arela/FEATURE BUILD DISCUSSION.MD

AI-powered CTO with multi-agent orchestration, code summarization, visual testing (web + mobile) for blazing fast development.

What We Can Build:

Feature 1.1: Architecture Analyzer
bash
arela analyze architecture
Output:

Detects if codebase is horizontal (layered) or vertical (sliced)
Identifies cross-layer dependencies (the "Layer Tax")
Scores: Coupling (0-100), Cohesion (0-100)
Recommendation: "Your codebase is 73% horizontal. Consider VSA migration."

DARA NOTE: THIS TOOL CAN BE USED TO ANALYZE THE ARCHITECTURE OF A CODE BASE EVEN IS IT IS IN MULTIPLE REPOSITORY FOR EXAMPLE IF YOU HAVE A PROJECT THAT HAS MOBILE FRONTEND IN ONE REPOSITORY AND THE BACKEND, AND THE API IN ANOTHER REPOSITORY YOU CAN ANALYZE THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE CODE BASE BY RUNNING INDEX ON THE MOBILE FRONTEND REPOSITORY AND THE BACKEND REPOSITORY TO GET A SEMANTIC ANALYSIS OF THE CODE BASE. AND CONNECT THE TWO REPOSITORIES TO GET A SEMANTIC ANALYSIS OF THE CODE BASE. SO LIKE A ARELA ANALYZE ARCHITECTURE :/USER/STAR/MOBILE AND /USER/STAR/BACKEND, YOU UNDERSTAND?


Feature 1.2: API Contract Generator
bash
arela generate contract --from-code src/api/users.ts
Output:

Generates OpenAPI spec from existing code
Validates existing spec against implementation
Detects "schema drift" (spec vs reality)

DARA NOTES: YEAH I DIG THIS, WE HAVE TO CONVERSE MORE ABOUT THIS THOUGH


Feature 1.3: Contract Testing Setup
bash
arela setup contract-testing --tool dredd
Output:

Installs Dredd (not Pact!)
Generates test config from OpenAPI spec
Adds to CI/CD pipeline

DARA NOTES: I NEED TO BE EXPLAINED TO, WHAT IS DREDD?

Feature 2.1: Migration ROI Calculator
bash
arela calculate roi --current microservices --target modular-monolith
Output:

Estimates cost savings (infrastructure, complexity)
Calculates breakeven point (months)
Shows 3-year ROI projection
Uses DORA metrics as inputs

DARA NOTES: I DON'T THINK WE NEED THIS, BUT WE CAN DISCUSS IT IF YOU WANT TO.

eature 2.2: Reverse Migration Planner
bash
arela plan migration --from microservices --to modular-monolith
Output:

Analyzes current microservices
Identifies merge candidates (high coupling)
Generates migration roadmap
Estimates effort per service

DARA NOTES: FOR THIS I THINK WHEN WE ANALYZE THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE CODEBASE WE CAN KNOW THE TYPE OF ARCHITECTURE WE ARE WORKING WITH AND THEN WE CAN KNOW IF WE ARE WORKING WITH A MICROSERVICES ARCHITECTURE OR A MONOLITHIC ARCHITECTURE.

Feature 2.3: DORA Metrics Dashboard
bash
arela metrics dora --track
Output:

Tracks: Deployment Frequency, Lead Time, Change Failure Rate, MTTR
Compares: Before/After VSA migration
Visualizes: Trend over time
Alerts: Metric degradation

DARA NOTES: THIS IS A NICE TO HAVE NOT A MUST HAVE.

Feature 3.1: OPA Policy Engine Integration
bash
arela init policies
Output:

Creates .arela/policies/ directory
Generates starter policies:
architecture.rego - No cross-module imports
security.rego - No hardcoded secrets
quality.rego - Min 90% test coverage
dependencies.rego - Allowlist for packages
Integrates OPA into CI/CD

DARA NOTES: I DON'T UNDERSTAND SOME OF THIS, BUT WE CAN DISCUSS IT IF YOU WANT TO.

Feature 3.2: Multi-Agent Orchestration (Enhanced)
bash
arela orchestrate --agents architect,developer,qa --task "Add user authentication"
Flow:

Architect Agent (Claude): Generates plan + OpenAPI spec
Human Approval: Review plan (HOTL!)
Developer Agent (Codex): Implements code
QA Agent (Codex): Generates tests
Arela (OPA): Validates against policies
Auto-merge if all pass

DARA NOTES: WE NEED TO DISCUSS THIS ONE.


Feature 3.3: Human Override Rate Tracking
bash
arela metrics agents
Output:

Human Override Rate: 12% (declining = good!)
Policy Violation Rate: 3%
Agent Success Rate by type (Architect: 95%, Developer: 87%, QA: 92%)
Cognitive Load Score (survey-based)

DARA NOTES: THIS IS A NICE TO HAVE NOT A MUST HAVE.

Feature 5.1: Team Topology Analyzer
bash
arela analyze teams --from-git
Output:

Detects team structure from git commits
Identifies: Stream-aligned, Platform, Enabling, Complicated-Subsystem teams
Calculates: Communication overhead, Cognitive load per team
Recommendation: "Your teams are 80% horizontal. Consider stream-aligned teams."

DARA NOTES: THIS IS A NICE TO HAVE NOT A MUST HAVE.


Feature 5.2: Strangler Fig Migration Planner
bash
arela plan strangler-fig --target vsa
Output:

Phase 0: Current state (horizontal teams)
Phase 1: First stream-aligned team (pilot)
Phase 2: Enabling team transition
Phase 3: Platform team evolution
Phase 4: Steady state (60-80% stream-aligned)
Timeline: 12-18 months

DARA NOTES: LOL, THIS SEEMS TOO COMPLICATED FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH.


Feature 5.3: Test Strategy Optimizer
bash
arela analyze tests --recommend-strategy
Output:

Current: 80% unit (mocks), 15% integration, 5% e2e
Recommended: 20% unit, 70% slice (Testcontainers), 10% e2e
Calculates: Test Cost = (Runtime × FlakeRate × (1/CoverageYield))
Generates: Testcontainers setup for slice-level tests

DARA NOTES: YEAH WE GOTTA DO THIS ONE.

Feature 6.1: Codebase Ingestion & Mapping
bash
arela ingest codebase --analyze
Output:

Static analysis: Dependency graph (Neo4j)
Dynamic analysis: Runtime call graph (OpenTelemetry instrumentation)
Codebase Map: Functions, classes, modules, dependencies
Stored in: Graph DB (structural memory)

DARA NOTES: I DONT UNDERSTAND THIS ONE, BUT I THINK WE HAVE TO DO THIS

Feature 6.2: Autonomous Slice Boundary Detection
bash
arela detect slices --algorithm graph-clustering
Process:

Loads runtime graph from Phase 1
Applies community detection (Louvain algorithm)
Identifies clusters: High cohesion, Low coupling
Generates: SliceMap.json with proposed boundaries
Human approval required (HOTL!)
Output:

json
{
  "slices": [
    {
      "name": "user-authentication",
      "files": ["auth.ts", "user.ts", "session.ts"],
      "cohesion": 0.92,
      "coupling": 0.08
    },
    {
      "name": "billing",
      "files": ["payment.ts", "invoice.ts", "subscription.ts"],
      "cohesion": 0.88,
      "coupling": 0.12
    }
  ]
}
Feature 6.3: Contract-First Generation
bash
arela generate contracts --from-slices SliceMap.json
Output:

For each slice: Generates OpenAPI spec
Defines: Public API, data schemas, error responses
Creates: Slice Cards (work tickets for agents)
Feature 6.4: Autonomous Refactor Orchestration
bash
arela refactor autonomous --slices SliceMap.json
LangGraph State Machine:

[Ingested Codebase] 
  → [Slice Detected] 
  → [Human Approval] ✋
  → [Contract Generated]
  → [Developer Implements] 
  → [QA Tests] 
    ↻ (if fail, back to Developer)
  → [Arela Governs] 
    ↻ (if fail, back to Developer)
  → [Ops Merges]
  → [Next Slice]
Feature 6.5: Tri-Memory System
bash
arela memory init
Creates:

Vector DB (Pinecone/Weaviate): RAG over codebase
Graph DB (Neo4j): Dependency graph
Governance Log (SQLite): Audit trail
Query:

bash
arela memory query "Where is user authentication logic?"
# → Semantic search in Vector DB

arela memory impact auth.ts
# → Dependency analysis in Graph DB

arela memory audit --commit abc123
# → Shows: Slice Card, ADR, Test Report, Policy Result
Feature 6.6: Policy Enforcement Pipeline
bash
arela policy check --commit abc123
Arela Constraints:

✅ Contract Validation: Code matches OpenAPI spec?
✅ Test Validation: 100% pass, >90% coverage?
✅ Architectural Integrity: No illegal cross-slice imports?
✅ Security: No vulnerabilities, no secrets?
Output:

✅ Constraint 1: PASS (OpenAPI match)
✅ Constraint 2: PASS (100% tests, 94% coverage)
❌ Constraint 3: FAIL (billing.ts imports user.ts directly)
✅ Constraint 4: PASS (No security issues)

MERGE BLOCKED: Fix architectural violation

DARA NOTES: HONESTLY LOVE THE ENTIRE THING IN 6, WE HAVE TO DISCUSS THEM TO UNDERSTAND THEM BETTER


IN ENTIRETY WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND HOW THIS WOULD WORK IMPROVING OUR EXISTING SYSTEMS