External Resources

Core Concept

Connect decisions to the real world by linking external resources like GitHub PRs, Linear issues, and documentation.

Why Resources Matter

A decision record without links to the real world is just a diary entry. Resources connect your decisions to:

•The research and discussions that informed them
•The implementation work that follows them
•The evidence needed for audits and reviews

tip

When concluding a decision, you can add implementation links directly in the conclusion modal. This ensures PRs and tickets are linked before the decision is finalized.

Two Resource Categories

Resources are organized into two categories based on their relationship to the decision:

Context & Background

Inputs that informed the decision. These are the "why" — the research, discussions, and data that led to this choice.

• Notion documents with research

• Slack threads discussing options

• Datadog dashboards showing metrics

• Figma designs being evaluated

• Confluence specs and RFCs

Implementation Tracking

Outputs where the work is happening. These are the "what" — the PRs, tickets, and issues implementing this decision.

• GitHub pull requests

• GitHub issues

• Linear issues and projects

• Jira tickets

Supported Providers

Arbtr automatically detects these providers and shows their brand icons:

Provider	Default Category	Auto-Detected Title
GitHub	Implementation	org/repo #123
Linear	Implementation	ENG-123
Jira	Implementation	PROJ-456
Notion	Context	—
Confluence	Context	Space name
Slack	Context	Message ID
Datadog	Context	Dashboard type
Figma	Context	File name

Any URL can be added as a resource. Unrecognized URLs are shown with a generic link icon and default to the Context category.

How to Add Resources

From the Decision Page

Scroll to the Resources section
Click Add Link next to either category
Paste the URL — the provider will be auto-detected
Optionally edit the title
Click Add

When Concluding a Decision

Open the Conclude Decision modal
Select "Approved" as the outcome
Scroll to Implementation Tracking
Paste URLs for PRs, issues, or tickets
Complete the conclusion

This flow is ideal for ensuring implementation is tracked from day one.

Best Practices

Link research before concluding

Add Context links while the decision is active. This creates an audit trail of what was considered before the choice was made.

Add implementation links at conclusion

When approving a decision, immediately link the PRs or tickets that will implement it. This prevents "orphan" decisions that never get built.

Keep titles meaningful

While auto-detected titles work for most providers, consider editing titles for generic links to describe their content clearly.

Importance

Strategic Branches

Command Palette