# Design docs

> Index of the design docs kept in the repository, with a line on what each one covers.

Find the reasoning behind a feature: why it is shaped the way it is, and the invariants a change must not break. Nothing is copied here: these link to the docs in [`plans/`](https://github.com/oddcelot/vite-plugin-lit/tree/main/plans) on GitHub.

* [Lit DevTools on Devframe](https://github.com/oddcelot/vite-plugin-lit/blob/main/plans/devframe-foundation.md) — the panel as a Devframe definition, the source port, and what agents may call.
* [DevTools features](https://github.com/oddcelot/vite-plugin-lit/blob/main/plans/devtools-features.md) — HMR diagnostics, agent access, the update explainer, the CLI and MCP, snapshots, deep links, editor opens and persisted settings.
* [Lit DevTools Timeline](https://github.com/oddcelot/vite-plugin-lit/blob/main/plans/devtools-timeline.md) — the capture layers, the clock and grouping, and the `virtual:lit-plugin/timeline` API.
* [DevTools redesign](https://github.com/oddcelot/vite-plugin-lit/blob/main/plans/devtools-redesign.md) — the design-system tokens and theming shared by the panel and the runtime elements.
* [`?css-sheet` inline mode for library builds](https://github.com/oddcelot/vite-plugin-lit/blob/main/plans/css-sheet-inline-build.md) — the fetch-backed sheet 404s for consumers of a `build.lib` bundle, so the build inlines the CSS text instead.
* [Documentation site with Astro + Starlight](https://github.com/oddcelot/vite-plugin-lit/blob/main/plans/docs-site.md) — this site: the stack, and why the material left the README.
* [Release tooling](https://github.com/oddcelot/vite-plugin-lit/blob/main/plans/release-tooling.md) — why releases are tag-driven, and what `pnpm run changelog` drafts.

## Related

[Development](/contributing/development/)How to build and run what these documents describe.

[How HMR works](/concepts/how-hmr-works/)The shipped behaviour the design docs led to.