ArchLint 0.1.1

ArchLint

Zero-config Clean Architecture guardrails for .NET. One command, free.

ArchLint scans your repository, classifies every project into its architectural layer by naming convention, checks project references against Clean Architecture dependency rules, and reports violations. No configuration required. No tests to write.

How it works

Projects are classified by naming convention: MyApp.Domain, Contoso.Infrastructure.Data, etc. Every project reference is then checked against the Clean Architecture dependency matrix:

References within the same layer are always allowed. Projects whose names don't match any layer are reported as warnings and never fail the scan.

Quick start

# Install
dotnet tool install --global ArchLint

# Run against a directory
archlint .
archlint /path/to/MyApp

Example output

MyApp.Presentation → MyApp.Infrastructure.Data
  Presentation may not reference Infrastructure

MyApp.Domain → MyApp.Application
  Domain may not reference Application

2 violation(s) found across 4 project(s).

Exit codes

In CI

- name: Check architecture
  run: archlint .

The step fails the workflow when violations are found (exit code 1).

Why ArchLint?

ArchLint is the fast first pass. It deliberately works at the project-reference level, not the type level: it won't catch "controllers shouldn't touch repositories directly", but it will catch "Presentation references Infrastructure" before it reaches main. Install it, run it, get results.

Who it's for

.NET teams using Clean Architecture (or similar layered architectures) who want project-level dependency guardrails without writing and maintaining architecture tests. Also: teams whose AI coding assistants keep introducing references to the wrong layer.