# Solution Defaults > Org-level default technology choices for common architectural components (database, cache, queue, etc.). Consult before evaluating third-party dependencies — defaults are pre-approved at the org level; using them skips per-project human approval. Deviating from a default still requires the full third-party-dependency-evaluation flow. - **Type:** Skill - **Install:** `agentstack add skill-evolplus-talos-solution-defaults` - **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior - **Seller:** [evolplus](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/evolplus) - **Installs:** 0 - **Category:** [Databases](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/databases) - **Latest version:** 0.1.0 - **License:** Apache-2.0 - **Upstream author:** [evolplus](https://github.com/evolplus) - **Source:** https://github.com/evolplus/talos/tree/main/skills/solution-defaults ## Install ```sh agentstack add skill-evolplus-talos-solution-defaults ``` Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent. ## About # Solution Defaults ## When to use You are SA producing architecture, or a Dev about to add a dependency. **Check this skill before** running through `.claude/skills/third-party-dependency-evaluation/`. The defaults in [`references/defaults-table.md`](./references/defaults-table.md) are pre-approved at the org level — using them skips per-project human approval. Deviating from a default, or using a category not covered, still requires the full evaluation + `NEEDS_CONTEXT` flow. ## How defaults interact with the approval flow ``` SA / Dev needs a dependency ↓ Step 1 — Open references/defaults-table.md ├── Category has a default (Status: ✓) AND you'll use it │ → Use it. Write ADR citing this skill as the approval source. No NEEDS_CONTEXT. ├── Category has a default but row is Status: ⚠ (starter, not yet confirmed) │ → Treat as a hint, not binding. Full .claude/skills/third-party-dependency-evaluation/ flow. ├── Category has a default (Status: ✓) BUT you need to deviate │ → Full .claude/skills/third-party-dependency-evaluation/ flow. │ → ADR records project's Designated Dependency Approver + the deviation reason. └── Category not in the table → Full .claude/skills/third-party-dependency-evaluation/ flow. → ADR records project's Designated Dependency Approver. → Consider proposing the result as a new default — see "Adding a new default" below. ``` ## Where the defaults live The table of pre-approved defaults is in [`references/defaults-table.md`](./references/defaults-table.md), separated from this skill so the table can be edited and reviewed independently of the procedure. The table has five columns: - **Category** — the dependency kind (relational DB, cache, queue, etc.) - **Default** — the chosen vendor / technology - **Rationale** — why this default exists - **Deviate when** — concrete conditions under which the default does *not* apply - **Status** — `✓ confirmed` (binding) or `⚠ starter` (placeholder, not yet ratified) ## Procedure for SA / Dev 1. Open [`references/defaults-table.md`](./references/defaults-table.md). 2. Find the matching row for the dependency category you need. If no row matches, proceed to step 5. 3. Read the row's `Status`: - `⚠ starter` → treat as a hint, not binding. Proceed to step 5. - `✓ confirmed` → continue to step 4. 4. Evaluate the row's `Deviate when` condition: - The condition does **not** apply → use the default. Write an ADR for the choice with `Approver: Org Engineering Standards (per .claude/skills/solution-defaults/)` and `Approval-Date: `. No `NEEDS_CONTEXT` needed. **Done.** - The condition **does** apply, or you're not sure → proceed to step 5. 5. **Trigger the full evaluation flow** in `.claude/skills/third-party-dependency-evaluation/`. The proposal MUST cite this skill: "Default for this category is X per `.claude/skills/solution-defaults/references/defaults-table.md`; we are deviating because Y" or "No default exists for this category." ## Writing the ADR for a default-vendor choice ```markdown # ADR-NNNN: Use for - Status: Accepted - Date: - Author: SA - Approver: Org Engineering Standards (per `.claude/skills/solution-defaults/`) - Approval-Date: ## Context We need a for . The org default applies. ## Decision We will use per `.claude/skills/solution-defaults/references/defaults-table.md`. ## Consequences - Positive: matches org tooling, ops playbooks, hiring pipeline - Negative: any constraints of the default (cite from the table's Rationale or Deviate-when) - Neutral: standard operational surface ## Alternatives Considered - (Briefly note the alternatives the table's Deviate-when lists; explain why none of the deviation conditions apply.) ``` ## Adding a new default — governance A new row in the table or a status change (⚠ → ✓) requires: 1. **Real-project surface.** Don't add speculative defaults. Add when a project actually needs the category and the choice should be the same next time. 2. **Eng standards review.** A new default is an org-level pre-approval. It needs the same sign-off rigor as the `Designated Dependency Approver` per CLAUDE.md §2 — but at the org level, not the project level. 3. **Append the Changelog.** Every change to the table appends a row to the Changelog in `references/defaults-table.md`, dated today, with the human Approver named. 4. **Append, don't rewrite.** Defaults that get deprecated transition to `Status: Deprecated` with a `Superseded by:` pointer — never delete history. See `references/defaults-table.md` § How to update this file for the mechanical edit steps. ## Hard Rules - Never use memcache as a cache. Redis is the cache. Period. (Encoded in the table; called out here so it's impossible to miss.) - Never roll a custom IdP for end-user identity. Account/Passport is the org identity backbone. - Never silently deviate from a `✓ confirmed` default. Deviation requires `NEEDS_CONTEXT` + project Approver + ADR documenting the specific deviation reason. - Never treat a `⚠ starter` row as binding. Until ratified, it's a hint — still requires per-project approval via the full evaluation flow. - Never add a new default unilaterally. New defaults go through the governance process above and append to the Changelog. - Never edit the table without appending a Changelog row. Stale defaults without provenance are worse than no defaults. ## References - [`references/defaults-table.md`](./references/defaults-table.md) — the table itself + changelog (edit here when adding/changing defaults) - `.claude/skills/third-party-dependency-evaluation/SKILL.md` — what to do when you deviate from a default or hit a category not in the table - `.claude/skills/adr-author/` — ADR format, including the default-vendor ADR pattern - CLAUDE.md §10 — hard rule that all third-party dependencies need ADR + Approver (defaults satisfy this via the skill citation) - CLAUDE.md §2 — Designated Dependency Approver for per-project deviations ## Source & license This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code. - **Author:** [evolplus](https://github.com/evolplus) - **Source:** [evolplus/talos](https://github.com/evolplus/talos) - **License:** Apache-2.0 Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above. ## Pricing - **Free** — Free ## Security capabilities Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access: - **Network access:** no - **Filesystem access:** no - **Shell / process execution:** no - **Environment & secrets:** no - **Dynamic code execution:** no *"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.* ## Versions - **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source. ## Links - Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-evolplus-talos-solution-defaults - Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/evolplus - Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse --- Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. Every listing is security-reviewed. Creators keep 70%.