contract/
frontend/

Assembly manifests resolve role clones as sibling paths. Bootstrap accepts only those exact paths, refuses symlinks and dirty worktrees, and never copies role source.

Boundaries

Repository authority remains unchanged. Assembly owns composition and integrated proof; Backend owns behavior and migrations; Contract owns communication schemas; Frontend owns presentation artifacts. Workspace layout grants no cross-role source imports.

Implementation Evidence

Four sibling directories contain independent .git directories and canonical origins.
assembly/assembly.manifest.json declares sibling role paths.
Assembly workspace validation rejects path, origin, pin, and symlink drift.

Known Gaps

Backend context/test colocation and Supabase recovery proof remain incomplete.

Consequences

Role ownership becomes visible from workspace root. Commands must name owning role directory. Old .repos/* paths are invalid and receive no compatibility symlink.

Revision History

2026-07-13: Accepted by repository owner directive and implemented as sibling clones.