Arch Check

/arch-check

What

Verifies that the code still matches the architecture it claims to have. Architectures rot through small, individually-reasonable changes — a Domain project that gains an EF Core reference, a module that reaches into a sibling's internals, an endpoint defined outside the host. This workflow catches the rot using project-graph and dependency analysis, not file-by-file reading.

Output: a violation report with severity, file:line evidence, and the concrete fix — or a clean conformance pass.

When

• "check my architecture", "are there layer violations", "dependency direction"
• Before a release or after a large feature lands
• After onboarding to an unfamiliar codebase that claims an architecture
• Recurring on teams where multiple people merge to shared modules
• NOT for choosing an architecture — that is architecture-advisor

How

Step 1: Establish the declared architecture

In order of authority: the project's CLAUDE.md, an ADR in docs/decisions/, or ask the user. Never infer silently — a wrong baseline produces a wrong report. The four supported baselines and their rules:

Step 2: Project-level dependency direction (cheapest, catches most)

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get_project_graph()

Map every project reference against the baseline's allowed arrows. A single wrong reference here (Domain → Infrastructure) is a CRITICAL finding — it makes every downstream violation possible.

Step 3: Cycles

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detect_circular_dependencies()

Cycles are violations in every baseline. Report the full chain.

Step 4: Namespace-level leaks (spot checks)

Project references can be clean while code still leaks. Probe the risky edges:

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get_dependency_graph(symbolName: <a Domain entity>, depth: 2)
   -- Domain types pulling in EF Core, HttpClient, or Infrastructure namespaces?
find_references(symbolName: <a module-internal type>)
   -- referenced from outside its module?
detect_antipatterns()
   -- known structural smells as supporting evidence

Pick probes by baseline: Clean → sample 3-5 Domain entities and Application handlers; Modular Monolith → sample each module's internal types; VSA → sample types inside two or three feature folders.

Step 5: Presentation boundary

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get_endpoint_map()

Endpoints must live only in the host/Api layer (Clean) or inside their owning module (Modular Monolith, VSA feature folders). An endpoint defined in an Application or shared project is a boundary violation. Unmarked auth on any endpoint is reported as a side-finding (route to /security-scan for depth).

Step 6: Report

Each finding: evidence (file:line), why it violates the baseline, and the fix (move the code, invert with an interface, introduce a contracts project, raise an integration event). Offer to fix CRITICAL items immediately.

MCP Tools Used

• get_project_graph — reference-direction audit (the backbone)
• detect_circular_dependencies — cycle detection
• get_dependency_graph / find_references — namespace-level leak probes
• get_endpoint_map — presentation boundary + auth posture
• detect_antipatterns — supporting structural evidence

Example

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User: /arch-check

Claude: Baseline from CLAUDE.md: Clean Architecture (4 projects).

  Project graph (get_project_graph)...
  CRITICAL  Domain → Infrastructure reference (Domain.csproj:14)
            Breaks the dependency rule; makes Domain untestable in isolation.
            Fix: invert — define IEmailSender in Application, implement in
            Infrastructure.
  Cycles (detect_circular_dependencies)... none.
  Leak probes on 4 Domain entities...
  HIGH      Order.cs:8 uses Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore (Domain must stay
            persistence-ignorant). Fix: move the [Index] config to
            OrderConfiguration in Infrastructure.
  Endpoint map... 23 endpoints, all in Api. 2 unmarked auth (side-finding —
  run /security-scan).

  Verdict: NOT conformant — 1 critical, 1 high. Fix the reference first;
  want me to do it now?

Related

• architecture-advisor — choosing a baseline (before this skill is useful)
• clean-architecture, vertical-slice, ddd, modular-monolith template — the rules being enforced
• /security-scan — depth on the auth side-findings
• /health-check — broader report card; arch-check is its architecture dimension in depth