C3 Audit - Architecture Validation

Validate C3 documentation for consistency, drift, and completeness.

Precondition: C3 Adopted

STOP if .c3/README.md does not exist.

If missing:

This project doesn't have C3 docs yet. Use the c3-onboard skill to create documentation first.

Do NOT proceed until .c3/README.md is confirmed.

REQUIRED: Load References

Before proceeding, Read these files (relative to this skill's directory):

1. references/skill-harness.md - Red flags and complexity rules
2. references/audit-checks.md - Full 10-phase audit procedure

Audit Phases

The audit uses a three-tier approach: structural (CLI-automated) → inventory (CLI-assisted) → semantic (manual reasoning).

Follow the audit procedure from references/audit-checks.md. Track progress as you work:

Audit Progress:
- [ ] Phase 0: Structural Validation - Run `npx -y @lagz0ne/c3x check` for broken links, orphans, duplicates, missing parents
- [ ] Phase 1: Gather Inventory - Run `npx -y @lagz0ne/c3x list --json` for full entity inventory
- [ ] Phase 2: Inventory vs Code - Docs match reality
- [ ] Phase 3: Component Categorization - Foundation/Feature/Ref correct
- [ ] Phase 4: Code Reference Validation - Code References point to real files
- [ ] Phase 5: Diagram Accuracy - Diagrams match current state
- [ ] Phase 6: ADR Lifecycle - ADRs in valid states
- [ ] Phase 7: Ref File Validation - Refs cited correctly
- [ ] Phase 8: Abstraction Boundaries - Layers don't leak
- [ ] Phase 9: Content Separation - Foundation vs Feature vs Ref
- [ ] Phase 10: Context Files - CLAUDE.md presence/freshness

Phase 0: Structural Validation (CLI)

Run npx -y @lagz0ne/c3x check via Bash to detect structural issues automatically:

npx -y @lagz0ne/c3x check

This catches broken links, orphan entities, duplicate IDs, and missing parent references — issues that Phases 2-7 previously checked manually. For machine-readable output, use npx -y @lagz0ne/c3x check --json.

If npx -y @lagz0ne/c3x check reports failures, record them immediately. Many will overlap with later phases — skip re-checking those manually.

Phase 1: Gather Inventory (CLI)

Run npx -y @lagz0ne/c3x list --json via Bash to get the full entity inventory:

npx -y @lagz0ne/c3x list --json

This returns all entities with id, type, title, path, relationships, and frontmatter. Use this output as the source of truth for subsequent phases instead of manually running Glob+Read across .c3/ directories.

For a quick topology overview, use npx -y @lagz0ne/c3x list (text format with goals).

Phases 2-10: Semantic Validation (Manual)

Continue with references/audit-checks.md Phases 2-10 using Read+Grep+reasoning. Use the inventory from Phase 1 to drive these checks — no need to re-gather entities.

Output Format

**C3 Audit Results**

| Phase | Status | Issues |
|-------|--------|--------|
| Inventory vs Code | PASS/WARN/FAIL | [details] |
| ... | ... | ... |

**Summary:** N passes, M warnings, K failures
**Action Items:** [list of fixes needed]

Discovery-Based Audit (Alternative)

For deep health checks or after major codebase changes, use the discovery-based approach documented in references/audit-checks.md (section: Discovery-Based Audit). This compares docs against code reality rather than structure rules.

Routing

If during audit the user wants to fix issues:

• Documentation changes -> Route to c3-change skill
• Impact assessment of proposed change -> Route to c3-sweep skill
• Pattern issues -> Route to c3-ref skill
• Architecture questions -> Route to c3-query skill

Agent Teams: This skill can also serve as the Phase 4 auditor role in c3-change Agent Teams flow.

---

Example

User: "audit C3 docs"

Phase 0: `npx -y @lagz0ne/c3x check` → 1 broken link (c3-205 → deleted file), 1 orphan ref → FAIL
Phase 1: `npx -y @lagz0ne/c3x list --json` → 3 containers, 12 components, 4 refs
Phase 2: Inventory vs Code → (broken link already caught in Phase 0, skip) → PASS
Phase 3: Categories → c3-103 has no Code References (should be ref?) → FAIL
Phase 4: Code References → (stale paths already caught in Phase 0, skip) → PASS
Phase 5-10: PASS

Summary: 9 passes, 2 failures (Phase 0 structural, Phase 3 semantic)
Action Items:
  1. Fix broken link in c3-205 (detected by npx -y @lagz0ne/c3x check)
  2. Reclassify c3-103 as ref or add Code References
  3. Resolve orphan ref (detected by npx -y @lagz0ne/c3x check)