Rundown OS

The official engineering handbook for Rundown.

Version: 1.0.0

What is Rundown OS?

Rundown OS is the internal engineering standard used to design, develop, deploy, and maintain every website built by Rundown.

Rather than treating each client project as a unique build, Rundown follows a standardized system that ensures every project is consistent, scalable, secure, and maintainable.

This handbook serves as the single source of truth for all technical decisions within the agency.

Objectives

Rundown OS exists to:

• Standardize the technology stack across all projects.

• Improve development speed through reusable architecture.

• Maintain a consistent codebase regardless of the developer.

• Deliver high-performance, SEO-friendly websites.

• Reduce long-term maintenance costs.

• Build websites that are easy for clients to manage.

• Document every engineering decision for future reference.

Core Principles

Every technical decision made at Rundown should support these principles:

1. Simplicity over unnecessary complexity.

2. Performance is a core feature.

3. Build reusable solutions before creating new ones.

4. Prefer open-source technologies whenever practical.

5. Prioritize maintainability over short-term convenience.

6. Automate repetitive tasks where possible.

7. Documentation is part of the product.

Scope

Rundown OS applies to all projects developed by the agency, including:

• Portfolio Websites

• Corporate Websites

• Landing Pages

• Blogs

• Ecommerce Stores

• CMS-Driven Websites

• Interactive Experiences

• 3D Websites

• Internal Agency Tools

Handbook Structure

The handbook is divided into five phases:

Phase 1 — Foundation

Defines the philosophy, technology choices, and engineering principles.

Phase 2 — Development Standards

Defines project structure, coding standards, Git workflow, and development practices.

Phase 3 — Architecture

Documents the technical architecture of applications, CMS, database, storage, authentication, and performance.

Phase 4 — Infrastructure

Documents deployment, hosting, backups, monitoring, and infrastructure management.

Phase 5 — Agency Standards

Defines reusable components, starter kits, quality assurance, maintenance, and long-term engineering practices.

Versioning

This handbook follows semantic versioning.

• Major versions introduce significant architectural changes.

• Minor versions add or improve standards.

• Patch versions clarify documentation or correct errors.

Living Documentation

Rundown OS is a living document.

As the agency evolves, this handbook will evolve alongside it. Every significant engineering decision should be reflected here so that future projects benefit from the knowledge gained in previous ones.