---
desc: The configured monograph that carries the whole design narrative.
lifecycle: Active
name: Mono
structural:
  category:
  - concept
  belongs:
  - form
---

`mono` is the optional configured long-form Markdown document.
A common convention is `DESIGN.md`.
This repository currently keeps its first narrative route inside the *lake* as `introduction`.

It is the project *monograph*:
one readable narrative for a person who wants the whole design in one sitting.

The *monograph* is normal Markdown outside the Sirno Lake.
It does not carry Sirno *entry* metadata.

When configured, the *monograph* becomes a raised narrative view of the current *entries*.
It should preserve a route through the project,
not become a directory listing of *entry* prose.

The *monograph* earns its place by sequencing ideas.
It can introduce the problem first,
then the project model,
then the schema and operations that make the model usable.
That order matters for a human reader.
The *entries* can be browsed in many orders,
but the *monograph* should make one good route feel natural.

A healthy *monograph* is selective.
It names the important concepts,
explains how they fit,
and leaves dense local detail in *entries*.
When an *entry* grows enough local design to interrupt the main narrative,
the *monograph* can summarize the *entry* and trust the *lake* to carry the detail.

This makes `mono` useful both before and after lowering.
Before lowering, it may be the best statement of intended design.
After lowering, it becomes a composed view over the *lake*.
In both cases, it should read as a document written for a person,
not as a mechanical export of every known fact.
