arch_guard 1.1.3

A CLI tool and Dart library for static architecture analysis, Clean Architecture layer governance, circular dependency metrics, and graph visualization.

arch_guard

A pub.dev-ready CLI tool and Dart library for static architecture analysis, enforcing Clean Architecture layer boundaries, detecting circular dependencies using Tarjan's Strongly Connected Components (SCC) algorithm, computing architectural coupling metrics, and exporting visual graph outputs (Terminal text, JSON, Mermaid .mmd, Graphviz .dot, and a rich interactive HTML centerpiece).

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Features

• 🛡️ Clean Architecture Layer Validation: Enforce directional rules (e.g. domain cannot import presentation or data) configured via arch_guard.yaml or pubspec.yaml.
• 🚀 High-Performance Concurrent Scanning: Bounded parallel async scanner (Future.wait batching) designed for 1,000+ file codebases.
• 📊 Tarjan's SCC Severity Metrics: Computes internal edge density, average Fan-In/Fan-Out, Instability ($I$), and dependency hub identification per SCC.
• 🔍 CLI File Explainer (--explain): Interactively inspect incoming/outgoing dependencies and SCC membership for any specific file.
• 🏢 Monorepo & Dart Workspace Auto-Discovery: Automatically discovers member packages in Dart 3.6+ workspaces (workspace: [...]) or Melos repositories (packages/*, apps/*), mapping cross-package cycles.
• 🎨 Multi-Format Exporters:
  • Interactive Centerpiece HTML: Dark mode, Vis-network rendering with physics stabilization freeze, --scope cycles scalability, and --offline air-gapped support.
  • Mermaid.js Diagram (.mmd): Native markdown diagrams ready for GitHub/GitLab PRs.
  • JSON Data Report (.json): Machine-readable payload for CI/CD dashboards.
  • Graphviz DOT (.dot): Subgraph-clustered DOT format for dot -Tsvg.
• 💻 Pub.dev Ready & Flexible CLI: Configurable flags, exit codes for CI/CD pipelines (0, 1, 2, 64), and a clear programmatic Dart API.

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Installation

Add as a dependency in your pubspec.yaml or install globally via pub:

dart pub global activate arch_guard

Or run directly using dart run in any project or monorepo directory:

dart run arch_guard [path] [options]

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Configuration (arch_guard.yaml or pubspec.yaml)

Define Clean Architecture layer rules and ignore patterns in arch_guard.yaml at your project root:

# arch_guard.yaml
ignore:
  - "**/*.g.dart"
  - "**/*.freezed.dart"
  - "**/*.mocks.dart"

fail_on_layer_violation: true

layers:
  domain:
    patterns:
      - "**/domain/**"
    allowed_imports:
      - "domain"

  presentation:
    patterns:
      - "**/presentation/**"
    allowed_imports:
      - "presentation"
      - "domain"

  data:
    patterns:
      - "**/data/**"
    allowed_imports:
      - "data"
      - "domain"

Or configure under arch_guard: in pubspec.yaml.

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Command Reference

Basic Syntax

arch_guard [project_path] [options]

If [project_path] is omitted, it defaults to current directory (.).

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Command Options & Flags

Flag / Option	Short	Description	Default
--format	-f	Output format(s): text, dot, html, json, mermaid, all. Repeatable.	text
--scope		Export scope: cycles (SCCs + 1-hop context) or all (full graph).	cycles
--explain		Inspect incoming/outgoing dependencies and SCC membership for a target file.
--output	-o	Output directory path for generated files.	arch_guard_output
--scan-dir		Subdirectory/subdirectories within project root to scan. Repeatable.	lib
--exclude		Custom glob pattern(s) to exclude from scanning. Repeatable.	Default excludes (*.g.dart, etc.)
--offline		Inline static assets in HTML report for air-gapped CI environments.	false
--color / --no-color		Enable or disable ANSI color styling in terminal output.	--color (enabled)
--fail-on-cycle / --no-fail-on-cycle		Return exit code 1 if circular dependencies are found.	--fail-on-cycle (enabled)
--workspace / --no-workspace		Auto-discover member packages in Dart 3.6+ workspace or monorepo.	--workspace (enabled)
--help	-h	Display usage help and available CLI flags.

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CLI Command Recipes

1. Basic Terminal Scan (Current Directory)

Scans current project and outputs colored summary with SCC severity metrics:

arch_guard

2. Explain Target File Dependencies

Inspect why a specific file belongs to an SCC and view its direct incoming/outgoing edges:

arch_guard . --explain lib/services/auth_service.dart

3. Export Native Mermaid.js Diagram for GitHub PRs

Generates a .mmd diagram ready to paste into GitHub/GitLab PRs or READMEs:

arch_guard . -f mermaid -o build/reports

4. Export Machine-Readable JSON for CI Pipelines

Generates JSON report containing nodes, edges, SCC metrics, and layer violations:

arch_guard . -f json -o build/reports

5. Generate Scalable Interactive Centerpiece HTML Visualizer

Exports interactive HTML graph with physics stabilization and --scope cycles scalability:

arch_guard . -f html -o build/reports

6. Export All Formats (Text + DOT + HTML + JSON + Mermaid)

arch_guard . -f all -o build/reports

7. Air-Gapped / Offline CI Execution

arch_guard . -f html --offline -o build/reports

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Exit Codes

Exit Code	Description
0	Success: Scan completed with zero circular dependencies or layer violations.
1	Violations / Cycles Found: Circular dependencies or Clean Architecture layer violations detected.
2	Scan Error: Provided directory does not exist or target project could not be scanned.
64	Usage Error: Invalid CLI flags or arguments provided (EX_USAGE).

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Programmatic Usage

import 'package:arch_guard/arch_guard.dart';

void main() async {
  // 1. Parallel scan of project or workspace
  final scanner = ProjectScanner(
    rootPath: '.',
    scanDirs: ['lib'],
    exclude: ['*.g.dart', '*.freezed.dart'],
    enableWorkspace: true,
  );

  final result = await scanner.scan();
  print('Scanned ${result.files.length} files across ${result.workspacePackageCount} packages.');

  // 2. Compute graph and find Tarjan SCC components
  final graph = DependencyGraph.fromScanResult(result);
  final cycles = graph.findCircularDependencies();

  for (final cycle in cycles) {
    final scc = cycle.scc;
    if (scc != null) {
      print('SCC #${scc.id}: ${scc.files.length} files | Hub: ${scc.hubFile}');
    }
  }

  // 3. Validate Clean Architecture layers
  const config = DepGraphConfig(
    layers: {
      'domain': LayerDefinition(name: 'domain', patterns: ['lib/domain/**'], allowedImports: ['domain']),
      'presentation': LayerDefinition(name: 'presentation', patterns: ['lib/presentation/**'], allowedImports: ['presentation', 'domain']),
    },
  );

  final violations = LayerValidator.validate(result: result, config: config);
  print('Layer violations: ${violations.length}');

  // 4. Export JSON & Mermaid
  final jsonReport = JsonExporter.export(result: result, cycles: cycles);
  final mermaid = MermaidExporter.export(result: result, cycles: cycles);
}

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Development & CI/CD Workflows

1. Pre-Commit Check

Run pre-commit checks to verify code formatting, static analysis (dart analyze --fatal-infos), and unit tests:

./tool/pre_commit.sh

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2. Pre-Release Verification

Before publishing a new version to pub.dev, run the pre-release script to ensure working directory cleanliness, pubspec.yaml vs CHANGELOG.md version sync, static analysis, unit tests, and pub package dry-run validation:

./tool/pre_release.sh

License

MIT License — See THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md for third-party software attributions.