ADR 0016: Fallback is allowed and honest

• Status: accepted
• Date: 2026-09-20

Context

Self-hosting is a means, not the goal. A 27B local model will sometimes be the wrong tool for a task.

Decision

If a task is faster by hand or with another agent, do it that way and note it in friction.md. The measure of success is the trend in friction.md, not 100% self-authorship.

Consequences

• Nobody wastes a day forcing nodwyn through a task it cannot do yet.
• If the evidence says the model is the bottleneck on hard phases, switching the control plane (ADR 8) is a config decision made on that evidence.