What Anvil Does

Anvil is a deterministic development automation platform that makes AI-generated code changes safe for production.

The Problem Anvil Solves

AI coding assistants produce code that compiles and passes tests. But they also:

• Drift from architecture — introducing dependency edges that violate your intended boundaries
• Introduce anti-patterns — broad eslint-disable, explicit any types, empty catch blocks
• Erode quality gradually — each small compromise compounds over time

Code review should catch these issues. But:

• Reviewers are overwhelmed by AI-generated volume
• Architectural violations are subtle and easy to miss
• By the time issues reach review, the cognitive load to fix them is high

How Anvil Works

Anvil validates changes at save-time—before they reach review.

┌─────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐
│   Change    │ ──▶ │    Gate     │ ──▶ │  Evidence   │
│  (AI/Human) │     │ (Validate)  │     │  (Audit)    │
└─────────────┘     └─────────────┘     └─────────────┘

1. Watch Mode

Anvil runs in the background, watching for file changes:

anvil watch

2. Gate Validation

When files change, Anvil runs quality gates:

• Architecture boundaries — catches new dependency edges crossing contexts
• Anti-pattern detection — identifies 7 high-signal patterns
• Policy evaluation — custom rules via OPA/Rego
• Secret detection — pattern + entropy analysis

3. Immediate Feedback

Issues surface instantly in your terminal or editor—not in a PR comment hours later.

⚠️  AP-003: Explicit 'any' type at src/utils/parser.ts:42
    Consider using a more specific type or generic.

4. Evidence Trail

Every validation run produces evidence: what was checked, what passed, what failed, and when.

Key Features

Feature	Description
Architecture Safety	Detects dependency violations using import analysis
Anti-Pattern Library	7 built-in patterns (AP-001 through AP-007)
Watch Mode	Real-time validation on file save
Suppression System	Allow exceptions with mandatory explanations
GitHub Integration	PR checks and inline comments
VS Code Extension	In-editor diagnostics and quick fixes

Anti-Patterns Detected

ID	Pattern	Severity
AP-001	Broad /* eslint-disable */	warning
AP-003	Explicit any type	warning
AP-004	@ts-ignore directive	warning
AP-006	Empty catch block	warning
AP-007	Console in production code	info

What Anvil Doesn't Do

Anvil is focused. It doesn't:

• Run your tests — use your existing test runner
• Format your code — use Prettier/ESLint
• Deploy your code — use your existing CI/CD
• Replace code review — it augments review, not replaces it

Anvil catches structural and architectural issues that other tools miss.

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Ready to start? Install Anvil →