Configuring Horizon
coollabsio/coolify
A skill your agent uses whenever the user mentions Horizon by name in a Laravel context.
Guides clean, scalable system architecture during the build phase.
Install Architecting Systems
$ npx skills add rileyhilliard/claude-essentials --skill architecting-systems -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install rileyhilliard/claude-essentials architecting-systems --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/ce/skills/architecting-systems .claude/skills/architecting-systems && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.
Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/
Install the "architecting-systems" agent skill from https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials/tree/main/plugins/ce/skills/architecting-systems into .claude/skills/architecting-systems/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "architecting-systems", then confirm the skill loads.Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$skill-installer install https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials/tree/main/plugins/ce/skills/architecting-systemsType this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.
$ npx skills add rileyhilliard/claude-essentials --skill architecting-systems -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install rileyhilliard/claude-essentials architecting-systems --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/ce/skills/architecting-systems .agents/skills/architecting-systems && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "architecting-systems" agent skill from https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials/tree/main/plugins/ce/skills/architecting-systems into .agents/skills/architecting-systems/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "architecting-systems", then confirm the skill loads.Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add rileyhilliard/claude-essentials --skill architecting-systems -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install rileyhilliard/claude-essentials architecting-systems --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/ce/skills/architecting-systems .cursor/skills/architecting-systems && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "architecting-systems" agent skill from https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials/tree/main/plugins/ce/skills/architecting-systems into .cursor/skills/architecting-systems/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "architecting-systems", then confirm the skill loads.Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gemini skills install https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials.git --path plugins/ce/skills/architecting-systems--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add rileyhilliard/claude-essentials --skill architecting-systems -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install rileyhilliard/claude-essentials architecting-systems --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/ce/skills/architecting-systems .gemini/skills/architecting-systems && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.
Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "architecting-systems" agent skill from https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials/tree/main/plugins/ce/skills/architecting-systems into .gemini/skills/architecting-systems/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "architecting-systems", then confirm the skill loads.Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gh skill install rileyhilliard/claude-essentials architecting-systemsInstalls for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ npx skills add rileyhilliard/claude-essentials --skill architecting-systems -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/ce/skills/architecting-systems .github/skills/architecting-systems && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.
GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "architecting-systems" agent skill from https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials/tree/main/plugins/ce/skills/architecting-systems into .github/skills/architecting-systems/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "architecting-systems", then confirm the skill loads.GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add rileyhilliard/claude-essentials --skill architecting-systems -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install rileyhilliard/claude-essentials architecting-systems --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/ce/skills/architecting-systems .opencode/skills/architecting-systems && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "architecting-systems" agent skill from https://github.com/rileyhilliard/claude-essentials/tree/main/plugins/ce/skills/architecting-systems into .opencode/skills/architecting-systems/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "architecting-systems", then confirm the skill loads.OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
Facts
- Skill name
architecting-systems- GitHub stars
- 130
- Token cost
- ~713 tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 316 words
- Files
- 6 (incl. references)
- Skills in repo
- 17
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- MIT
At a glance
Guides clean, scalable system architecture during the build phase.
- Designing modules
- SKILL.md covers Topic Selection, Core Principles (All Topics) and Quick Reference
- Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
- Defining boundaries
What it does
Architecting Systems is an agent skill from rileyhilliard/claude-essentials. Guides clean, scalable system architecture during the build phase. Use when designing modules, defining boundaries, structuring projects, managing dependencies, or preventing tight coupling and brittleness as systems grow.
Its SKILL.md is about 710 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 6 other files, including reference files (for example `references/boundaries.md`, `references/concurrency.md` and `references/coupling.md`).
It sits in Backend & APIs. The licence is MIT.
When your agent uses it
- Designing modules
- Defining boundaries
- Structuring projects
- Managing dependencies
Example prompts
- “Use the architecting-systems skill to guide clean, scalable system architecture during the build phase”
- “/architecting-systems”
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 3a67a01. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.
Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.
Context cost
Architecting Systems loads about 713 tokens when it runs, and up to ~3.5k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 61 tokens; SKILL.md has 316 words of instructions outside code blocks.
Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.
Safety
Auto-check passed
The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.
Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.
SKILL.md
The full file from rileyhilliard/claude-essentials at commit 3a67a01, republished under its MIT licence (© rileyhilliard). 316 words, ~713 tokens.
Download SKILL.mdSave it as
.claude/skills/architecting-systems/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 5 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.- name
- architecting-systems
- description
- Guides clean, scalable system architecture during the build phase. Use when designing modules, defining boundaries, structuring projects, managing dependencies, or preventing tight coupling and brittleness as systems grow.
Architecting Systems
Core principle: Small decisions made early compound into either clean systems or massive technical debt. Get the structure right and the system stays maintainable as it grows. Get it wrong and every change gets harder.
Topic Selection
Load the relevant reference based on what you're working on:
| Working on... | Load | File |
|---|---|---|
| Layers, vertical slices, file organization | Structure | references/structure.md |
| Interfaces, dependency inversion, contracts | Coupling | references/coupling.md |
| Bounded contexts, API design, module boundaries | Boundaries | references/boundaries.md |
| Async patterns, race conditions, queues | Concurrency | references/concurrency.md |
| Logging, health checks, metrics, tracing | Observability | references/observability.md |
Load multiple references when the task spans topics. For most greenfield work, start with Structure and Coupling.
Core Principles (All Topics)
Complexity budget
Every architectural decision has a complexity cost. Spend that budget where it matters.
| Worth the complexity | Not worth it |
|---|---|
| Separation between domains that change independently | Abstracting code that only has one implementation |
| Event-driven for genuinely async workflows | Event-driven for simple request-response flows |
| Caching for measured performance bottlenecks | Caching "just in case" |
| Microservices for teams that deploy independently | Microservices for a small team's monolith |
The rule: Don't add indirection until you need it. Premature abstraction is as costly as premature optimization. Two similar code blocks are better than a wrong abstraction.
Quick Reference
| Problem | Response |
|---|---|
| "Where does this code go?" | If the answer isn't obvious, the structure needs work |
| "Changing X requires touching Y" | Missing boundary between X and Y |
| "This module does too many things" | Split along separate reasons to change |
| "We can't test this in isolation" | Hidden dependencies; inject them instead |
| "New devs take weeks to be productive" | Conventions are too weak or too novel |
| "Every PR touches 10 files" | Feature code is scattered; colocate it |
| "The shared folder keeps growing" | Boundaries are in the wrong place |
Writing architecture documents? This skill covers how to build. For how to write about it (ADRs, design docs, tradeoff analyses), load Skill(writer) and use The Architect persona.
© rileyhilliard, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file
Files
SKILL.md and 5 other files (references) in plugins/ce/skills/architecting-systems of rileyhilliard/claude-essentials.
- SKILL.md
- references/boundaries.md
- references/concurrency.md
- references/coupling.md
- references/observability.md
- references/structure.md
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 3a67a01
Compare with similar skills
Architecting Systems next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.
| Skill | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architecting Systems this skillrileyhilliard/claude-essentials | 130 | — | ~713 | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Configuring Horizoncoollabsio/coolify | 63k | 4 repos | ~898 | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Nestjs Best Practicesrolling-scopes/rsschool-app | 10k | 6 repos | ~1.2k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Sub2API AdminWei-Shaw/sub2api | 44k | 1 repos | ~717 | Automated safety check: Pass | LGPL-3.0 | |
| Firecrawl Build Onboardingfirecrawl/firecrawl | 190k | 1 repos | ~1.4k | Automated safety check: Notes | ISC | |
| Obsidian BasesAtmosphere/atmosphere | 3.8k | 22 repos | ~3.2k | Automated safety check: Pass | Apache-2.0 |
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Related
Categories
Questions about Architecting Systems
What does Architecting Systems do?
Guides clean, scalable system architecture during the build phase. Architecting Systems is an agent skill from rileyhilliard/claude-essentials. Guides clean, scalable system architecture during the build phase.
When should I use Architecting Systems?
Architecting Systems fits situations like: designing modules; defining boundaries; structuring projects; managing dependencies.
How do I install Architecting Systems in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add rileyhilliard/claude-essentials --skill architecting-systems -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/ce/skills/architecting-systems in rileyhilliard/claude-essentials) into .claude/skills/architecting-systems in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Architecting Systems in Codex?
Run `npx skills add rileyhilliard/claude-essentials --skill architecting-systems -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/ce/skills/architecting-systems in rileyhilliard/claude-essentials) into .agents/skills/architecting-systems in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Architecting Systems in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?
Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add rileyhilliard/claude-essentials --skill architecting-systems -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/architecting-systems, .gemini/skills/architecting-systems, .github/skills/architecting-systems and .opencode/skills/architecting-systems in your project.
What does Architecting Systems need to run?
SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Architecting Systems is instructions for the agent only.
Does Architecting Systems access the network?
SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
Is Architecting Systems safe to install?
Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.
What licence does Architecting Systems use?
Architecting Systems is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.
How many tokens does Architecting Systems use?
About 713 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 2.9k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 2.8k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.
What are the alternatives to Architecting Systems?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Architecting Systems: Configuring Horizon (coollabsio/coolify, 63k stars), Nestjs Best Practices (rolling-scopes/rsschool-app, 10k stars), Sub2API Admin (Wei-Shaw/sub2api, 44k stars) and Firecrawl Build Onboarding (firecrawl/firecrawl, 190k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Architecting Systems?
rileyhilliard (a GitHub user) maintains it in rileyhilliard/claude-essentials, which has 130 GitHub stars. The repository holds 17 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on August 18, 2026.
Source: rileyhilliard/claude-essentials on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.