stratalint 0.16.0

Architecture linting for Python repositories

Keeping Python repos from turning into spaghetti.

Most linters catch bad code inside files. Strata catches architectural drift: code crossing the wrong boundary, living in the wrong module, or growing into the wrong shape.

As a repository grows, code moves, lessons get forgotten, and the mental map decays. Tests preserve behavior and types preserve interfaces. Strata makes the repository's architectural expectations executable.

Strata enforces:

• which layers may import which;
• what each module or role file may contain;
• whether orchestrator functions stay small;
• whether dataflow and mutation are explicit;
• whether names such as validate_* mean what they claim.

It ships a coherent default architecture rather than a blank rule framework, then lets projects disable, extend, or replace parts deliberately.

Strata is functional and self-hosting, but remains pre-release.

Installation

pip install stratalint

The distribution name is stratalint; the installed command is strata.

Strata requires Python 3.12+ and includes a compiled analysis core. Prebuilt wheels cover Linux (x86_64, aarch64) and macOS (Intel, Apple silicon); on any other platform, pip builds from source, which requires a Rust toolchain. Native Windows is not yet verified — use WSL, where the Linux wheels work as-is.

Quick Start

Detect the repository layout, choose a starting ruleset, and write a validated configuration:

strata init

For non-interactive setup, use strata init --yes. To configure manually instead, add strata.toml at the repository root:

roots = ["src/my_package"]
tests = ["tests"]
tooling = ["scripts"]

[cache]
enabled = true

Then run:

strata check

All rule families are enabled by default. Product roots and tooling receive structural rules; tests receive test-convention and annotation rules.

Default Structure

Product code uses domain, optional subdomain, then role. Every leaf domain or subdomain owns meaningful behavior through a direct main/ containing at least one entry module. Branch-domain parents do not need their own main/; their leaf subdomains do. Tests mirror the code they cover; tooling uses one ownership level because scripts/ already establishes the outer boundary.

src/my_package/
└── domain/
    └── subdomain/
        ├── main/
        │   └── run.py
        ├── _helpers/
        ├── classes/
        ├── models.py
        ├── types.py
        ├── constants.py
        └── exceptions.py
tests/unit/src/my_package/domain/subdomain/
├── _test_types.py
└── test_run.py
scripts/
├── run_tool.py
└── tool_name/
    ├── main/
    ├── _helpers/
    └── classes/

Do not create an empty or initializer-only main/ to satisfy the layout. If a package contains only passive models, types, constants, exceptions, or classes, move those declarations into the closest domain or subdomain whose main/ behavior owns and uses them. Fixed role files are siblings of _helpers/, never descendants such as _helpers/entry/models.py.

Direct scripts/*.py files are thin command adapters. Supporting logic belongs under scripts/<tool>/<role>/.

Core Commands

strata init
strata check
strata rule SFS131
strata map run_plan --depth 3

strata init detects and validates an onboarding configuration, strata check enforces the configured architecture, strata rule explains one rule and its remediation, and strata map renders a conservative downstream call tree. Mapping follows project functions and class methods when imports, annotations, constructors, or return types prove the receiver. Calls through protocols and untyped parameters remain visible as unresolved dispatch seams rather than guessed implementations. Mapping does not require Strata configuration or rule adoption.

strata check stores disposable evaluation results in a repository-local SQLite database under .strata/cache/ and reuses them only after validating source, configuration, rule, implementation, and project-query inputs. Caching is enabled by default; set cache.enabled = false in configuration or pass --no-cache for an explicit uncached check. --cache overrides a disabled project preference for one invocation. Deleting .strata/cache/ is always safe; ignore that directory rather than the complete .strata/ namespace, which is reserved for other Strata-owned state.

Enforce It, Then See It

Because Strata enforces the structure, it can also render it. strata map produces a deterministic downstream call tree with clickable path:line locations, class-qualified method names, and explicit protocol seams while marking unresolved dynamic calls, depth limits, and cycles.

$ strata map run_map --depth 4

run_map(...)  src/strata/cli/main/map.py:21
├── _parser(...)  src/strata/cli/main/map.py:53
├── resolve_mapping_project(...)  src/strata/mapping/main/resolve_project.py:11
│   └── resolve_mapping_project(...)  src/strata/mapping/_helpers/project.py:15
│       ├── _find_project_root(...)  src/strata/mapping/_helpers/project.py:73
│       ├── _explicit_source(...)  src/strata/mapping/_helpers/project.py:65
│       ├── _optional_config_source(...)  src/strata/mapping/_helpers/project.py:38
│       │   └── find_config_source(...)  src/strata/config/main/find_config.py:12  (depth limit)
│       └── _configured_project(...)  src/strata/mapping/_helpers/project.py:45
│           ├── load_config(...)  src/strata/config/main/load_config.py:15  (depth limit)
│           └── _configured_source(...)  src/strata/mapping/_helpers/project.py:57
└── build_call_map(...)  src/strata/mapping/main/build.py:12
    ├── provider(...)  src/strata/mapping/main/build.py:24  (unresolved parameter call)
    └── render_tree(...)  src/strata/mapping/_helpers/render.py:19
        ├── _child_lines(...)  src/strata/mapping/_helpers/render.py:41
        │   └── _child_lines(...)  src/strata/mapping/_helpers/render.py:41  (cycle)
        └── _label(...)  src/strata/mapping/_helpers/render.py:88

The map is useful precisely because it is not guessing. strata check enforces layers, roles, and public surfaces first, and strata map then renders the structure the code is required to expose.

Philosophy

Strata is strict by default wherever it can make an honest deterministic claim. Following the rules should remove repeated architectural decisions from everyday work. Deliberate differences belong in selection, configuration, or custom rules, where they remain visible, rather than in scattered inline suppressions.

Unavoidable external calling conventions can use exact symbol-scoped exceptions:

[[rule_exceptions]]
rule = "SFS120"
path = "src/my_package/integrations/_helpers/callbacks.py"
symbols = ["ProgressCollector.update"]
reason = "The external API invokes this callback positionally."

Exceptions accept one exact rule code, repository-relative Python file, and one or more qualified symbols. Globs, directories, line numbers, path-only entries, and inline suppression comments are not supported. strata check rejects stale exceptions that no longer suppress a fault.

Agent Skills

Generate repository-aware guidance from the active ruleset:

strata skills
strata skills --global

The generated skill includes Strata usage, rule-supported architecture examples, navigation and work-handoff guidance, and every enabled core and custom rule. Existing user-authored skill files are preserved unless --force is supplied.

Custom Rules

Custom checks use X... codes and the same RuleContext as core rules. Once configured, they participate in strata check, strata rule, and generated agent skills. Rules can use ctx.facts, ctx.project, ctx.text, ctx.syntax, and ctx.relations; these are the same backend-neutral analysis zones used by Strata's built-in rules. Project and filesystem reads made through ctx.project are tracked for cache invalidation. Raw ast.Module access remains available for checks that need unrestricted Python syntax traversal. Keep project-owned checks in the canonical scripts/strata/rules/ tooling role and load them explicitly:

tooling = ["scripts"]
rule_paths = ["scripts/strata/rules"]

See the custom-rule guide for the complete API and configuration.

Documentation

The quickstart, architecture model, configuration reference, adoption guide, and CLI reference live in the Strata documentation repository.