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Brownfield

Also called Existing-code work, legacy-adjacent work

What is Brownfield?

Building new functionality on top of an existing system, especially one with old code, constraints, and established behavior.

Brownfield development means working in an already-built environment instead of starting from scratch. The code, data, and workflows already exist, so changes have to fit around them carefully.

How it relates to Orbit

Orbit is built for existing codebases: register the folder, and Memtrace indexes it so agents can find their way around. See Memtrace Code Intelligence for details.

When you would use it

You use brownfield to describe work in a live, established system rather than a blank-slate project.

Common operations

  • Adding features to legacy systems
  • Modernizing parts of an old product
  • Integrating with existing architecture

Related terms

Where this is taught

No learning path uses this term yet. Browse the Learning Atlas for guided sequences through related ideas.