March 2025. Before writing the modular system, sat down and wrote documentation.

Not after the code. Before.

List

1. ARCHITECTURE.md - overall structure
2. MODULE-SYSTEM.md - how modules work
3. DEPENDENCY-INJECTION.md - DI container
4. SECURITY.md - authentication, authorization
5. API-CONVENTIONS.md - REST endpoints, response format
6. DATABASE.md - schema, migrations, relations
7. ERROR-HANDLING.md - error codes, format
8. LOGGING.md - what we log, where, format
9. TESTING.md - how to write tests
10. DEPLOYMENT.md - how to deploy
11. CONFIGURATION.md - environment variables
12. PLUGIN-SYSTEM.md - how to write plugins

Why before code

While writing the document - you think. Find holes in logic. Realize what you forgot.

Wrote "module registers in container" - but how exactly? Had to think through the API. Before writing code.

Result

When I sat down to code - already knew what to do. Document open, writing according to it. Not making things up on the fly.

AI also helps better when there's documentation. Share ARCHITECTURE.md - it understands the context.