┌─────────┐     ┌─────────┐     ┌─────────┐
  │  WRITE  │────▶│  CHECK  │────▶│  SHIP   │
  │  agent  │     │  block  │     │  merge  │
  └─────────┘     └────┬────┘     └─────────┘
                       │
                       ▼
                 bad import
                 doesn't land

ArkGate 4.8.14 is prepared on this tree; npm latest remains 4.8.13 until publish-npm for v4.8.14. Write. Check. Ship. Adopted = required GitHub status running arkgate-check --strict-merge, or an explicit advisory-only stance. Status is compact (arkgate-check --doctor; --all for Details). Optional ArkRun (arkgate/runtime) is an in-memory runtime — not Postgres. Optional ArkOrder (arkgate/order) stops rewriting a big product choice — like the billing plan — as if it were a seat count. Change those choices through a valve, not a generic update. @arkgate/runtime is deprecated. 4.8.14 prepared · 4.8.11 published · 4.8.10 · 4.8.9 · 4.8.8 · 4.8.7 · 4.8.6 · 4.8.5 · 4.8.4 · 4.8.3 · 4.8.2 · 4.8.1 · 4.8.0 · Docs hub · Voice

Choose your path

Full map: docs/README.md

Start in one minute

npm install -D arkgate typescript
npx arkgate start                 # preview files + commands
npx arkgate start --apply         # compact config + host router + CI plan
npx arkgate-check --doctor        # status — one next step
npx arkgate-check --doctor --all  # full details

That is the product. Stuck? Run status (--doctor) and do action #1.

start → doctor → new files in the right folder
              ↘ leftover mess: map, then one small refactor

Keep the rules file out of product PRs. Local check: ark-check --changed --base origin/dev. Changing the rules themselves uses --contract-session.

Aliases ark / ark-check / ark-mcp still work. npm / pnpm / yarn. No install lifecycle scripts — and none on pack or prepare either, so pnpm add git+https://github.com/pedroknigge/arkgate installs at a pinned commit with no allowBuilds entry. A git install gives you the CLIs and the schemas; the library, MCP and ESLint entry points live in the built dist/ and come from npm. See docs/package-surface.md.

What it is

  src/domain/order.ts
       │  import { db } from "../infra/postgres"
       ▼
  ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │  CHECK                                   │
  │  Domain ─✕─▶ Infrastructure              │
  │  write doesn't land · PR check fails     │
  └──────────────────────────────────────────┘

When the agent writes a bad import, the write doesn’t land. The same check fails the pull request. That is ArkGate — import rules, always on once you adopt (Contener). The other three are optional.

Layers (who may import whom) always run. ArkRules, ArkRun, and ArkOrder change no inter-layer verdict when absent. Label leftovers [Layer] vs [ArkRules] vs [ArkRun] vs [ArkOrder]. Details: configuration · use.

Not an API Gateway, a folder linter, a web framework, ORM, or job runner. ArkRun is in-memory — local and tests, not Postgres. ArkOrder does not replace import rules: layers can be green while the agent still PATCHes the billing plan like a seat count.

Name note: npm package arkgate — not affiliated with the separate Archgate CLI project.

When not to adopt

ArkGate is overkill for small trees with no AI agents and no multi-layer boundaries, for single-developer hobby CRUDs under no integration pressure, and for teams that will not maintain ark.config.json or a required CI status running arkgate-check --strict-merge. Without that status the rules file is just documentation — stay with a boundary linter alone (see Why not only ESLint / Nx / cruiser?). Anyone path: docs/use.md — When not to adopt. Limits of a green check: 4.3.0 — What ArkGate is / isn't.

Why it exists

AI takes the shortest path. Contain the write so a bad import never lands. Guide the next step so a non-expert is not stuck. Order leftover mess toward a clean tree, one small refactor at a time.

Traditional linters catch this only in CI after the agent finished. ArkGate checks at write time and again on the PR. Green imports are not elegant design — leftover mess is needs a refactor, not “done”.

Status lights (not settings)

  [ Setup ] ──▶ [ In progress ] ──▶ [ Ready ]
                                      │
                                      └── Ready · needs a refactor

Details: docs/use.md.

Host enforcement support