Skip to main content

Introduction

MorphArch is a terminal tool for inspecting dependency structure and architectural drift in large repositories.

It scans Git history, extracts dependency edges from source code, computes health metrics, and gives you a grouped view of the repository before you drop into member-level detail.

What it is for​

Large repositories become hard to reason about in two ways at the same time:

  • the dependency graph becomes too dense to review directly
  • structural drift accumulates faster than teams notice it

MorphArch addresses both problems by combining:

  • language-aware dependency extraction
  • repository health scoring
  • grouped navigation in the terminal
  • history replay across commits

The TUI model​

MorphArch is not only a raw graph viewer. The interface is organized into three levels:

Map​

Get a high-level view of the repository.

  • cluster overview
  • strongest links
  • structure summary

Cluster details​

Review one subsystem.

  • top members or dependencies
  • incoming and outgoing link pressure
  • selected member or dependency lens

Inspect​

Inspect one member or module.

  • focused one-hop dependency lens
  • centered viewport on the selected node
  • raw graph available when you need graph-level debugging

This keeps the UI useful on large repositories without forcing the full dependency graph on screen all the time.

What MorphArch helps you review​

  • Drift over time: see when coupling, cycles, or boundary pressure get worse
  • Repository structure: start from grouped clusters instead of a raw node graph
  • Hotspots and impact: identify risky modules and inspect likely downstream effects
  • AI-powered analysis: ask natural language questions about health, coupling, churn, blast radius, and refactoring priorities
  • Project-specific architecture rules: define boundaries, ignore rules, scan heuristics, clustering, and presentation in morpharch.toml

Who tends to use it​

  • Architects use it to review boundaries and structural pressure.
  • Tech leads use it to monitor health changes across commits and justify cleanup work.
  • Developers use it to answer questions like who depends on a module and what it pulls in.

What is configurable​

MorphArch works with zero configuration, but you can override:

  • ignore paths and presets
  • scan heuristics such as package depth and external dependency visibility
  • scoring weights and thresholds
  • boundary rules and exemptions
  • clustering strategy, families, rules, and constraints
  • presentation aliases, kind mode, and color mode
  • AI assistant provider, model, token limits, and context budget

See the Configuration Guide for the full reference and the AI Assistant Guide for LLM setup.

Next steps​

  1. Read the Installation guide.
  2. Follow the Quick Start.
  3. Learn how the pipeline works.
  4. Set up the AI Assistant for natural language analysis.