Who this is for
Developers who make a real architectural call and want the reasoning captured before the context is gone.
The moment this saves you
Three months later someone asks “why did we use a queue here instead of just calling it directly?” and nobody remembers. The decision’s in the code; the reasoning is in nobody’s head.
See it work
Messy spoken thought in. A clean, structured artifact out.
Okay decision time, I'm going with a background queue for the email sending instead of sending inline in the request. The reason is the email provider is flaky and slow, like sometimes two, three seconds, and I don't want the signup request blocked on that. The tradeoff is now we have a queue to operate and emails can be delayed by a minute or two, which is fine for welcome emails. I considered just doing it inline with a short timeout but then a slow provider tanks our signup conversion. So queue it is. We'll use the existing Redis one, no new infra.
Decision: Send signup emails via a background queue, not inline
- Context: The email provider is flaky and slow (2-3s spikes).
- Decision: Enqueue email sends on the existing Redis queue instead of sending inside the signup request.
- Why: Keeps the signup request fast; a slow provider can't block or tank signup conversion.
- Tradeoffs accepted: We now operate a queue; welcome emails may be delayed 1-2 minutes (acceptable for this use case).
- Alternatives considered: Inline send with a short timeout, rejected because a slow provider still hurts conversion.
- Infra impact: None new, reuses the existing Redis queue.
The workflow
Record a voice note
Hit the hotkey and talk, no formatting, no typing.
Tag it with this context
Contextli shapes your words into the structured output above.
Find it later
Everything's searchable and organised by context.
Pull it into Claude or ChatGPT
Bring your contexts straight into your AI tools with the Contextli MCP.
Your raw recording and transcription stay on your device, so you can always go back to the original.
The prompt behind this context
I'm going to talk through a technical decision I'm making. Turn it into a concise decision record with these labeled lines: a bold Decision title, Context (the situation/problem forcing the choice), Decision (what I'm doing), Why (the reasoning), Tradeoffs accepted (what gets worse and why that's OK), Alternatives considered (each option I weighed and why I rejected it, only the ones I actually mention), and Infra impact (only if I mention infrastructure or dependencies). Keep my technical reasoning intact; remove filler and thinking-aloud. Don't invent alternatives or tradeoffs I didn't raise. Output only the decision record.
Make it your own. This is a starting point. Once it's in Contextli, tweak the instructions so the output comes out exactly how you like it.
Use this context
One click copies it and shows you exactly how to drop it into Contextli.
Next, open Contextli, go to the Contexts page, click Import, choose From JSON, paste, then Import Context. It is ready to use.
Make it your own. This is a starting point. Once it's in Contextli, tweak the instructions so the output comes out exactly how you like it.
Your raw recording and transcription stay on your device, so you can always go back to the original.
Related contexts
Standup Update
Standup's in two minutes and you're still reconstructing yesterday. Skip the typing. Talk through your day in whatever order it comes out, and get a clean yesterday, today, and blockers post you can drop straight in the thread.
Product Bug Report
You just watched something break mid-demo. Don't lose the repro hunting for the tracker. Mutter what happened, what you clicked, what you expected, and walk away with a report engineering can actually act on.
Reading & Research Note
You highlighted half the article and saved it to a graveyard you'll never revisit. Instead, say what the source actually claimed and why it matters to your project. The takeaway, the relevance, and the caveat all get kept.
Questions people ask
Questions developers ask about Code Decision Log
What should a decision record include?
A good decision record includes a clear title, steps to reproduce the issue, the expected behavior, the actual behavior observed, the severity or priority, and the environment details such as OS, browser, and app version. The Code Decision Log context structures your spoken description into these fields automatically, so nothing gets left out when you are in the middle of debugging.
How do I write a decision record in under a minute?
Speak what you found: describe the issue, what you expected, what actually happened, and how bad it is. The Code Decision Log context structures your words into a complete decision record you can paste directly into Jira, Linear, or GitHub Issues. Most take under 60 seconds to dictate, so you capture them without breaking your flow.
How do developers capture issues without interrupting their flow?
The key is to capture the issue immediately without switching context mentally. Contextli lets you speak a quick voice note describing it and produces a decision record from it. You can dictate while the issue is still on screen, then paste the formatted output into Jira, Linear, or GitHub Issues when you come up for air. No typing is required during the capture step.
Can I write a decision record by talking instead of typing?
Yes. The Code Decision Log context lets you speak a description in plain language and converts it into a structured decision record with all the required fields filled. You speak the way you would explain it to a colleague, and the context handles the formatting.
How do I add this context to Contextli?
Copy the context on this page, then open Contextli and go to the Contexts page. Click Import, choose From JSON, paste it into the Import from Clipboard window, and click Import Context. It is ready to use in under 30 seconds. If you do not have Contextli yet, you can download it for free first.
Is my voice recording private? Does Contextli send it anywhere?
Your voice recording and the transcription are stored on your device only. Contextli processes your audio locally and does not send your recordings or transcription text to any server. The structured output it produces is text you control, and you decide where it goes.
Can I change what the output looks like?
Yes. Every context in Contextli is a starting point you can edit. Open the context in the app, change the instructions to adjust the structure, tone, or fields, and save. The next time you use it, the output reflects your changes. You are not locked into the default format.
Do I need to install an app to use this context?
Yes. Contextli is a free app. Download it, then copy this context and paste it into the Import from Clipboard window on the Contexts page. The whole process takes about 30 seconds.