ADR-0004 · Drive Docs / GitHub Code Split
Status
Section titled “Status”Accepted
Context
Section titled “Context”Google Drive Desktop sync struggles with code projects — node_modules, Python venv, and build artifacts generate thousands of small files that overwhelm the sync process, causing severe CPU usage on both M1Max and M3Pro. This was tested and confirmed by Francois.
Meanwhile, Google Drive is excellent for lightweight documents (.md notes, .gdoc, .gsheet) that make up the PARA structure.
Decision
Section titled “Decision”Split the single source of truth by content type:
- Google Drive = SSOT for documents (PARA structure, notes, collaborative docs)
- GitHub = SSOT for code projects (anything with build tooling, dependencies, or generated artifacts)
When a PARA project evolves into a code project, it migrates to GitHub. The Google Drive PARA folder retains only a pointer README linking to the GitHub repo.
Hermes Agent accesses documents via the Drive Bridge (rclone) and code projects via GitHub MCP — both pathways already exist in the architecture.
Consequences
Section titled “Consequences”- Good: No CPU meltdown from Google Drive sync on dev machines
- Good: Standard git workflow for code (branch, PR, CI/CD) — familiar tooling
- Good: Hermes already has both access paths (rclone + GitHub MCP)
- Trade-off: Two SSOTs instead of one — but they govern different content types, so no overlap
- Trade-off: When a project migrates (Drive → GitHub), manual one-time move required + pointer README
- Risk: Some projects start as documents and grow into code — the migration moment is a judgment call