Not a rival - a different layer.
Linters check style, quality platforms check in-file health, your colleagues check context - all of it is valuable. AppArch looks at the question above them: are the modules and layers wired the right way, how fast is delivery flowing, and what do we show the auditor?
| Linter | Code-quality platform | Manual code review | AppArch | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The question it answers | Is this line well-formed? | Is this file or function healthy? | Does this change make sense? | Are modules and layers wired correctly? |
| Scope | Line / file | File / function | The changed code | Relationships between modules + delivery flow |
| Whose rules? | The language community's style rules | Generic quality rules + thresholds | The reviewer's knowledge and their time that day | Your architecture rules, managed in the panel per project |
| Delivery metrics | - | - | - | DORA, MR flow, AI impact, delivery flow |
| Audit output | - | Quality-gate reports | - | OWASP / PCI / STIG / CASA + a compliance score |
| Best together with | AppArch + a quality platform | AppArch + a linter | All of them - no tool knows the context | Beside all three; complete without any of them |
Categories are generic and do not describe any specific product. The capabilities of your own tools may differ.
Already run a quality platform? AppArch works alongside it.
AppArch never asks you to rip a tool out. The signals do not clash - they complete each other.
A different layer, zero overlap
Your platform keeps measuring in-file health; AppArch takes the cross-module architecture, the delivery flow and the compliance report. Nothing gets done twice.
Complete without one, too
No quality platform? Nothing is missing: security scanning, quality findings, the score and the reports are built into AppArch. Add a platform later and the two run side by side.
Importing platform findings
The plan: pull your quality platform's findings into AppArch and merge them with the architecture findings on the same board and in the same compliance report - one report, two sources. Until it ships, treat this as a bonus, not a reason to buy.
When is AppArch the wrong choice?
An honest answer is worth more than a sale. In three cases, look elsewhere.
One small repo, one developer
If there are no modules to draw layer rules around, there is nothing for architecture governance to govern. At this stage a good linter is enough; AppArch will be ready when you grow.
You need deep in-language static analysis
Null-flow analysis, taint tracking, compiler-grade type proofs - that is the domain of language-specific expert tools. AppArch does not compete for that layer; it stands beside those tools.
Your stack is outside our languages
We support 9 languages today: .NET, Java, TypeScript/JavaScript, Python, Go, Ruby, PHP, Kotlin and Swift - each with its own analyzer image. If your main language is not on the list, we would rather not make a promise that strands you - check the list, or ask.
See the layer in place
Try it on your own code with a time-limited PoC licence, without touching your tools; your first architecture score arrives with the first scan.