What problem does ArchSteer solve?

AI agents write code faster than any architect can review, document, or govern. Docs rot instantly, the real architecture is invisible, decisions are made silently, and intended architecture drifts. ArchSteer makes architecture continuously observable and governable.

How is ArchSteer different from a linter or a diagram tool?

Linters check single-language rules; diagram tools require manual upkeep. ArchSteer maintains one code-derived model that powers living docs, auto-drafted ADRs, conformance with a net-new ratchet, an evolution feed, and AI-agent steering — all from the same source of truth.

Do I have to set up rules before I get value?

No. The read-only X-ray runs with zero config: point it at any repo and instantly see the current architecture and how it changed. Declaring intent for governance is an incremental, opt-in upgrade.

How does ArchSteer steer AI coding agents?

It injects sharp, file-scoped guardrails into CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md / .cursor/rules that point at the governing ADR, so agents build toward the target architecture instead of copying adjacent legacy code.

Home › Architecture x-rays

JavaScript

The architecture of Axios, x-rayed

Axios has been downloaded billions of times, and its x-ray explains the longevity: a core/ that knows nothing about environments, an adapters/ package where xhr.js (browser), http.js (Node), and fetch.js are interchangeable implementations of one contract, and a platform/ module that isolates every environment check.

Auto-generated by archsteer xray v0.4.1 against axios/axios@e435384 (lib/) on 2026-07-05. Read-only static analysis — no code executed, no architecture rules declared. Structure, not judgment.

components

modules

158

internal edges

runtime deps

Module dependency graph

Top 9 modules by connectivity; an arrow means "imports from".

graph LR
    m0["adapters"]
    m1["axios"]
    m2["cancel"]
    m3["core"]
    m4["defaults"]
    m5["env"]
    m6["helpers"]
    m7["platform"]
    m8["utils"]
    m0 --> m2
    m0 --> m3
    m0 --> m4
    m0 --> m5
    m0 --> m6
    m0 --> m7
    m0 --> m8
    m1 --> m0
    m1 --> m2
    m1 --> m3
    m1 --> m4
    m1 --> m5
    m1 --> m6
    m1 --> m8
    m2 --> m3
    m3 --> m0
    m3 --> m2
    m3 --> m4
    m3 --> m6
    m3 --> m8
    m4 --> m3
    m4 --> m6
    m4 --> m7
    m4 --> m8
    m6 --> m2
    m6 --> m3
    m6 --> m5
    m6 --> m7
    m6 --> m8
    m7 --> m6
    m8 --> m6

Components by module

helpers · 34platform · 10core · 9adapters · 4cancel · 3defaults · 2env · 2axios · 1utils · 1

Most connected components

Top 20 of 66 by exported API surface and dependency count.

Component	Module	Key exports
`adapters/http.js`	adapters	__setProxy, __isNodeEnvProxyEnabled, __isSameOriginRedirect, default
`axios.js`	axios	default
`adapters/fetch.js`	adapters	getFetch, default
`adapters/xhr.js`	adapters	default
`core/Axios.js`	core	default
`helpers/resolveConfig.js`	helpers	default
`defaults/index.js`	defaults	default
`core/dispatchRequest.js`	core	dispatchRequest, default
`helpers/toFormData.js`	helpers	DEFAULT_FORM_DATA_MAX_DEPTH, default
`adapters/adapters.js`	adapters	default
`helpers/formDataToStream.js`	helpers	default
`helpers/progressEventReducer.js`	helpers	progressEventReducer, progressEventDecorator, asyncDecorator
`core/buildFullPath.js`	core	buildFullPath, default
`helpers/buildURL.js`	helpers	encode, buildURL, default
`helpers/fromDataURI.js`	helpers	fromDataURI, default
`core/transformData.js`	core	transformData, default
`helpers/toURLEncodedForm.js`	helpers	toURLEncodedForm, default
`core/AxiosHeaders.js`	core	default
`core/AxiosError.js`	core	REDACTED, default
`core/mergeConfig.js`	core	mergeConfig, default

Declared runtime dependencies

follow-redirectsform-datahttps-proxy-agentproxy-from-env

What the structure teaches

Three adapters, one contract

adapters/http.js, xhr.js, and fetch.js are the three most connected components in the graph — full parallel implementations of request dispatch for Node, legacy browsers, and modern runtimes. The adapter interface is why fetch support could be added in 2024 without touching the core.

Interceptors are the request pipeline

core/Axios.js doesn't call an adapter directly; it builds a promise chain of request interceptors → dispatch → response interceptors. Features like auth refresh and logging live in userland as chain links rather than as framework options — a tiny mechanism carrying an enormous ecosystem.

platform/ is the only place allowed to sniff

Environment detection (browser vs Node vs workers, FormData and Blob availability) is quarantined in platform/. Core and helpers import capabilities from there instead of checking globals — which is what keeps 66 components coherent across every JavaScript runtime.

X-ray your own repo

This page is unedited archsteer xray output plus commentary. The same map of your codebase takes one command, runs locally, and never sends code anywhere: pip install archsteer && archsteer xray

Get started Use it to steer AI agents

FAQ

How is Axios structured internally?

In three rings: core/ (the Axios class, interceptor chains, config merging — environment-agnostic), adapters/ (interchangeable dispatchers: http.js for Node, xhr.js and fetch.js for browsers/modern runtimes), and helpers/ plus platform/ for utilities and quarantined environment detection. 66 components with only 4 runtime dependencies.

How does Axios work in both the browser and Node.js?

Through its adapter pattern: the core builds a normalized request config and hands it to whichever adapter the environment supports — XMLHttpRequest or fetch in browsers, the http/https modules in Node. All environment checks are centralized in platform/, so the rest of the codebase never branches on runtime.

How was this architecture map generated?

By running `archsteer xray` (an open-source, MIT-licensed CLI) against the lib/ directory of the public GitHub repo — read-only static analysis, no code executed. Reproduce it with `pip install archsteer && archsteer xray`.