ModelForge/docs/architecture/adr/0001-capability-first-routing.md

ADR-0001: Capability-first routing

Status: Accepted

Context

Directly binding projects to model IDs creates pervasive coupling. Model upgrades then require application code/config changes and encourage accidental use of incompatible model revisions.

Decision

Projects bind to versioned logical capabilities. The ModelForge gateway resolves the capability, project identity, channel and policy to a concrete deployment.

Consequences

Positive:

• model upgrades become infrastructure lifecycle operations;
• project code remains stable;
• benchmark and migration policy can attach to capabilities;
• fallbacks can be expressed centrally.

Tradeoff:

• ModelForge must define precise capability contracts rather than a generic pass-through API only.