ArchLinterNet.Unity 0.2.0

ArchLinterNet

Declarative architecture contracts and dependency linting for .NET repositories.

ArchLinterNet helps teams keep architecture boundaries executable: define a YAML policy, run it locally or in CI, and catch dependency drift before it becomes hidden design debt.

Status: early preview. The YAML policy surface is being stabilized for the first public 0.x NuGet and .NET tool releases.

Why ArchLinterNet?

Many .NET projects enforce architecture with handwritten test helpers or tribal knowledge. That works, but policy quickly becomes hard to discover, hard to reuse across repositories, and hard for humans or AI agents to review.

ArchLinterNet uses a repository-owned policy file as the source of truth:

architecture/dependencies.arch.yml
        ↓
ArchLinterNet CLI / test adapter
        ↓
strict or audit architecture validation
        ↓
human diagnostics + CI artifacts

Use it when you want architecture rules to be declarative, reviewable, CI-friendly, and independent from one-off test code.

Quick start

Create architecture/dependencies.arch.yml:

version: 1
name: Example Architecture Contract

layers:
  application:
    namespace: MyApp.Application
  domain:
    namespace: MyApp.Domain
  infrastructure:
    namespace: MyApp.Infrastructure

analysis:
  target_assemblies:
    - MyApp.Application
    - MyApp.Domain
    - MyApp.Infrastructure

contracts:
  strict:
    - id: application-not-infrastructure
      name: application-must-not-depend-on-infrastructure
      source: application
      forbidden: [infrastructure]
      reason: Application code must depend on abstractions, not concrete infrastructure.

  strict_layers:
    - id: clean-architecture-layering
      name: clean-architecture-layering
      layers: [infrastructure, application, domain]
      reason: Dependencies must point inward toward the domain.

Run from this repository during development:

dotnet run --project src/ArchLinterNet.Cli -- --policy architecture/dependencies.arch.yml --mode strict

After installing the .NET tool from NuGet.org:

arch-linter-net --policy architecture/dependencies.arch.yml --mode strict

Main capabilities

ArchLinterNet focuses on static architecture guardrails:

• YAML policy loading and schema-backed contract authoring.
• Namespace/layer dependency contracts.
• Ordered layer contracts.
• Allow-only contracts.
• Dependency cycle and acyclic sibling checks.
• Independence contracts between layers/modules.
• Protected surface contracts.
• External dependency groups for vendor/framework leakage.
• Method-body forbidden API checks.
• Unity .asmdef dependency validation.
• Strict gates, audit diagnostics, JSON output, and migration baselines.

ArchLinterNet does not validate runtime dependency injection behavior, authorization/security correctness, code ownership, semantic data flow, or arbitrary custom YAML fields outside the documented schema.

Documentation

Public product documentation is published through MkDocs and GitHub Pages:

• Documentation home
• Getting started
• Installation
• CLI usage
• Policy format
• Contract families
• CI integration
• AI policy authoring
• Supported capabilities and non-goals

Internal project documentation remains in repository Markdown files such as docs/internal/, openspec/, .github/, and root governance files. It is not part of the published product site.

Local documentation workflow

make venv        # create Python virtual environment
make docs-serve  # preview MkDocs locally
make docs-build  # build the static documentation site
make lint-docs   # strict documentation validation

Generated site/ output is a build artifact and should not be committed.

NuGet and repository links

NuGet packages should expose only public user-facing links:

• project/documentation URL: the GitHub Pages MkDocs site;
• repository URL: this GitHub repository;
• package README: this concise product README;
• license: repository license expression.

NuGet metadata must not point users to internal backlog governance, OpenSpec archives, or maintenance-agent instructions as product documentation.

License

MIT.