CommitGuard

AI-powered CLI that analyzes Git commits for bugs, security issues, and code quality problems. Uses OpenRouter for access to GPT-4, Claude, Gemini, and 100+ other models.

GitHub · PyPI

Features

• Analyze commits – Detect bugs, security issues, and code quality problems
• Pre-commit check – Review staged changes before committing
• Multi-model – Use any model on OpenRouter (GPT-4, Claude, Gemini, etc.)
• Chronological batch analysis – analyze -n processes commits oldest to newest
• Structured output – --format json for machine-readable CI integrations
• Severity filtering – --severity to filter findings, --fail-on to control exit codes
• CI-friendly exit codes – exits non-zero when issues are detected
• Output to file – --output to save results to a file
• Config files – .commitguardrc or [tool.commitguard] in pyproject.toml for defaults
• Focus & prompts – --focus to steer reviews; --prompt-file or config for a custom system prompt
• Commit ranges – analyze --from main --to feature (Git from..to range, chronological)
• Local cache – .commitguard_cache/ avoids repeat API calls for the same commit and settings (--no-cache to skip)
• Python API – Import commitguard and call analyzer functions from code (see Library usage)
• Quiet base command – Update checks run only when a subcommand is invoked
• Simple CLI – One command, clear output

Requirements

• Python 3.9+
• OpenRouter API key

Installation

pip install commitguard-cli

From source:

git clone https://github.com/PierrunoYT/commitguard.git
cd commitguard
pip install -e .

Configuration

Get an API key at openrouter.ai/keys:

# Linux / macOS
export OPENROUTER_API_KEY=sk-or-...

# Windows (PowerShell)
$env:OPENROUTER_API_KEY = "sk-or-..."

Optional - default model (otherwise anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6):

export OPENROUTER_MODEL=anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6   # Linux/macOS
$env:OPENROUTER_MODEL = "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6" # Windows

Config files

Defaults for model, repo, format, severity, fail-on, focus, prompt_file, and no_cache can be set in TOML (CLI flags and environment variables still override when you pass them explicitly).

Resolution order

1. --config /path/to/file.toml if you pass it
2. COMMITGUARD_CONFIG environment variable (path to a TOML file)
3. Nearest .commitguardrc when walking up from the current directory
4. Otherwise the nearest pyproject.toml with a [tool.commitguard] section

.commitguardrc (repository root or any parent directory):

model = "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6"
repo = "."
format = "json"
severity = "warning"
fail_on = "critical"
focus = "security"
prompt_file = "prompts/review.txt"
no_cache = false

Paths in repo are resolved relative to the directory that contains the config file.

pyproject.toml:

[tool.commitguard]
model = "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6"
format = "text"

Usage

# Analyze last commit
commitguard analyze

# Analyze specific commit
commitguard analyze abc123

# Analyze last 5 commits
commitguard analyze -n 5

# Analyze staged changes (before commit)
commitguard check

# Use a different model
commitguard analyze --model anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6
commitguard analyze -m google/gemini-pro

# JSON output for automation
commitguard analyze --format json
commitguard check --format json

# Filter by severity (JSON only)
commitguard analyze --format json --severity warning
commitguard analyze --format json --fail-on critical

# Save output to a file
commitguard analyze --output report.txt
commitguard analyze --format json -o results.json

# Steer the review (analyze or check)
commitguard analyze --focus security
commitguard check --focus performance

# Custom system prompt (UTF-8 text file)
commitguard analyze --prompt-file ./my-system-prompt.txt

# Analyze commits on a branch not in main (Git range main..feature)
commitguard analyze --from main --to feature

# Skip reading/writing .commitguard_cache in the repo
commitguard analyze --no-cache HEAD

When using analyze -n, commits are analyzed in chronological order (oldest to newest). Do not combine -n/COMMIT with --from/--to.

Options (analyze)

Option	Description
COMMIT	Starting commit (default HEAD). Ignored when using --from/--to.
-r, --repo PATH	Path to Git repository (default: current dir)
-n, --count N	Analyze N commits walking back from COMMIT (not used with --from/--to)
--from REF	Range start (use with --to; Git range from..to)
--to REF	Range end (use with --from)
--api-key KEY	OpenRouter API key (or OPENROUTER_API_KEY env)
--config PATH	Explicit TOML config file (see Config files)
-m, --model MODEL	Model to use (default: anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6 or OPENROUTER_MODEL env)
`--format [text	json]`
`--severity [info	warning
`--fail-on [info	warning
-o, --output FILE	Save output to a file (in addition to stdout)
--focus FOCUS	general, security, performance, bugs, or quality
--prompt-file PATH	Replace the built-in system prompt with this UTF-8 file
--no-cache	Do not use .commitguard_cache/

Options (check)

Same as analyze except there is no COMMIT, -n, --from, or --to.

Cache

Successful analyses are stored under .commitguard_cache/ in the Git repository (text and JSON cached separately). Staged runs are keyed by a hash of the staged diff. Delete that folder or pass --no-cache to force a fresh API call. Add .commitguard_cache/ to .gitignore if you use the tool inside a project (the published CLI’s own repo already ignores it).

JSON output schema

--format json returns:

{
  "format_version": "1",
  "results": [
    {
      "commit": "HEAD",
      "summary": "string",
      "findings": [
        {
          "severity": "critical | warning | info",
          "title": "string",
          "description": "string",
          "file": "path/or/null"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Exit codes

• Returns non-zero when analysis finds issues.
• Returns non-zero on command/runtime errors.
• Returns zero only when no issues are detected.

Model examples

Model	Use case
anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6	Strong code analysis (default)
openai/gpt-4o	Higher quality
openai/gpt-4o-mini	Fast, cheaper option
google/gemini-pro	Alternative option

See OpenRouter models for the full list.

Library usage

Install the package, then import the same functions the CLI uses:

from commitguard import (
    analyze_commit,
    analyze_commit_json,
    analyze_staged,
    analyze_staged_json,
    build_effective_system_prompt,
    list_commit_shas_in_range,
    load_prompt_file,
)

# Markdown review of HEAD
text = analyze_commit(
    "/path/to/repo",
    "HEAD",
    api_key="sk-or-...",
    focus="security",
    use_cache=True,
)

# Structured JSON for one commit
data = analyze_commit_json(
    "/path/to/repo",
    "abc123",
    api_key="sk-or-...",
    model="anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6",
)

# Commits in Git range main..feature (oldest first)
shas = list_commit_shas_in_range("/path/to/repo", "main", "feature")

AnalysisError is raised for invalid API responses, configuration, or Git errors. See docstrings on these functions for parameters.

CI and pre-commit

Example files live under examples/:

File	Purpose
examples/github-actions.yml	GitHub Actions: analyze HEAD after checkout (set OPENROUTER_API_KEY as a repo secret)
examples/gitlab-ci.yml	GitLab CI job snippet
examples/pre-commit-config.yaml	Local pre-commit hook running commitguard check on staged changes

In CI, commitguard analyze HEAD fits push and pull-request pipelines. For a gate on staged edits before you commit, use commitguard check (for example via pre-commit) so the model sees your index, not the remote history.

Troubleshooting

Error	Solution
Invalid or missing API key	Set OPENROUTER_API_KEY or use --api-key. Get a key at openrouter.ai/keys
Model not found	Use the full model ID (e.g. anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6). Check openrouter.ai/models
Rate limit exceeded	Wait and retry, or switch to a different model
Request timed out	Retry the command, or use a faster/smaller model
Service unavailable	OpenRouter may be down; try again later

Security: Never commit your API key. Use environment variables or --api-key at runtime.

License

MIT

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for development setup and pull request expectations.

Changelog

CHANGELOG.md