Software RFC Template

Use an RFC when a proposal needs broad discussion before adoption. Write the proposed direction clearly enough that reviewers can disagree with a specific claim, alternative, or consequence.

# RFC: [Proposal]

Status: Draft | In discussion | Accepted | Rejected | Withdrawn
Authors: [Names]
Reviewers: [Requested perspectives]
Last updated: [Date]

## Summary
[The proposal and intended outcome.]

## Motivation
[Current problem, users, evidence, and cost of doing nothing.]

## Goals
- [Outcome]

## Non-goals
- [Explicit exclusion]

## Proposal
[Behavior, design, ownership, and important flows.]

## Compatibility and migration
[Existing callers, data, rollout, fallback, and removal.]

## Security, privacy, and operations
[Trust, failure, abuse, observability, and recovery.]

## Alternatives
### [Alternative]
[When it works and why it was not selected.]

## Open questions
- [Question requiring discussion]

## Decision and follow-up
[Decision, linked ADRs/specifications/plans, or reason for rejection.]

Example open question

## Open questions
- Should anonymous links expire after inactivity, or remain valid until revoked?
  The choice affects recovery, abuse handling, and whether recipients can rely on an old link.

A useful open question names the consequences of each answer. “Thoughts?” does not give reviewers enough structure.

Review prompts

Is the motivation supported by current evidence?
Can a reviewer identify what changes for users, operators, data, and callers?
Are alternatives described as real choices rather than straw figures?
Which accepted choices need separate ADRs or a maintained specification?

Use ADR vs RFC vs technical specification to choose the right record. When the proposal becomes implementable, derive an AI coding plan instead of turning the RFC into a task log. The Rust RFC repository is a primary-source example of a software project using versioned proposals, public discussion, and an accepted or rejected record. This Plannotator template is original and does not reproduce the Rust template. Reviewed July 18, 2026. Written and maintained by the Plannotator documentation team.

Templates

Frameworks

Comparisons

Software RFC Template

Example open question

Review prompts

​Example open question

​Review prompts

Example open question

Review prompts