ADR-004: Centralized Route Definitions

Status: Accepted
Date: 2026-04-14

Context

Route paths were duplicated across multiple components — the header navigation, the footer links, and individual page components all had their own hardcoded strings for paths like /about, /donate, etc. This duplication made it easy to introduce inconsistencies and required updating multiple files whenever a route changed.

Decision

All route paths are defined in a single file: src/lib/routes.ts.

• A routes object maps logical route names to their path strings.
• A navLinks array provides the ordered list of navigation links (label + path) used by the header and footer.
• All components import from this single module instead of hardcoding paths.

Consequences

• Changing a route path only requires updating one file, eliminating the risk of mismatched paths across components.
• Navigation components (header, footer) consume the same navLinks array, guaranteeing they stay in sync.
• New pages must remember to register their route in routes.ts; this is a lightweight convention that is easy to follow.
• If the routing structure grows significantly (e.g., localized routes, dynamic segments), this module may need to evolve, but the single-source-of-truth principle will still hold.