Dead code, security, secrets detection and code quality for Python, TypeScript, Go.
Runs on your machine from its package; the steps are below.
At most: moves money, runs code or commands, deletes data, or sends messages for you.
Odel charges nothing per call. The publisher may charge for its own service.
Runs locally over stdio
This server isn't hosted — your MCP client launches it from a package registry. Use one of the commands below, or drop the config into your client (e.g. Claude Desktop).
Run
uvx skylos
MCP client config
{
"mcpServers": {
"skylos": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"skylos"
]
}
}
}Skylos is an open-source (Apache-2.0) CLI and pull-request gate for Python
projects that runs without an account. skylos . finds dead code: unused
functions, classes, imports and empty files. Add -a to check security bugs,
hard-coded secrets, vulnerable dependencies, code quality and AI-code
mistakes. Findings include source locations and supporting analysis;
skylos done checks whether a branch, often a coding agent's, is ready to
merge.
It is built for:
skylos done runs your tests and flags deleted or skipped
tests, loosened CI test steps, silenced lint or type checks, and test-only
special cases.pip install skylos
skylos . # find dead code
skylos . -a # add security, secrets, quality, dependency and AI-code checks
skylos done --base main # is this branch finished? runs your tests, compares with main
Proof, including the misses: 10 Skylos-assisted dead-code cleanup PRs have been merged into the default branch in 9 open-source projects, including Black, NetworkX, Optuna, mitmproxy and pypdf. Real-World Results lists the 26 cleanup and quality-fix PRs in this ledger, including the ones that were closed, reverted or never reached the default branch. These are accepted cleanup PRs, not endorsements.
Website | Docs | Repo Map | Quick Start | GitHub Action | VS Code Extension | Real-World Results | Benchmarks | Roadmap | Contributing
English | Deutsch | 简体中文 | Translations
Skylos runs locally by default and can also gate pull requests in CI. Use it when you want one command to check a repo or pull request for:
Python has the deepest coverage. TypeScript/JavaScript and Java also get
dead-code, security and quality checks; PHP and Dart get dead-code and
security checks; Rust gets security checks and experimental dead code
(hidden below the default confidence threshold; --confidence 40 lists it).
Go dead-code and security checks need the native skylos-go engine: from
4.50 the PyPI wheels for Linux, macOS and Windows (x86_64 and arm64) include
it, the container image includes it and the GitHub Action builds it. On other
platforms skylos doctor prints the command that builds it from source, and
SKYLOS_GO_BIN points Skylos at a separately built engine. C# support is
partial, Kotlin is dead code only, C++ is limited to unused file-local
functions, and Shell is security only.
Skylos also checks CI/CD and deployment config. See
Language Support.
Remember Risk, Maintainability, Dead code, Gate:
| Readout | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Risk | Highest unresolved severity and counts. One critical finding stays critical, regardless of repository size. |
| Maintainability | Advice counts, affected code units, and how far measurements exceed their limits. |
| Dead code | Removal candidates with confidence and evidence; review dynamic calls and public APIs before deleting. |
| Gate | Whether findings satisfy your configured limits. Passing means within policy, not zero findings. |
Finding Type is separate from severity: Defect is a concrete correctness
pattern, Review needs context, and Advice concerns maintainability or
tooling. A Review finding can still be critical. Advice stays visible in rule
groups; --expand-advice shows every location and JSON keeps complete records.
Grouping cannot improve the assessment or bypass a gate.
Security findings show recorded source-to-sink evidence when available, with partial static analysis labeled. Dependency coverage names unresolved versions and the supported inputs needed to check them. Neither view claims runtime exploitability or a complete installed environment; JSON keeps the full evidence.
For uv.lock, valid Git, URL, path and private-index dependencies are shown as
not checked. Skylos still queries supported public packages; the coverage
gap alone does not cause exit 2. It cannot establish a clean dependency
assessment. See uv source coverage.
New source scans replace the blended A–F grade with these readouts. Disabled
checks are not assessed; failed checks are incomplete. Maintainability
percentages use only the relevant units actually measured, with no guessed
denominators or uncalibrated grades. The independent debt and defend scores
keep their meanings. See the output guide.
Each command answers a different question. The source scan requires PATH.
Bracketed paths on verify, suite, defend, and clean default to the
current directory. suite and defend require a directory; verify and
clean also accept a file.
| Question | Command | Input checked |
|---|---|---|
| What problems are in this source tree? | skylos PATH | Source files and project configuration; dead code by default, every main source analyzer with -a |
| How is this branch doing on Skylos Cloud? | skylos cloud [PATH] | Every main source analyzer, then the findings are uploaded and the branch's quality gate is printed with one link |
| Did the agent really finish this branch? | skylos done --base main | The branch's changes since its merge base with main: Skylos runs your tests (pytest automatically; other runners need test_command in [tool.skylos.done]) and compares the tests, test settings and CI steps with the base; writes a receipt to .skylos/receipts/ |
| What does this change touch, and what should I read first? | skylos done map --base main | Each changed Python or TypeScript/JavaScript function since the merge base, with old and new code, calls added and removed, its callers and removed security checks; computed from the code, so the same commit gives the same map |
| Does this code contain AI-code mistakes? | skylos verify [PATH] | AI-defect checks over the selected file or tree, plus a separate Git HEAD behavior comparison for supported Python working changes |
| Should a model review static dead-code findings? | skylos agent verify [PATH] | LLM by default; optional Jev-only or Jev-plus-LLM review |
| What does the combined repo suite report? | skylos suite [DIRECTORY] | Static analysis, technical debt, AI defense, and provenance; local findings are report-only by default |
| Does an agent implementation have deployment guardrails? | skylos defend [DIRECTORY] | Recognized Python and TypeScript/JavaScript LLM integrations; gating requires a threshold flag or policy |
| Which Python dead code can Skylos remove? | skylos clean [PATH] --dry-run | Python import/function cleanup candidates; --dry-run never writes |
| Will this exact local GPU build fit the machines we ship to? | skylos preflight [ARTIFACT] | A local built file or directory and .skylos/gpu-targets.yml; an OCI reference is identity-only and returns UNKNOWN in the CLI |
| What vulnerabilities are in this container image? | skylos image scan IMAGE@sha256:<digest> --platform os/arch | A remote registry image scanned by a separately installed Trivy; --fail-on turns findings into a gate |
Run skylos --help for this chooser, skylos <command> --help for one
command, and skylos commands for the command-family map.
The report commands have different gate and network behavior:
image scan requires Trivy on trusted PATH and uses Trivy's remote image
source, so registry network access and any required registry credentials must
already be available. Without --fail-on, a completed scan exits 0 even
when it reports vulnerabilities.suite runs in the local process and does not upload unless --upload is
set, but its dependency scan can query OSV. Findings are report-only: the
command exits 0 regardless of their count. Operational and output failures
are nonzero; --upload can also fail for an upload error or Cloud quality
gate.defend reports guardrail findings by default. It becomes a gate with
--fail-on, --min-score, or gate settings in an explicit policy.clean without --dry-run or --apply is interactive and can write after
the final confirmation. Its current codemods support Python imports and
functions. An apply pass still exits 0 if an individual edit prints a
failure, so review the completion output.done exits 0 on pass, 1 when a blocking check fails or does not
finish, and 2 when Skylos could not run (for example, the base is not
fetched). It reads its settings from the base commit, so a change cannot
loosen its own gate.pip install skylos
skylos . # find problems; your code and findings stay on your machine
skylos cloud # optional: track results per branch on Skylos Cloud
skylos cicd init # add a Skylos check to every pull request
That is the whole path. When skylos . finds issues, it ends by naming the
next command.
skylos cloud runs every check, shows the findings, uploads them and prints
this branch's quality gate with one link to it:
✗ Quality gate on feat/login: FAILED (was PASSED on 24 Oct 15:38 UTC, 1ba9895) · 1 critical security issue
Open: https://skylos.dev/dashboard/projects/<project>?branch=feat%2Flogin
Next: fix the issues behind the failed gate, then run skylos cloud again.
The first run opens your browser to log in and pick the project for this repo.
It sends findings with file paths and code snippets of up to 7 lines (none for
secrets), the branch, the commit, the git author email of each flagged line,
and a map of your functions and classes (names, files, lines, sizes, which
calls which). Not your repository. It exits 0 even when the Skylos Cloud gate
fails; add --gate to exit 1 (use that in CI). You never need a key to pass
the gate: fix the issues that fail it. See Skylos Cloud for the other
Cloud commands.
Before 4.47.2, pip install skylos also installs a Dart parser that builds
from source and needs a C compiler. From 4.47.2, Dart support is the optional
skylos[dart] extra. If the install fails for lack of a compiler, use the
container image.
Optional Rust acceleration can be built from source. The standard installation uses Python fallbacks. See the build guide for accelerated operations and possible differences in findings.
The default scan focuses on dead code. Run every main source analyzer,
including security, secrets, quality, dependency, and AI-defect checks, with
-a:
skylos . -a
Check whether a branch, often an AI agent's, is really finished:
skylos done --base main
skylos done compares the branch with its merge base on main and runs your
tests. It flags deleted or skipped tests, loosened test settings and CI test
steps, silenced lint or type checks, and code that special-cases the tests,
advises on code the branch left without callers (including in files it did
not touch), then writes a receipt to .skylos/receipts/. When tests fail, it
reruns them on the merge base and labels each failure "introduced" or "already
failing"; every failure still blocks by default. It runs pytest automatically;
other test runners need one test_command line in [tool.skylos.done]. See
the done gate guide for every check and its limits.
Run only evidence-backed AI defect checks with:
skylos . --ai-defects
Verify a repository, file, or range before an agent hands it to review:
skylos verify . --file src/app.py --range 40:75 --project-context
For a directory such as ., the AI-defect scan covers the selected tree. The
separate behavior result models supported Python working-tree changes against
Git HEAD; it is not the scope selector for the AI-defect scan. Dependency
hallucination checks are enabled for path targets and can query package
registries; use --no-dependency-hallucinations to disable those lookups.
High/critical security findings (category: "security") and hard-coded
secrets (category: "secret", value redacted) in the selected file/range also
fail verification; use --no-security for the AI-code-only verdict.
Interactive terminals get a human report. Redirected stdout and -o produce
the versioned JSON result.
skylos verify schema version 2 returns pass, fail, or incomplete.
incomplete means a requested proof could not be established, such as a
missing local TS/JS import, computed namespace member, unsupported language-local
API check, or parser surface that Skylos could not prove; it exits 2 unless
--no-fail is set. The coverage object lists detected languages, expected
checks, language support, missing checks, completed/skipped checks, checked
references, and deterministic skip reasons. Declared third-party dependencies
and recognized Node built-ins are outside the local TS/JS API proof; their
references are counted in out_of_scope_references and do not make a clean
verification incomplete. Unknown bare imports still require review.
Deterministic local/workspace API verification currently covers Python, TypeScript/JavaScript, Go, and Java without executing target code. PHP, Rust, Dart, C#, Kotlin, and Shell retain their existing static-analysis coverage, but their local API proof is reported as unsupported and therefore incomplete. See AI Code Verification Coverage.
Create a local AI hallucination contract for repo-specific generated-code
truth. skylos verify auto-discovers .skylos/ai-contract.yml:
skylos contract init
skylos contract inspect
skylos verify .
Test a running agent against deterministic response and tool-use scenarios:
skylos agent init
skylos agent test --allow-contract-endpoint
Create a project config with thresholds, ignores, template hooks, and vibe dictionary extensions:
skylos init
Create a starter local rule pack:
skylos rules init
skylos rules validate .skylos/rules/local.yml
skylos rules list --json
skylos rules list cross --json
skylos rules list --packs --json
skylos cache stats
Gate pull requests with GitHub Actions. No Skylos account or token is needed:
git checkout -b add-skylos-gate
skylos cicd init --no-upload
git add .github/workflows/skylos.yml
git commit -m "Add Skylos pull request gate"
git push -u origin add-skylos-gate
gh pr create --fill
The generated workflow reviews changed lines on pull requests and adds a
skylos done job when it finds your tests. Without --no-upload, it also
adds a Skylos Cloud upload job for pushes to your default branch, which fails
until the Skylos GitHub App is installed on the repository.
Your first Skylos-gated pull request walks through
it in about 8 minutes, including making the checks required.
On GitLab CI, Jenkins, Bitbucket Pipelines, Azure Pipelines or CircleCI, the
same skylos cicd init sets up a pull request gate for that CI instead; see
Skylos on any CI.
The gate (skylos . --gate, skylos cicd gate, and the generated workflow)
fails on any critical security issue, any secret, and any critical AI-code
issue, such as an import of a package that does not exist on PyPI (SKY-D222)
or a call to a function that is never defined or imported (SKY-L012). Other
findings fail it only above count limits. Change the limits under
[tool.skylos.gate] in pyproject.toml:
[tool.skylos.gate]
max_high = 5 # high-severity security issues allowed
max_quality = 10 # quality issues allowed
max_ai_defects = 10 # AI-code issues allowed (defaults to max_quality)
# AI-code issues at these severities fail the gate whatever max_ai_defects
# allows. Add "HIGH" to block more; [] turns the rule off.
block_ai_defect_severities = ["CRITICAL"]
max_ai_defects and block_ai_defect_severities are separate checks; the
gate fails if either one fails. In a pull request, skylos cicd gate --diff-base reads this policy from the base branch, so a pull request cannot
turn the rule off for itself. A gate policy synced from Skylos Cloud replaces
the repository's [tool.skylos.gate] section.
Every gate run ends with one verdict line and the reasons behind it:
Quality Gate: PASSED, Quality Gate: FAILED (exit 1), or
Quality Gate: INCOMPLETE — could not decide (exit 2) when required analysis
did not finish, for example a lockfile the dependency scan could not resolve.
Each reason names the check that stopped, how many files or dependencies it
missed, and what to change. A file that does not parse is a coverage warning
under the verdict, not a reason to stop: the limits are evaluated on everything
else (set require_complete = true under [tool.skylos.gate.coverage] to fail
instead). --format json carries the same verdict in a
top-level gate object; concise, LLM, GitHub, and GitLab output print it on
stderr. See Exit Codes And Incomplete Analysis.
Need more commands? Read the CLI Reference.
Install local hooks so the agent is checked while it works, not after:
skylos agent install-hooks # Claude Code (.claude/settings.json)
skylos agent install-hooks --codex # Codex (.codex/hooks.json)
skylos agent install-hooks --cursor # Cursor (.cursor/hooks.json)
pip, uvx, npx,
pnpm dlx, bunx, go run pkg@v, ...): blocks hallucinated or
typosquatted packages, and asks before installs it cannot verify (git and
URL sources, unknown registries, failed lookups).--no-verify, HUSKY=0 and other ways
around the repository's git hooks.Hooks fail open, but never silently: if Skylos errors, the agent and you are
told the action was allowed without a check, and stop reports how many went
unchecked. They log to .skylos/hook.log and merge with your existing hooks.
--uninstall removes only the Skylos entries. See
Agent-loop hooks for the contract, latency, and
limits.
In Cursor, findings arrive at stop rather than after each edit. The hooks
are not a sandbox: they check edits, file reads and package installs, not
every command. See what they don't do.
| Goal | Command | What You Get | More Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| First dead-code scan | skylos . | Finds unused functions, classes, imports, files, and framework entrypoint mistakes | Dead code docs |
| Deterministic cleanup preview | skylos clean . --dry-run --types import,function --confidence 80 | Shows planned Python import/function removals without writing; add --apply to edit files | Dead code docs |
| Security and quality audit | skylos . -a | Adds dangerous flow, secrets, dependency, config, quality, and AI-defect checks | Security docs |
| Combined repo report | skylos suite . | Reports static findings, technical debt, AI defense, and provenance; SCA can query OSV, and findings alone exit 0 | CLI Reference |
| Optional Python linting | pip install "skylos[lint]" && skylos lint . | Runs Ruff with its native configuration, output, fixes, and exit codes through the Skylos CLI | Python linting |
| Agent branch done check | skylos done --base origin/main | Runs your tests and flags deleted, skipped or weakened tests, loosened test settings and CI test steps, silenced checks, and test-only special cases; writes a receipt | Done gate |
| Change map for review | skylos done map --base origin/main | Old and new code of each changed Python or TypeScript/JavaScript function, calls added and removed, who calls it and whether those callers were updated, removed auth checks, breaking signatures, and the changes to read first; --format json for a review agent | Change map |
| MCP change map | change_map MCP tool | Gives a review agent the change map as JSON before it reads the diff. Requires a free Skylos API key (SKYLOS_API_KEY). skylos done map needs no key | Change map |
| Risks that need a human approval | skylos cicd risk-review --base origin/main | Lists deleted or weakened tests, removed auth checks, added or changed dependencies, weakened CI, silenced checks, added secrets, guardrail setting edits, migration changes and very large diffs. As a required GitHub check (skylos cicd init --risk-review) it fails until a person with write access approves the head commit; bot approvals do not count | Risk review |
| PR gate | skylos cicd init --no-upload | Sets up the pull request gate for your CI. On GitHub Actions it writes a workflow that gates pull requests and runs skylos done when your tests can run; drop --no-upload to also upload default-branch scans to Skylos Cloud with GitHub OIDC, and that job fails until the Skylos GitHub App is installed on the repository. GitLab CI, Jenkins, Bitbucket Pipelines, Azure Pipelines and CircleCI get a gate for that CI | First gated PR, Skylos on any CI |
| GitLab merge request report | skylos . --format gitlab -o gl-code-quality-report.json | Exports a native Code Quality report for GitLab CI artifacts | GitLab Code Quality |
| Offline dependency SBOM | skylos sbom . -o sbom.cdx.json | Lists supported recorded dependencies as CycloneDX 1.6 JSON without network requests | Dependency scanning |
| SPDX SBOM + license policy | skylos sbom . --format spdx-json / license_deny = ["GPL-*"] | SPDX 2.3 JSON with declared licenses; SKY-SCA-LIC001 flags denied licenses in -a scans | License compliance |
| Signed verdict deploy gate | skylos verify-verdict verdict.json --commit "$SHA" --repository github.com/org/repo --require-repository-verified --require-trusted-upload --max-age 7d --require-passed | Verifies a Skylos Cloud check verdict offline (Ed25519 DSSE, in-toto/SLSA) and fails unless it is a recent policy pass for that commit and repository; needs skylos[verdict] | Verify a signed verdict |
| Readable terminal report | skylos . --format pretty | Groups findings by file with severity badges, snippets, and copyable file:line locations | CLI output modes |
| Single-rule review | skylos . --select SKY-L012 --format concise | Enables the matching analyzer family and reports only that exact rule with its full message | CLI output modes |
| Selectable terminal triage | skylos . --tui | Opens a keyboard-driven category list, finding list, and detail pane | CLI output modes |
| IDE/test-script output | skylos --format concise src/test.py | Prints untruncated file:line RULE_ID message findings and exits non-zero when findings exist | CLI Reference |
| In-loop AI-code verification | skylos verify . --file src/app.py --range 40:75 | Reports a narrow set of hallucinated helpers, unfinished code, stale references, disabled controls, and API/dependency hallucinations; JSON is used for redirected or -o output | AI features |
| AI hallucination contracts | skylos contract init && skylos verify . | Auto-discovers .skylos/ai-contract.yml and verifies generated code against repo-specific symbols, dependencies, APIs, route guards, and test requirements | AI Hallucination Contracts |
| Changed-lines review | skylos . -a --diff origin/main | Keeps findings focused on active work instead of legacy debt. A removed security control (SKY-L021, such as a deleted auth decorator) is still reported, even when the change only deletes the decorator line | Quality gate docs |
| Incumbent scanner comparison | skylos compare . --against incumbent.sarif | Runs Skylos beside the current scanner and produces a revision-aware scorecard: active overlap, raw unique findings by category, and eligible findings inside evidence-backed unused symbols, without replacing the current gate | Scanner comparison |
| Runtime-assisted dead-code check | skylos . --trace | Uses runtime traces to reduce dynamic-code false positives | Smart tracing |
| Local rule pack | skylos rules init | Scaffolds YAML rules for project-specific security and quality checks | Custom rules |
| Security agent quick scan | skylos agent security-quick . | One-shot LLM security audit; compatibility alias for skylos agent scan . --security | AI features |
| Security agent deep scan | skylos agent security-deep . | Three-stage security workflow with threat-model context, static threat traces, discovery/validation, and remediation handoff | AI features |
| AI-assisted review | skylos agent scan . | Static analysis plus optional LLM review and fix suggestions | AI features |
| Agent harness replay | skylos agent replay .skylos/runs/<run-id> | Validates and summarizes saved agent verification phases, tool calls, decisions, and budgets | Agent harness artifacts |
| Runtime agent behavior test | skylos agent init && skylos agent test --allow-contract-endpoint | Checks final responses, tool selection, explicit refusals, and source IDs against a versioned contract | Agent Behavior Testing |
| Verification-backed remediation | skylos agent remediate . | Scans and fixes supported findings, then re-scans them and records proof-test metadata when available | AI features |
| Agent-loop hooks | skylos agent install-hooks [--codex|--cursor] | Verifies every agent edit, blocks secret reads, hallucinated package installs and git-hook bypasses, asks before unverifiable installs, and holds "done" while new issues are open | Agent-loop hooks |
| Project standards for agents | skylos agent install-standards --enforce SKY-L002 | Gives Codex, Claude Code, and Cursor a project skill and selects measurable quality rules for hook and CI checks | Project standards |
| MCP agent verification | verify_change MCP tool | Lets Claude, Cursor, and other MCP clients verify an edited file/range with the same schema as skylos verify. Requires a free Skylos project token (SKYLOS_API_KEY). skylos verify and agent-loop hooks need no token | MCP server |
| LLM integration inventory | skylos discover . | Maps recognized LLM calls, agent tools, prompt sites, and input sources in Python and TypeScript/JavaScript | Agent verification |
| Pre-deployment agent verification | skylos defend . --format md -o evidence.md | Verifies agent guardrails, scores OWASP LLM/Agentic coverage, and emits an attested evidence report | Agent verification |
| Agent verification CI gate | skylos defend . --fail-on critical | Blocks deploys with unguarded LLM integrations; SARIF for code scanning via --format sarif | Agent verification |
| MCP agent pre-flight | verify_agent MCP tool | Lets coding agents statically verify the agents they build — scores, failed checks, attestation digest. Requires a free Skylos project token (SKYLOS_API_KEY). skylos defend needs no token | MCP server |
| Technical debt triage | skylos debt . | Ranks hotspots and debt trends | Technical debt |
| Category | Examples | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Dead code | unused functions, classes, imports, package entrypoints, route handlers | reduces maintenance cost without breaking dynamic frameworks |
| Security flaws | SQL injection, XSS, SSRF, path traversal, command injection, unsafe deserialization | catches exploitable flows before code reaches main |
| Secrets | API keys, tokens, private credentials, high-entropy strings | prevents credentials from leaking through commits and PRs |
| CI/CD workflows | GitHub Actions and GitLab CI dangerous triggers, unpinned actions/includes, broad tokens, OIDC misuse, cache poisoning, mutable images | reduces CI/CD supply-chain risk before release jobs run |
| Edge deployment config | Docker Compose privileged device access, host networking, systemd root services, broad capabilities, missing sandboxing | catches repo-controlled settings that turn app bugs into device compromise |
| Kubernetes deployment exposure | Explicitly external Ingress paths reaching a sensitive FastAPI/Flask route without its deployment-required guard, Flask --debug, or an application server using --reload | reports only when the resources are in one rendered bundle and every deployment edge resolves unambiguously |
| GPU release compatibility | source/build contract mismatches plus built-artifact identity, selected CUDA architecture, packaged runtime, and fleet checks | catches declared intent errors early and verifies the resulting local artifact before release |
| Quality regressions | complexity, deep nesting, duplicate branches, long functions, inconsistent returns | keeps AI-assisted refactors from adding brittle code |
| AI code mistakes | phantom security calls, missing decorators, unfinished stubs, disabled controls, real packages called with invented APIs, impossible npm/Go versions | catches common hallucinated or incomplete code paths before they reach review |
| LLM app risks | unsafe tool use, prompt injection exposure, missing output validation, missing rate limits | helps teams ship AI features with guardrails |
See the full Rules Reference.
skylos sbom . writes declared dependency licenses into CycloneDX, and
skylos sbom . --format spdx-json writes an SPDX 2.3 SBOM. Licenses come from
lockfiles and installed package metadata, offline. Unknown or ambiguous values
(such as BSD) stay NOASSERTION rather than being guessed. --license-lookup
opts in to a deps.dev query. To block licenses in -a scans, set a policy:
[tool.skylos]
license_deny = ["GPL-*", "AGPL-3.0-only"]
license_severity = "HIGH"
Violations are reported as SKY-SCA-LIC001. See
License compliance.
Create .skylos/standards.md with the guidance you want agents to follow:
# Coding standards
- Keep functions focused and handle exceptions explicitly.
- Add a focused test when changing behavior.
Then install the project skill and choose any Skylos quality rules to enforce:
skylos agent install-standards --enforce SKY-L002
skylos agent install-hooks --codex # use --cursor for Cursor, or omit for Claude Code
skylos agent check-standards . # run this project-wide check in CI
The installer writes SKILL.md files for Codex, Cursor, and Claude Code.
Agent skills provide guidance; the hooks and project-wide check enforce the
selected built-in quality rules. See project standards
for the generated files, rule selection, and coverage limits.
Runtime guardrails are the WAF; Skylos is the SAST. skylos discover scans
Python and TypeScript/JavaScript for recognized LLM integrations (provider
SDKs, agent frameworks including the OpenAI Agents SDK, Claude Agent SDK, and
Google ADK, MCP servers and their tools, direct HTTP calls to LLM APIs or
OpenAI-compatible gateways, plus agent tools, prompt sites, and input
sources). skylos defend checks the guardrails around those detected
integrations deterministically, in the local process, with no model in the
loop. It emits evidence by default and becomes a CI gate only when a threshold
flag or policy supplies gate criteria.
skylos discover . # inventory LLM integrations and agent tools
skylos defend . # score guardrails (13 weighted checks)
skylos defend . --format md -o evidence.md # auditor evidence report + attestation
skylos defend . --format sarif -o defend.sarif # GitHub code scanning upload
skylos defend . --fail-on critical # CI gate: exit 1 on critical gaps
skylos defend . --owasp-framework agentic # report against OWASP Agentic ASI Top 10
These commands do not inspect integrations in other languages. If discovery
finds no supported integration, defend returns an empty inventory; do not
treat the resulting score by itself as proof that an unsupported or
unrecognized agent implementation has guardrails.
Per integration it verifies: dangerous output sinks (eval/exec/subprocess), agent tool scope and typed schemas, prompt-injection exposure (delimiters, untrusted input paths, RAG context isolation), output validation, PII filtering, and model pinning — plus ops checks (logging, cost controls, rate limiting) scored separately so they never inflate the security score.
--format md): integration inventory, per-check
results, OWASP coverage, regulatory framework evidence (EU AI Act, NIST AI
RMF, ISO/IEC 42001 — "evidence toward" mappings, never compliance claims),
and a remediation appendix.skylos cicd init --defend generates the GitHub Actions workflow step, the
skylos-defend pre-commit hook gates locally, and $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
gets a score summary automatically in Actions.skylos-defend.yaml pins gate thresholds and severity
overrides (--policy).verify_agent MCP tool lets coding agents verify the
agents they build — deterministic verification, not AI checking AI.Static pre-deployment verification complements runtime controls (gateways, policy engines, human approval flows); it does not replace them. Full guide: docs/agent-verification.md.
Skylos separates generated-code truth, static agent guardrails, and observed runtime behavior:
| Command | Verification question |
|---|---|
skylos verify | Did the agent generate valid, non-hallucinated code? |
skylos defend | Does the agent implementation contain the required guardrails? |
skylos agent test | Did the running agent behave according to its contract? |
Create .skylos/agent-test.yml, then test a live OpenAI-compatible endpoint:
skylos agent init
skylos agent test --allow-contract-endpoint
Or evaluate captured evidence without a network call:
skylos agent test --observations agent-observations.json
skylos agent test --observations agent-observations.json \
--format json --output agent-results.json
Version 1 deterministically checks exact response substrings, required,
allowed, and forbidden tool calls, tool arguments and sequence, maximum call
count, explicit refusals, and explicit source IDs. Missing typed evidence is
incomplete, never pass; exit codes are 0 pass, 1 violation, and 2
incomplete/invalid. Tool selection and final-answer source-ID checks are separate
one-turn scenarios: Skylos records local replayable evidence but never executes
tools returned by the target agent. Offline observations are marked as
unverified fixtures rather than runtime proof.
For an authenticated remote endpoint, keep the destination and secret choice in the trusted CLI invocation:
skylos agent test --endpoint https://agent.example.com/v1/chat/completions \
--allow-remote --auth-env MY_AGENT_API_KEY
Full guide: docs/agent-behavior-testing.md.
Skylos is not a replacement for every specialized scanner. It is a local-first repo and PR checker that puts several common review checks behind one CLI.
.module/.install/.inc/.theme files, post-update
functions),
tool config files, package entrypoints, and common plugin patterns.skylos verify and MCP verify_change use a
versioned result schema for AI-code trust, security, and secret findings, so
coding agents can self-correct before a human sees the change. The CLI
renders a human report on a terminal and JSON when redirected or written
with -o.--ai-defects and full scans put strict
AI-code failure checks under ai_defects, including phantom references, fake
package APIs, nonexistent packages, impossible dependency versions, and
weakened test assertions.
The category/tag is ai_defect; several rules intentionally keep historical
SKY-L or SKY-D IDs for suppression and baseline compatibility, while new
AI-defect-only checks use SKY-A.Skylos sends nothing to Skylos Cloud unless the command or flag you ran says
it talks to Skylos Cloud: skylos cloud, --upload, skylos login, whoami, project,
sync, credits, upload, ingest claude-security, verify-verdict,
feedback, or the --verify scan option. A token on its own (SKYLOS_TOKEN, a saved
skylos login, a CI OIDC token) never makes a command upload a scan,
findings or a run summary. There is no update check and no analytics.
skylos agent scan, agent verify, agent remediate and
agent remediate --standards send a run summary only with --upload: one
POST /api/agent-runs with command, per-command counts, model,
provider, duration_seconds, commit_hash, branch, actor and
status. actor is SKYLOS_ACTOR, the CI-reported user, or the HEAD
commit's author, else null; never your operating-system user name. No
source, paths, finding text, prompts or model output.SKYLOS_CUSTOM_RULES='[]' skips it); skylos doctor checks your
credit balance (--format json skips it); and the MCP server started with
SKYLOS_API_KEY checks the key every 15 minutes and deducts credits for
paid tools.skylos feedback makes no request itself: it opens a form on skylos.dev
(or, with --github, GitHub's issue form) in your browser. The page
address carries the Skylos version, OS, Python version and the last failed
command with paths and secrets masked; your message is sent only when you
press Send.skylos done, skylos verify,
agent scan, agent pre-commit and the agent hooks). Dependency checks
can also fetch GitHub fix commits, with GITHUB_TOKEN if it is set. LLM
commands send code excerpts to the model provider you configure, and
skylos cicd review posts PR comments through gh.Every request, its trigger and its off switch: docs/privacy-and-network.md.
skylos agent verify . and skylos agent test record replayable artifacts
under .skylos/runs/<run-id> and print the run directory in table output. JSON
output includes the same harness summary under the harness key.
Use skylos agent replay .skylos/runs/<run-id> to validate and inspect a saved
run without making LLM calls. Add --format json when another agent or CI job
needs machine-readable status. A valid replay exits 0; an invalid or corrupt
artifact set exits 1 with issue codes. Replay output includes
schema_version so CI and agents can detect artifact-contract changes.
Replay checks internal consistency and corruption; artifacts are not signed and
are not proof against an actor that can rewrite the entire run directory.
Each run directory contains:
events.jsonl: chronological run, phase, and tool-call events.state.json: full observable state, including phases, tool calls, decisions,
and budget usage.summary.json: compact status, counts, budget, and artifact paths.behavior-results.json: normalized runtime assertions, provenance, coverage,
and a digest-bound evidence report for skylos agent test runs.The current harness state is observable and replay-validated. It is not yet a resume mechanism for continuing interrupted verification runs.
# Core static analysis
pip install skylos
# LLM-powered agent workflows
pip install "skylos[llm]"
# Ruff Python linting through `skylos lint`
pip install "skylos[lint]"
# Ed25519 verification for `skylos verify-verdict`
pip install "skylos[verdict]"
# Dart analysis, 4.47.2 and later (builds the Dart parser from source; needs a C compiler)
pip install "skylos[dart]"
# All published optional extras
pip install "skylos[all]"
Container image:
docker pull ghcr.io/duriantaco/skylos:latest
docker run --rm -v "$PWD":/work -w /work ghcr.io/duriantaco/skylos:latest . --json --no-provenance
The unqualified image uses Python 3.14. Runtime-specific tags are also published for Python 3.11 through 3.14, so container scans can match a local or CI parser exactly:
docker run --rm -v "$PWD":/work -w /work ghcr.io/duriantaco/skylos:latest-python3.13 . --json --no-provenance
If a Python file cannot be parsed, Skylos names it as not analysed, marks
coverage incomplete, and reports every other finding; the file is never
treated as clean. The exit code is decided on the code that was analysed;
--strict exits 2 instead, and so does a scan where most of the code could
not be analysed. See Exit Codes And Incomplete Analysis.
See Installation for source installs, container usage, and optional dependencies.
Run skylos init to add these sections to pyproject.toml:
[tool.skylos]
exclude = ["node_modules", "dist"]
[tool.skylos.templates]
# security = ".skylos/templates/security.md"
# quality = ".skylos/templates/quality.md"
# security_audit = ".skylos/templates/security_audit.md"
# review = ".skylos/templates/review.md"
[tool.skylos.vibe]
extra_phantom_names = ["verify_enterprise_auth"]
extra_phantom_decorators = ["tenant_admin_required"]
extra_credential_names = ["tenant_signing_secret"]
extra_network_timeout_calls = ["vendor_sdk.fetch"]
[tool.skylos.dead_code]
entrypoints = []
[[tool.skylos.dead_code.entrypoints]]
type = "method"
name = ["create", "pre_hook", "post_hook"]
parent = { name = "Main", base_classes = ["Application"] }
path = "src/**"
reason = "project framework lifecycle hook"
[tool.skylos.contribution]
collect_local_signals = false
contribute_public_corpus = false
structural_signatures_only = true
include_source = false
Template files extend Skylos' built-in prompts; they do not replace the
JSON-only output contract or untrusted-code safety rules. Vibe dictionary
extensions let teams teach Skylos about local fake-auth helpers, project
credential names, sensitive files, and network calls that must set timeouts.
Dead-code entrypoints let teams mark proprietary framework classes, lifecycle
methods, and decorator-registered functions as live using precise rules for
type, name, path, decorators, base classes, and parent classes.
Rules must include a symbol selector such as name, decorators,
base_classes, or parent; path and module only narrow the match.
Contribution signals are off by default; when enabled, Skylos records local
structural accept/dismiss/learn events under .skylos/contribution/ without raw
source.
Where settings come from. Skylos walks up from the scan path to the
repository root (the folder with .git) and reads, in each folder, the first
of these that exists:
.skylos.tomlskylos.tomlpyproject.toml with a [tool.skylos] table (a pyproject.toml without
one is skipped, so it no longer hides the settings above it)skylos.toml takes the same keys as [tool.skylos], at the top level, so
TypeScript, Go and Java repositories need no pyproject.toml:
# skylos.toml
exclude = ["generated", "dist"]
[gate]
max_security = 0
[done]
test_command = "npm test"
In a monorepo every file found on the way up applies: the repository root is
the base and the file nearest the scanned folder wins per key. A key set in a
package replaces the root's value (lists are replaced, not concatenated);
tables such as [gate] merge key by key. Set root = true in a package's file
to ignore everything above it. skylos doctor lists the files in use, nearest
first, and the ones it ignored. In PR CI, settings come from the base commit
only, with the same rules, and skylos done reports an added or edited
skylos.toml as a change to Skylos settings (SKY-A114). [done] and
[approval] settings are read from the repository root's file.
To use one file instead of discovery, pass --config-file PATH or set
SKYLOS_CONFIG_FILE; it may use [tool.skylos], [skylos], or (when named
skylos.toml) top-level keys. Synced Skylos Cloud policy keeps its protected
precedence over repository-controlled config. The top-level
[tool.skylos].exclude list applies to the main scan and commands such as
skylos debt and skylos clean; pass --exclude for command-local additions
or --include-folder to override an excluded folder.
A full scan skips generated and vendored files (Django migrations,
static/**/lib/**, *.min.js, *.min.css, vendored-library banners) and says
how many in one line of output. Set include_generated = true under
[tool.skylos] (or pass --include-generated) to scan them; see
What a full scan leaves out.
| Language | Dead Code | Security | Quality | Local API Proof (verify) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Python | Yes | Yes | Yes | Supported | strongest coverage; framework-aware static analysis and optional tracing |
| TypeScript / JavaScript | Yes | Yes | Yes | Supported | Tree-sitter parsing, package graph reachability, framework conventions |
| Java | Yes | Yes | Yes | Supported | Tree-sitter parsing, structured security-flow analysis, conservative static-member proof |
| Go | Yes¹ | Partial¹ | Partial | Supported | native engine status remains separate from deterministic workspace API proof |
| PHP | Yes | Yes | No | Unsupported | PHP parser coverage, type and docblock references, Laravel and Drupal conventions (including .module/.install/.inc/.theme files), plus taint-style security sinks and sources (Drupal request and Form API input into SQL strings, Markup::create() and inline Twig templates) |
| Rust | Experimental⁴ | Yes | No | Unsupported | Rust parser coverage plus security sink/source checks |
| Dart | Yes³ | Yes³ | No | Unsupported | Dart parser coverage plus selected security sinks and sources |
| C# | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial | C# symbols, direct-block unreachable code, selected security sinks, and direct NuGet inventory |
| C++ | Partial | No | No | Unsupported | conservative unused file-local functions in .cpp, .cc, .cxx; C++ headers are parsed for references |
| Kotlin | Yes | No² | No | Unsupported | Kotlin symbol extraction with conservative static-analysis coverage |
| Shell | No | Yes | No | Unsupported | shell-script security checks for command injection, SSRF, and path traversal |
¹ Go dead-code and security checks need the native skylos-go engine. From
4.50 the PyPI wheels for Linux, macOS and Windows (x86_64 and arm64) include
it; the container image includes it and the official GitHub Action builds it.
Elsewhere, skylos doctor prints the command that builds it. Without it only
Go quality checks run and the Go files are reported as not analysed; see the
Go engine note below.
² No built-in Kotlin security rules; secret scanning still covers .kt and
.kts files.
³ From 4.47.2, Dart checks need the optional skylos[dart] extra
(pip install "skylos[dart]"); earlier releases install the Dart parser by
default. The parser has no prebuilt wheels, so installing it needs a C
compiler. Without it, a scan that includes .dart files reports them as not
analysed (SKY-ANALYSIS-INCOMPLETE, incomplete coverage) instead of skipping
them silently; skylos doctor shows whether Dart support is installed.
⁴ Rust dead code is experimental: trait-method calls, pub items used across
crates, re-exports, macros and #[bench] functions are not resolved, and a
hand-checked sample on ripgrep found no true positives. Rust candidates are
capped at confidence 40, below the default threshold, so they are not listed
unless you pass --confidence 40; the scan says so in one line. rustc's
own unused_imports and dead_code lints cover private items.
"No" means Skylos has no built-in rules of that kind for the language.
C# dead-code findings are conservative: in a complete executable or web
application scan, unreferenced public types and methods are low-confidence
candidates; library APIs, protected members, and known framework or configured
entry points remain externally reachable. C# source-file reachability is not
implemented. Quality scanning detects statements after unconditional
return, throw, break, or continue in a direct block; it is not full
control-flow analysis. Security coverage includes selected tainted-input
sinks and generic secret scanning of .cs files when --secrets or -a is
enabled. Interpolated raw-string expressions are not yet followed by C# taint
analysis. SCA inventories direct NuGet PackageReference entries in .csproj
files. Only unconditional exact Version pins ([version]) without local
Update/Remove mutations, not VersionOverride or centrally managed
versions, can be checked against
advisories. Ordinary NuGet version values are minimum bounds, so without a
resolved lockfile their installed versions and vulnerability status remain
unknown. Transitive packages are not inventoried.
Java security analysis follows directly implemented request-data helpers in same-package files or source files identified by exact imports or fully qualified names under a verified local source root. Helper reads are bounded and reject symlinks; no Java code or build scripts are executed. This is not full classpath or recursive helper analysis. Unknown helpers are not assumed to be request sources or sanitizers.
C++ analysis covers .cpp, .cc, .cxx, .hpp, .hh, and .hxx. The first
release reports only apparently unused file-local free functions. Without a
build configuration, it cannot fully resolve templates, overloads, macros, or
external usage; these findings are a conservative heuristic, not a proof of
C++ deadness. Ambiguous .h files and C files are not analyzed as C++.
Java weak-hash checks also follow local algorithm variables and values loaded
through java.util.Properties from literal classloader resources. Resource
lookup stays within the matching src/main/resources or src/test/resources
directory. Missing resources, unsupported loaders/layouts, conflicting branch
values, and unresolved mutations remain unknown. Properties are used only as
crypto evidence, never to prove a security guard or choose a safe branch. This
does not resolve arbitrary runtime classpaths, JAR resources, or environment
overrides.
TypeScript and JavaScript dead code analysis recognizes package.json entry
fields, including bin. For targets under dist/ or out/, it checks the
matching src/ location first, then the package root, before the declared
output. This also covers dist/bin/palee.js mapping to bin/palee.ts and
dist/src/index.js mapping to src/index.ts. If both source locations exist,
the src/ mapping keeps priority; unrelated files are not treated as entries.
For ESM build scripts invoked by package scripts, Skylos also follows top-level esbuild calls using unchanged constants, spreads, templates, Node path helpers, and simple literal-array maps. Build scripts are never executed. Nested build calls and filesystem-generated entry lists remain unsupported and may still produce unused-file findings.
VitePress configs at .vitepress/config.* and .vitepress/config/index.*
are recognised as development entrypoints for .js, .ts, .mjs and .mts.
Other files in .vitepress still need a reference or another entrypoint rule.
Existing directory conventions such as scripts/ work with native Windows
separators too; this does not add general discovery of commands in CI workflows.
Vue single file components (.vue) are skipped by source analysis, including
when passed explicitly. Skylos does not yet parse their <script> or
<script setup> blocks; separate JavaScript, TypeScript and backend source
files are still analyzed. Existing browser script and event references in
templates are unaffected.
Go dead-code and security checks require the native skylos-go engine. If
Skylos discovers Go files but cannot run that engine, it names them as not
analysed, marks coverage incomplete and never reports them as clean. A few
stray .go files are a coverage warning; when most of the code is Go the scan
exits 2. Run skylos doctor to verify engine availability: it prints the
version-matched build command, and SKYLOS_GO_BIN points Skylos at a
separately built engine. The container image includes the engine and the
official GitHub Action builds it automatically.
See Rules Reference for rule families and scanner scope.
| Surface | Files | Security Scope |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub Actions | .github/workflows/*.yml, .github/workflows/*.yaml, action.yml, action.yaml | dangerous triggers, token permissions, unpinned actions, template injection, secrets, OIDC, cache, and artifact policy |
| GitLab CI | .gitlab-ci.yml | mutable images, unpinned includes, literal secrets, untrusted eval, Docker-in-Docker, OIDC, cache, timeout, and runner-tag policy |
| Dockerfile | Dockerfile, Dockerfile.*, *.dockerfile | dangerous RUN commands, remote ADD without checksum, and literal build ARG / ENV secrets |
| Edge Docker Compose | compose*.yml, compose*.yaml, docker-compose*.yml, docker-compose*.yaml | privileged containers, broad host device/control mounts, GPU/device runtime, and host networking |
| Edge systemd | *.service | root edge services, mutable ExecStart paths, missing sandboxing, broad capabilities, and broad device access |
| Rendered Kubernetes exposure | one multi-document *.yml or *.yaml bundle plus a contracted Python source file | opt-in proof from an Ingress annotated skylos.dev/network-scope: external (or public) and skylos.dev/backend-protocol: http through its Service and workload; SKY-DEP001 checks direct top-level FastAPI/Flask routes against skylos.dev/source-file and skylos.dev/required-guards, SKY-DEP002 catches an effective Flask debugger, and SKY-DEP003 catches effective reload mode |
| GPU release contract | .skylos/gpu-targets.yml, Dockerfiles, CMake/CUDA build files, TensorRT source | static target-fleet checks for driver, compute-architecture, and serialized-engine compatibility; no hardware probing |
With --danger or -a, a directory scan inside a Git worktree also checks
that worktree's root .github/workflows/*.yml / *.yaml and .gitlab-ci.yml.
For example, skylos src --danger checks the CI configuration that applies
to src while keeping source, container and deployment analysis in src.
Unrelated staged or unstaged edits do not narrow a full scan. Explicit diff
filters still select changed configuration files; a single-file scan stays
limited to that file. See scan scope.
These workflows cover narrower jobs: container images, Kubernetes deployment exposure, and GPU release artifacts.
| Goal | Command | What You Get | More Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Container-image scan | skylos image scan IMAGE@sha256:<digest> --platform linux/amd64 --fail-on high | Uses separately installed Trivy, registry network/auth, and an explicit severity gate for a pinned remote image | Container-image scanning |
| Container-image report import | skylos ingest trivy --input trivy.json --sarif image.sarif | Converts an existing Trivy image vulnerability report to Skylos JSON/SARIF; optional digest-bound severity check | Container-image scanning |
| Kubernetes exposure proof | skylos . --select SKY-DEP001,SKY-DEP002,SKY-DEP003 --format concise | Checks an explicitly external, explicitly plain-HTTP Ingress chain inside one rendered multi-document bundle; route checks compare exact framework wiring with the workload's declared source file and required guards | Deployment exposure rules |
| GPU source/build intent gate | skylos . --select SKY-GPU000,SKY-GPU001,SKY-GPU002,SKY-GPU003 --gate --format concise | Checks declared CUDA image, architecture, driver, and TensorRT packaging intent before the artifact is built | GPU target contract |
| Built GPU artifact preflight | skylos preflight build/app | Verifies the exact local artifact identity, selected CUDA architectures, packaged runtime route, and declared fleet compatibility; returns PASS, FAIL, or UNKNOWN | Release reliability |
skylos preflight checks the built artifact itself against the repository's
declared GPU fleet. This is separate from the SKY-GPU* source scan, which
checks Dockerfiles, CUDA build settings, and TensorRT packaging intent before
the artifact exists.
Declare every machine that receives the same release:
# .skylos/gpu-targets.yml
version: 1
targets:
- name: inference-t4
vendor: nvidia
driver: "535.104.05"
compute_capability: "7.5"
platform: "linux/amd64"
The canonical filename is .skylos/gpu-targets.yml; the same schema is also
accepted as .skylos/gpu-targets.yaml.
Then inspect a local build. Skylos uses a trusted system cuobjdump, takes a
private snapshot, and never loads or executes the artifact:
skylos preflight build/app
To make the command argument-free in CI, bind it to a project-relative artifact with a strict release receipt:
{"version": 1, "artifact": "build/app"}
Save that file as .skylos/release.json, then run skylos preflight.
For requests that reach report generation, terminal output is concise and
redirected output is schema-versioned JSON. Argument or adapter errors can be
plain text and exit 2.
| Status | Exit | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
PASS | 0 | Every declared target is compatible within the stated static evidence scope, and the exact artifact identity is verified |
FAIL | 1 | Artifact evidence proves at least one declared target incompatible |
UNKNOWN | 2 | Required evidence is missing, ambiguous, unsupported, or incomplete; it never silently becomes a pass |
cuobjdump can report several code-object groups, identified by the producer
label in its selected executable fatbin. Skylos requires a compatible route
for every reported group. A PTX-only route stays UNKNOWN because static
inspection cannot prove that the deployment driver will JIT it successfully.
The overall result is FAIL if any target or required check fails; otherwise
it is UNKNOWN if any result is unknown, and PASS only when all results pass.
Version 1 proves the local artifact identity, Linux ELF platform, selected
executable-fatbin architecture routes, a static packaged $ORIGIN CUDA
runtime route, and documented CUDA driver-family compatibility. It does not
prove runtime execution, workload correctness, memory demand, performance,
nonselected or relocatable fatbins, or per-kernel symbol parity. Windows PE
runtime import proof is not implemented. Digest-pinned OCI references are
accepted as identities but are never pulled or started, so the CLI always
reports UNKNOWN for them; trusted callers can supply digest-bound inspection
facts through skylos.preflight.run_preflight(...).
Skylos has checked-in regression suites for dead code, security, quality, agent revie