Clean Architecture Highlighter

VS Code extension to enforce Clean Architecture rules in Node.js projects by statically analyzing imports.

Features

• ⚙️Configurable layers and dependency rules
• ⚡Real-time diagnostics on file open / change
• 🗺️ Path alias support
• 🧅Default Clean Architecture rules out of the box
• 🧩 Non-intrusive (no code changes required)

Checks that dependencies between layers follow the configured architecture, by default:

infrastructure → application → domain

If a file imports something from a forbidden layer, the extension shows a VS Code warning/error.

Extension Settings

The extension can be customized via workspace or user settings. Below is the default configuration, which enforces a standard Clean Architecture layout.

// settings.json
{
    "clean-architecture-highlighter.severityLevel": "warning",
    "clean-architecture-highlighter.sourceFolder": "src",
    
    "clean-architecture-highlighter.layers.domain.aliases": ["domain"],
    "clean-architecture-highlighter.layers.domain.allowedDependencies": ["domain"],

    "clean-architecture-highlighter.layers.application.aliases": ["application"],
    "clean-architecture-highlighter.layers.application.allowedDependencies": ["application", "domain"],

    "clean-architecture-highlighter.layers.infrastructure.aliases": ["infrastructure"],
    "clean-architecture-highlighter.layers.infrastructure.allowedDependencies": ["infrastructure", "application", "domain"]
}

Note that the default aliases and allowedDependencies do not need to be set; they are applied automatically.
aliases are used when your layer folder has a different name. For example, if your application folder is called business, you can add it here using:

"clean-architecture-highlighter.layers.application.aliases": ["business"]

Requirements

This extension is designed for Node.js/TypeScript projects using ES Modules (import/export).

• Folder Structure: It assumes a layered architecture (by default under a src folder but configurable via sourceFolder).

Known Limitations

• Import Syntax Only: Currently, the extension only analyzes static import statements. It does not support CommonJS require() or dynamic import().
• Static Analysis: The extension checks path strings. It does not resolve complex runtime dependency injection containers if they are not reflected in the file's import statements.

The Dependency Rule

The arrows in the diagram below represent the only allowed direction for dependencies.
Inner layers must not know anything about outer layers.