Ariadne.NET 0.6.0

Ariadne.NET

A .NET library that enforces structural rules on AI-generated code. You describe an architecture in a declarative YAML rule pack: layers, allowed dependencies, component roles and naming. Ariadne.NET resolves the pack, generates correctly placed C# components, and checks existing solutions against it.

AI coding agents write behavior well but invent folder structures, improvise namespaces and break dependency rules without saying so. Here the AI declares intent and the library decides the structure.

Install

dotnet add package Ariadne.NET.Workspaces

Ariadne.NET.Workspaces loads solutions and projects with MSBuild and checks them against a rule pack. It brings in Ariadne.NET, the rule engine, and Ariadne.NET.Abstractions, which holds the rule-pack schema and contracts. Reference Ariadne.NET alone to check compilations you build yourself, or Ariadne.NET.Abstractions alone when your tool only needs to describe rule packs.

Load a built-in rule pack and check a solution or project against it in a console app. This needs dotnet add package Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection as well, because Ariadne.NET references only the dependency injection abstractions. It also needs a .NET SDK on the machine, and one extra reference in the app's project file, which keeps the MSBuild assemblies out of the output. Without it the build fails with MSBL001:

<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Build.Framework" Version="17.11.48" ExcludeAssets="runtime" />

using Ariadne.NET.Abstractions;
using Ariadne.NET.Workspaces;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;

using var services = new ServiceCollection().AddAriadneNETServices().AddAriadneNETWorkspaces().BuildServiceProvider();
var loader = services.GetRequiredService<IRulePackLoader>();
var resolver = services.GetRequiredService<IRulePackResolver>();
var validator = services.GetRequiredService<ISolutionValidator>();

// A rule pack that builds on the built-in clean-architecture pack.
var pack = loader.LoadFromString("""
    schema: 2
    name: my-service
    extends:
      - builtin://clean-architecture
    """);
if (pack.IsFailure)
{
    Console.Error.WriteLine(pack.Error.Message);
    return 2;
}

var resolved = resolver.Resolve(pack.Value);
if (resolved.IsFailure)
{
    Console.Error.WriteLine(resolved.Error.Message);
    return 2;
}

Console.WriteLine($"{resolved.Value.Name}: {resolved.Value.Layers.Count} layers, {resolved.Value.ComponentRoles.Count} component roles");
foreach (var layer in resolved.Value.Layers)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"  {layer.Name} -> [{string.Join(", ", layer.AllowedDependencies)}]");
}

// Check a solution or project against the pack: the first argument, else the current directory.
var result = await validator.ValidateAsync(resolved.Value, args.Length > 0 ? args[0] : Directory.GetCurrentDirectory());
if (result.IsFailure)
{
    Console.Error.WriteLine(result.Error.Message);
    return 2;
}

var report = result.Value;
Console.WriteLine($"Checked {report.TypesChecked} types: {report.Violations.Count} violations");
foreach (var violation in report.Violations)
{
    var where = violation.Location is { } location ? $"{location.FilePath}:{location.Line}" : violation.SourceType;
    Console.WriteLine($"  [{violation.Kind}] {where}: {violation.Message}");
}

return report.IsValid ? 0 : 1;

dotnet run prints the resolved pack name, its layer and component role counts, and each layer with the layers it may depend on. It then checks the solution or project you pass as the first argument, or the one in the current directory, and prints each violation with its kind, location and message. The exit code is 1 when there are violations and 2 when the pack or the solution cannot be loaded. Ariadne never restores, so run dotnet restore first. The documentation site has the full guide.

CLI and MCP server

The CLI and the MCP server are not packaged yet. Run them from a clone of this repository.

CLI

# Initialize a project with clean architecture rules
dotnet run --project src/Ariadne.NET.Cli -- init --template clean-architecture

# Compose multiple patterns
dotnet run --project src/Ariadne.NET.Cli -- init --template clean-architecture+cqrs

# List available component roles
dotnet run --project src/Ariadne.NET.Cli -- roles

# Show resolved architecture rules (layers + dependencies)
dotnet run --project src/Ariadne.NET.Cli -- rules

# Generate a component
dotnet run --project src/Ariadne.NET.Cli -- generate \
  --role Entity --name Order --solution MyApp --feature Orders

# Check a solution or project against the rules (the path defaults to .)
dotnet run --project src/Ariadne.NET.Cli -- validate MyApp.slnx

MCP Server

The engine runs as an MCP server for AI agent integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.):

Stdio (local) — add to your .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ariadne": {
      "command": "dotnet",
      "args": ["run", "--project", "path/to/src/Ariadne.NET.Mcp"]
    }
  }
}

HTTP (remote/team) — start the API server, MCP endpoint at /mcp:

dotnet run --project src/Ariadne.NET.Mcp.Http

MCP Tools:

MCP Resources:

All tools auto-detect .architecture/rules.yaml in the working directory. Pass an explicit template parameter to override; composite templates such as clean-architecture+cqrs work here as well.

How It Works

1. Declarative Rule Packs

Architecture patterns are defined as YAML rule packs in schema 2. No code changes needed to support a new pattern. The loader is strict: an unknown key, a missing key or a wrong type fails the load with file:line:column.

schema: 2
name: clean-architecture
version: "1.0.0"

layers:
  - name: Domain
    id: CA-LAYER-DOMAIN
    because: The domain is the core of the architecture and depends on no other layer.
    namespaces: ["**.Domain.**"]
    allowedDependencies: []
  - name: Application
    id: CA-LAYER-APPLICATION
    because: Use cases orchestrate the domain and reach outward only through interfaces they own.
    namespaces: ["**.Application.**"]
    allowedDependencies: [Domain]
  - name: Infrastructure
    id: CA-LAYER-INFRASTRUCTURE
    because: Infrastructure implements the interfaces the inner layers define, so it may depend on them.
    namespaces: ["**.Infrastructure.**"]
    allowedDependencies: [Domain, Application]
  - name: WebApi
    id: CA-LAYER-WEBAPI
    because: The web API is the outermost layer and composes everything beneath it.
    namespaces: ["**.WebApi.**"]
    allowedDependencies: [Domain, Application, Infrastructure]

rules:
  - id: SHOP-NO-EFCORE-IN-DOMAIN
    because: Persistence belongs to Infrastructure.
    forbid:
      from: { layers: [Domain] }
      to: { namespaces: ["Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.**"] }

componentRoles:
  - name: Entity
    layer: Domain
    typeKind: Class
    requiresInterface: false
  - name: Repository
    layer: Infrastructure
    typeKind: Class
    requiresInterface: true
    interfaceRole: RepositoryInterface
    accessibility: internal

namingConventions:
  namespace: "{SolutionName}.{Feature}.{Layer}"
  filePath: "src/{SolutionName}.{Feature}.{Layer}/{ComponentName}.cs"

The rules entry above is an example of a forbid rule; the built-in clean-architecture pack defines none yet. allowOnly rules, selectors and extends are described in the rule schema. A pack from release 0.3.0 or earlier needs the edits in Migrating from v1.

2. Built-in Templates

Ten templates ship with the library:

Role-only add-ons compose with one layer pack — clean-architecture+cqrs merges both packs. Two packs that both define layers, such as clean-architecture+microservice, fail to compose.

3. Sharing Rule Packs via Git Sync

Teams can publish rule packs to git repositories and consume them across projects:

# .architecture/imports.yaml
imports:
  - name: company-standards
    type: git
    url: git@github.com:acme/architecture-packs.git
    path: packs/clean-architecture
    version: "^2.0"

  - name: team-conventions
    type: git
    url: https://github.com/acme/team-rules.git
    version: "1.3.0"

# Fetch rule packs from git repos
dotnet run --project src/Ariadne.NET.Cli -- sync

# Force fresh sync (ignore cache)
dotnet run --project src/Ariadne.NET.Cli -- sync --no-cache

# Sync a single import
dotnet run --project src/Ariadne.NET.Cli -- sync --name company-standards

Then reference synced packs in your rules:

# .architecture/rules.yaml
extends:
  - import://company-standards
  - import://team-conventions

Private repos work out of the box — the engine uses your existing git credentials (SSH keys, credential managers). Versions are resolved against git tags using semver ranges (^2.0, ~1.3, or exact 1.0.0). Packs are cached locally in .architecture/.cache/ so validation works offline.

4. Composability & Merge Semantics

Multiple rule packs can be composed together:

# .architecture/rules.yaml
extends:
  - builtin://clean-architecture
  - builtin://cqrs

# Team customizations
componentRoles:
  - name: OutboxMessage
    layer: Infrastructure
    typeKind: Class

Merge rules:

• Layers: defined once — two packs that define the same layer fail the load. A child pack can retarget an inherited layer's namespaces and assemblies, and nothing else about it.
• Rules: defined once, by id. A child pack can add rules, and add exceptions to an inherited rule unless it is locked.
• Component Roles: merged by name — later pack wins
• Naming Conventions: last pack wins

A merge conflict or an amendment of a locked rule is a load error that lists every problem.

5. Code Generation

The engine uses Roslyn to generate correctly structured C# code based on rule pack definitions:

Input:  role=Entity, name=Order, solution=MyApp, feature=Orders
Output: src/MyApp.Orders.Domain/Order.cs

  namespace MyApp.Orders.Domain;

  public class Order
  {
  }

The generated code respects:

• Type kind from the role definition (class, interface, record, struct)
• Accessibility (public, internal)
• Interface inheritance when requiresInterface is set
• Namespace and file path from naming conventions

6. Semantic Validation

The engine checks a solution or project against the rules with the compiler's semantic model. Ariadne.NET.Workspaces loads the projects with MSBuild, and the engine builds a type graph from each compilation: one edge for every type reference somebody wrote.

# CLI
dotnet run --project src/Ariadne.NET.Cli -- validate MyApp.slnx

Checked 2 types in 2 projects
Result: FAIL - 1 violation(s) found.

  [DependencyNotAllowed] Shop.Domain/Order.cs:7
    Layer 'Domain' is not allowed to depend on 'Infrastructure': Shop.Domain.Order references Shop.Infrastructure.SqlStore 3 times

Over MCP, use the validate_source tool, which takes a path and an optional template and returns the report.

What counts as a dependency:

• Base types, interfaces, attributes, member signatures, generic arguments and types used in method bodies.
• var gives nothing, and neither does an unused using. An alias gives the edges its target would give if it were written out, and using static members count.
• Generated code is never a source of dependencies, but it can be a target.

Checks performed:

• Layer dependencies: a type in one layer may reference a type in another layer only when the rule allows it (for example, Domain cannot reference Infrastructure). A type's layer comes from the namespace and assembly selectors of the layers; a type that two layers cover is reported as a LayerOverlap. The report holds one violation for each source type and target type, located at the first reference, with the number of references.
• Forbid and allow-only rules: a forbid rule bars types in one selection from depending on another, and an allowOnly rule lets only the named types depend on a selection. Each rule has exceptions and a because.
• Require rules: a require rule selects types by namespace, assembly, name, base type, interface or attribute, and checks that each is in a layer, has a type kind and accessibility, and implements a given interface. Each rule has exceptions and a because.
• Component roles: a type in a role's layer whose name ends with the role name must have the role's type kind and accessibility, and a role that requires an interface needs a matching interface role in the checked projects.

Violations have the kinds DependencyNotAllowed, ForbiddenDependency, DependencyNotPermitted, LayerOverlap, WrongLayer, TypeKindMismatch, AccessibilityMismatch and MissingInterface. The rule id is the layer's or rule's id, or one of the ids generated from component roles: ROLE-<Name>, CODE-001 and CODE-002. Every violation carries the because of its layer or rule. A project that targets several frameworks is checked once per framework, and a violation found in only some of them lists them in parentheses after its location, as in Shop.Domain/Order.cs:7 (net10.0). The exit code is 0 when clean, 1 for violations and 2 for an error. Ariadne never restores, so run dotnet restore first.

Architecture

src/
  Ariadne.NET.Abstractions/   # Rule-pack schema and contracts (ZeroAlloc.Results and ZeroAlloc.Validation only, AOT)
  Ariadne.NET/                # Rule engine library (zero host dependencies)
    RuleLoader/               # YAML loading, built-in pack registry, extends resolution
    RuleEngine/               # Merger, layer inference
    CodeGeneration/           # Roslyn-based code generator
    Orchestration/            # Wires inference + generation + workspace
    Analysis/                 # Type graph and architecture validator on Roslyn compilations
    Sync/                     # Git-based sync: imports, semver, caching
    BuiltinPacks/             # Embedded YAML templates

  Ariadne.NET.Workspaces/     # Loads solutions with MSBuildWorkspace and runs the validator on them
  Ariadne.NET.Cli/            # CLI tool (System.CommandLine)
  Ariadne.NET.Mcp/            # MCP stdio server for AI agents
  Ariadne.NET.Mcp.Http/       # MCP HTTP transport (reuses the Ariadne.NET.Mcp tools)

tests/
  Ariadne.NET.Tests/          # Unit + integration tests
  Ariadne.NET.Workspaces.Tests/ # Solution loading and validation against fixture solutions
  Ariadne.NET.Cli.Tests/      # CLI exit-code tests
  Ariadne.NET.Mcp.Tests/      # MCP tool + resource tests
  Ariadne.NET.AotSmoke/       # Native AOT publish check for Abstractions

Core Pipeline

User Request
  -> RulePackResolver (resolves extends, loads built-in packs)
    -> RulePackMerger (combines layers, roles, rules)
      -> LayerInferenceEngine (determines layer from role)
        -> CodeGeneratorService (Roslyn code output)

Validation is a separate path: ISolutionValidator (Workspaces) loads the solution, then IArchitectureValidator builds a type graph per compilation and checks it against the resolved pack.

DI Registration

All core services are registered with a single call. Ariadne.NET.Workspaces adds its own:

services.AddAriadneNETServices();
services.AddAriadneNETWorkspaces();

AddAriadneNETWorkspaces() registers ISolutionLoader and ISolutionValidator, and the validator needs the core services, so call both. AddAriadneNETServices() is composed from the registrations that ZeroAlloc.Inject generates at compile time from the [Singleton] attribute on each service class, plus the ZeroAlloc.Resilience-wrapped git client.

The table below lists what is registered:

CLI Reference

Exit codes: 0 success, 1 violations found, 2 error (missing files or directories, a solution that does not load, failed generation or sync). CI pipelines can fail on any non-zero code, or treat 1 and 2 differently.

Building

dotnet build src/Ariadne.NET.slnx
dotnet test src/Ariadne.NET.slnx

Family

Ariadne.NET is part of a small family of .NET projects for AI work:

• Minos.NET: A client for decision models that returns calibrated, typed answers to typed questions.
• Rag.NET: A modular retrieval-augmented generation pipeline on Microsoft.Extensions.AI.
• Mnemosyne.NET: Procedural memory for .NET agents: store, find and reuse the procedures that worked.
• Thalos.NET: A ZeroAlloc-native agent framework for .NET on Microsoft Agent Framework.
• Daedalus.NET: A .NET 10 runtime where AI executes tasks planned on a task board.

Built on ZeroAlloc

Ariadne.NET uses these ZeroAlloc libraries, which are source generators and analyzers with no reflection at runtime:

• ZeroAlloc.Analyzers
• ZeroAlloc.Inject
• ZeroAlloc.Resilience
• ZeroAlloc.Results
• ZeroAlloc.Telemetry
• ZeroAlloc.Validation

License

MIT