diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f1a2ab1..74257ab 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -6,3 +6,10 @@ This repo contains stateless GitOps repo reconciliation
 using OpenTofu (`import`-on-demand) and `just`.
 
 For now, it helps keeping existing repos in sync.
+
+## Records and decisions
+
+`plugins/` holds the per-plugin records (the single source of truth for
+creation-time metadata), projected into `repos/*.tfvars` by
+`scripts/generate.py` — see `plugins/schema.json`. Significant design
+decisions are recorded as ADRs in [`docs/adr/`](docs/adr/).
diff --git a/docs/adr/0001-template-propagation.md b/docs/adr/0001-template-propagation.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3354d82
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/adr/0001-template-propagation.md
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+# ADR-0001: Automatic template propagation to plugin repositories
+
+Date: 2026-10-22
+Status: Accepted
+
+## Context
+
+Plugin repositories are generated from the
+[template](https://github.com/obs-plugins-snaps/template) via Copier and
+record the template version they were generated from in
+`.copier-answers.yml`. The template auto-tags every merge to main with the
+next patch version, so improvements to the shared scaffolding (bug report
+templates, CI workflows, README wording) are available as a new tag
+immediately.
+
+Without automation, propagating a template update means manually opening
+one PR per plugin repository — repetitive, error-prone, and easily
+forgotten, which lets the scaffolding drift apart across repositories.
+
+## Decision
+
+1. **meta `plugins/` is the source of truth for the plugin list.** The
+   propagation workflow reads the directory listing via the GitHub API at
+   runtime; every `plugins/<plugin_name>-obs-studio.json` record maps to
+   the repository `<plugin_name>-obs-studio-snap` — the same derivation
+   rule used by `scripts/generate.py` and documented in
+   `plugins/schema.json`. An org API repository listing was rejected: it
+   would include non-plugin repositories and duplicates knowledge that
+   already lives here.
+
+2. **The propagation workflow lives in the template repository**
+   (`propagate.yaml` + a stdlib-only Python driver). It is triggered by
+   `workflow_run` after the auto-tag workflow completes on main, and can
+   be run manually via `workflow_dispatch` with an explicit tag. A single
+   workflow keeps the logic in one place; per-repository dispatcher
+   workflows were rejected as unnecessary moving parts.
+
+3. **Updates use `copier update` (three-way merge), not re-rendering.**
+   Plugin repositories carry hand-tuned build recipes that must survive
+   template updates; conflicts are expected and surface in the PRs for
+   human resolution.
+
+4. **Idempotency and observability.** A run skips repositories already on
+   the target tag (read from `.copier-answers.yml`), skips ones with an
+   existing `template-update-<tag>` branch or open PR, and writes a
+   per-plugin summary table to the workflow run. Repositories that do not
+   exist yet (record present, repo not created — the creation-automation
+   gap) are skipped and reported, not fatal.
+
+5. **Permissions.** The `obs-plugins-snaps-bot` GitHub App carries
+   `contents: write`, `pull_requests: write` and `workflows: write` on all
+   organization repositories. The `workflows` scope is required because
+   template updates modify `.github/workflows/*` files, which GitHub gates
+   separately from ordinary content pushes.
+
+## Non-goals
+
+- Repository creation from records (separate future automation).
+- Changes to the template's auto-tag workflow (it is only consumed as a
+  trigger).
+
+## Consequences
+
+- Merging any change to the template now results in update PRs on every
+  managed plugin repository within minutes; maintainers only review.
+- Plugin repositories may hold open update PRs during active work;
+  merging them is a maintainer decision per repository.
+- The first live run propagates v0.0.6 (bug report issue template) to all
+  four existing repositories.
diff --git a/docs/adr/README.md b/docs/adr/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7db1667
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/adr/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# Architecture decision records
+
+Significant design decisions for this repository's automation are recorded
+here as short ADRs (context → decision → consequences), named
+`NNNN-short-title.md`. Superseded ADRs stay in place with an updated
+Status header.