RICA Architecture Analyzer

RICA helps Java developers find architecture, layer, API boundary, and design-pattern violations directly inside VS Code.

It is designed for projects that care about clean architecture, maintainable service boundaries, and clear separation between controllers, services, repositories, entities, DTOs, and infrastructure code.

What RICA Does

Detects layered architecture violations across Java projects.
Finds controller, service, entity, repository, API, and design-pattern issues.
Shows violations in a dedicated Architecture Violations panel.
Opens the exact source file and line for each violation.
Provides rule documentation with examples, highlighted changes, and fix guidance.
Includes bundled documentation, so rule help is available from inside VS Code.

Main Workflow

Open a Java workspace in VS Code.
Run Java AST: Analyze Full Project.
Run Java AST: Show Architecture Violations.
Review violations by severity, detector source, file, and line.
Use Docs or Fix from the violations panel to understand and resolve each issue.

Commands

Command	Purpose
`Java AST: Analyze Full Project`	Scans the full Java workspace.
`Java AST: Analyze Current File`	Re-analyzes only the active Java file.
`Java AST: Show Architecture Violations`	Opens the violations dashboard.
`Java AST: Open RICA Documentation`	Opens the bundled RICA documentation.
`Java AST: Show AST Viewer`	Opens the AST viewer inside VS Code.
`Java AST: Open Browser Viewer`	Opens the optional browser AST viewer when the backend is running.
`Java AST: Show Status`	Shows RICA status and quick actions.
`Java AST: Reset Backend Data`	Clears stored AST and violation state.

Violation Guidance

Each documented rule explains:

what triggers the violation
why it matters
a violating example
a fixed version
what changed between the two versions
common framework-specific cases
how to verify the fix

For example, package boundary violations explain what to do when the issue is caused by Spring Data imports such as @Query, @Modifying, or @Param.

Local Analysis

RICA's deterministic violation detection runs locally inside VS Code.

The optional browser AST viewer uses the configured backend URL. If the backend is offline, architecture violation detection still works.

Settings

RICA can be configured from VS Code settings under javaAstAnalyzer.

Common settings include:

javaAstAnalyzer.autoAnalyzeOnOpen
javaAstAnalyzer.excludePatterns
javaAstAnalyzer.enableArchitecturalChecks
javaAstAnalyzer.enableDesignPatternChecks
javaAstAnalyzer.enableBusinessLogicChecks
javaAstAnalyzer.backendUrl

Documentation

Use Java AST: Open RICA Documentation to open the built-in documentation.

From the Architecture Violations panel, click Docs on a violation row to open the relevant rule page.

RICA - Code Analyzer

H. M. Geeth Chamuditha Adithya Herath