git-architect is a tool designed to bridge the gap between system architecture and implementation. It addresses a common challenge in software development: architecture often becomes disconnected from the evolving codebase. By integrating architectural elements such as requirements, test cases, and other key components directly into the development process, git-architect ensures that these elements remain first-class citizens throughout the development lifecycle. All architectural components can be defined directly in a repository as plain text—no proprietary software is required to read or understand the project architecture.
This project is currently under development. The goal is for git-architect itself to serve as an example of how the tool can be used. Since I'm currently focused on the architectural side of the tool, feel free to explore the arch folder for a work-in-progress view of the architecture.
System architecture is historically prone to drift away from actual implementation, especially as projects evolve. git-architect addresses this issue by embedding architectural artifacts—such as requirements, tests, and design rules—into the development workflow. The goal is to promote continuous engineering, where all aspects of architecture remain synchronized with the codebase, ensuring real-time traceability and validation as the system evolves.
One major problem in the industry is the heavy reliance on external and proprietary tools for modeling architecture. Access to these tools is often limited to a few employees due to licensing restrictions, and as a result, architecture does not receive the same level of attention as the implementation. This naturally leads to architectural drift.
With git-architect, imagine a scenario where a new test case is added to validate a specific requirement. The tool allows this test case to be explicitly linked to the requirement, ensuring traceability. When integrated into the CI pipeline, git-architect continuously monitors this traceability, validating the relationships between requirements, tests, and other components. This facilitates continuous engineering by automatically enforcing architectural integrity as changes are made to the code, supporting a more robust and transparent development process.
The use cases for git-architect are not limited to just software engineering. Research and development activities in any field can benefit from a transparent and traceable architecture.