> Markdown twin of https://adna.network/patterns/
> Index: https://adna.network/llms.txt · Full corpus: https://adna.network/llms-full.txt
> State is a build-time snapshot generated 2026-08-30 (UTC); nothing here is live.
> Derived from the rendered page — this route has no markdown source.

*[image: Isometric pixel-art map of modular vault-blocks linked by glowing cyan and purple seams — reusable aDNA patterns]*

# Patterns

8 patterns that solve recurring challenges in aDNA projects. Each describes the problem, the solution, and where to find a working example in this vault.

## What a pattern is here

A pattern is a shape that recurs, named so it can be discussed and reused. It sits between a [concept](/learn/concepts/) — which explains what something *is* — and a procedure, which tells you what to *do*. A pattern tells you what tends to *work*, and when it does not.

Patterns here are descriptive rather than prescriptive. Each one was extracted from something this vault or a peer vault actually built, which is why every pattern carries a worked example: if we could not point at an instance, it was an idea and not yet a pattern.

## How to read one

Every pattern follows the same four moves: the **problem** it recurs in response to, the **solution** shape, a **worked example** in a real vault, and the **trade-off** — what you give up by adopting it. Read the trade-off first if you are choosing between two patterns; it is usually the part that decides.

## The patterns

[The Question Test Every new file in an aDNA project needs to land in one of three folders — what/, how/, or who/. Most files are obvious; edge cases cause hesitation…](/patterns/question-test)[AGENTS.md Routing A project folder can hold hundreds of files. An AI agent working on a single task needs only a handful of them — but how does it know which folders to…](/patterns/agents-md)[Dual-Audience Writing aDNA documentation must serve two audiences with different needs: developers seeking technical precision for implementation, and newcomers seeking…](/patterns/dual-audience-writing)[Base/Extension A shared standard has to be stable enough that teams can build on it, but flexible enough to handle work the authors never imagined. If every team…](/patterns/base-extension)[Context Recipe Most real tasks need knowledge from several areas at once — not one clean topic. Without a pre-built list of what to load, an agent either grabs…](/patterns/context-recipe)[FAIR Envelope A shareable object without a label is a black box — nobody outside your project can find it, tell if it's trustworthy, know who made it, or use it…](/patterns/fair-envelope)[Mission Decomposition Some jobs — writing thirteen concept files, or building a whole documentation site — are too big for any one agent session to finish in one go…](/patterns/mission-decomposition)[Federation Readiness Something that works in your project isn't automatically safe to hand to someone else. A workflow may rely on files only you have, skip the labels a…](/patterns/federation-readiness)

## Proposing a pattern

Patterns are added through the same public proposal process as any other change to the standard — see [proposals](/community/proposals/). The bar is the one above: a pattern needs an instance somewhere before it can be named here. A shape observed once is a coincidence; the proposal is where you argue it is not.