Follow the project

Incan keeps design authority, long-range direction, and shipped behavior separate. Start with the artifact that answers your question.

Propose and governRFCsReview changes to the language, compiler, tooling, and public architecture. Preserve a decisionDesign recordsRead scoped decisions and deferrals that need durable public context without a full RFC. Explore directionWhitepapersUnderstand cross-cutting strategy, research, and the north-star shape of the ecosystem. Track deliveryRoadmapSee how accepted and proposed work is sequenced across releases. See what shippedRelease notesUse the released product narrative as the authority for delivered user-facing capability. Take partContributingFind the implementation, review, RFC, and documentation workflows.

Which artifact should I use?

Artifact	What it answers	Authority boundary
RFC	Should Incan adopt a material language, compiler, tooling, or architecture change?	Its recorded status and the repository RFC process govern the proposal.
Design record	Why was a smaller project decision, constraint, or deferral made?	It preserves a scoped decision and cites its governing RFCs, issues, or plans.
Whitepaper	What long-range system shape or research direction is worth exploring?	It informs future work but does not define shipped behavior or accepted implementation requirements.
Roadmap	When should accepted or proposed work be revisited or delivered?	It communicates planning intent; a target is not proof that a capability shipped.
Release notes	What can users actually test in a released version?	They describe the delivered release surface and its explicit boundaries.

How the records connect

A whitepaper may frame a problem. An RFC can turn part of that direction into a governed proposal. A design record can preserve a narrower decision or deferral without pretending to replace the RFC. The roadmap sequences the work, and release notes tell users what ultimately shipped.