ARC — Audit Ready Core

Governed code enforcement for AI-assisted development in a local-first VS Code extension.

ARC helps development teams maintain code quality and governance standards by intercepting saves and requiring explicit justification for high-risk changes. It is built for teams that need audit trails, proof-backed decisions, and fail-closed enforcement inside VS Code.

Beta Status

Status: Public beta candidate
Channels: Visual Studio Marketplace + Open VSX
Feedback: GitHub Issues / invited tester feedback

Current product posture:

• local-first by default
• cloud lanes disabled by default
• suitable for developer testing and workflow feedback
• still evolving in wording, heuristics, and operator polish

Quick Start

Install

From Marketplace

1. Open the Extensions view in VS Code
2. Search for ARC — Audit Ready Core
3. Install the extension
4. Reload VS Code when prompted

From VSIX

1. Download the latest .vsix from the releases page
2. In VS Code: Extensions → ... → Install from VSIX...
3. Select the downloaded .vsix file
4. Reload VS Code when prompted

Verify Installation

1. Open any code file in your workspace
2. Make a change to a governed file such as auth.ts, schema.sql, or package.json
3. Attempt to save — ARC will prompt for acknowledgment or proof when required
4. Use Ctrl+Shift+P → ARC: Review Audit Log to inspect recent decisions

What ARC Does

Key Features

• Local-first — enforcement happens locally; no cloud dependency is required
• Audit trail — append-only record of save decisions with hash-chain integrity
• Blueprint proofs — high-risk changes can be linked to governance directives
• Review surfaces — built-in UI for audit inspection, proof review, and decision context
• Fail-closed — missing configuration defaults to the strictest safe posture

Requirements

• VS Code 1.90.0 or later
• Node.js 20+ only if you want to build from source
• No external services required
• Optional: Ollama for local AI evaluation experiments

Configuration

ARC works out of the box with sensible defaults. Optional configuration lives in .arc/router.json:

{
  "mode": "RULE_ONLY",
  "localLaneEnabled": false,
  "cloudLaneEnabled": false
}

Commands

Limitations

• Heuristic classification — risk assessment is rule-based, not full semantic understanding
• File-level audit integrity — hash chains verify individual files, not archive completeness
• Local-only blueprints — shared/team blueprint deployment is not yet supported
• Cloud disabled by default — cloud fallback requires explicit configuration and approval
• Observational diagnostics only — status surfaces describe posture; they do not authorize changes

Support

• Issues: https://github.com/habrahgithub/lintel/issues
• Repository: https://github.com/habrahgithub/lintel
• License: Apache-2.0

Learn More

For deeper technical and governance details, see:

• docs/ARCHITECTURE.md
• docs/CODE_MAP.md
• docs/TESTING.md
• docs/BETA-RELEASE-CHECKLIST.md

For retained validation and evidence artifacts, see:

• artifacts/ARC-UX-VALIDATION-001-LOG.md
• artifacts/evidence/ARC-UX-VALIDATION-001/