Tool Comparison
NDepend analyzes your full .NET assembly to enforce architecture rules and track quality metrics over time. GauntletCI analyzes only the lines that changed in a pull request to catch behavioral regressions before they merge. They address different points in the development process.
| Tool | What it checks | What it misses |
|---|---|---|
| NDepend | Architecture rules, code quality metrics, technical debt tracking | Behavioral change risk, diff-scoped pre-commit detection |
| GauntletCI | Change safety, Behavioral Change Risk in the diff | -- |
NDepend is a mature .NET-specific analysis tool focused on architecture governance and code quality metrics. Its dependency matrix and CQLinq query language give teams precise control over layered architecture rules, coupling thresholds, and technical debt tracking across the full assembled codebase.
GauntletCI does not replace NDepend. It solves a narrower, earlier problem: catching the behavioral regressions and breaking API changes that live in the diff itself, before the code is pushed. It does not scan assemblies or track metrics over time.
Diff-only analysis
GauntletCI only looks at the lines that changed. It never compiles or scans assemblies. This keeps it fast enough to run pre-commit and precise enough to avoid noise from pre-existing issues.
Behavioral risk focus
Rules target behavioral drift: removed null guards, altered exception handling, changed concurrency patterns, dropped public API members. These compile fine but break production behavior.
Free, no license server
GauntletCI is open-source and free. No per-developer license, no activation server, no renewal cycle. Install with a single dotnet tool install command.
Enforcing layered architecture and forbidden dependency rules
NDepend's dependency matrix and CQLinq rules are purpose-built for architecture governance.
Catching behavioral regressions in a pull request diff
GauntletCI analyzes only the changed lines for removed guards, broken APIs, and altered patterns.
Pre-commit feedback before a push
Sub-second local diff analysis. NDepend runs a full assembly scan post-build.
Tracking code quality metrics and technical debt over time
NDepend trend charts, debt estimates, and rule dashboards are designed for this.
Air-gapped or strict data-residency environments
Both run locally, but GauntletCI requires no license server or activation.
Zero-cost adoption with full rule set
GauntletCI is free. NDepend is a commercial license starting at several hundred dollars per developer.
Custom metric-based rules using query language
CQLinq lets teams write LINQ queries over the codebase graph for custom quality gates.
Optional offline AI explanations for findings
Built-in ONNX engine. No API key or cloud call needed.
NDepend answers: "What is the state of the codebase and how has it trended?" GauntletCI answers: "Did this specific change introduce a behavioral risk?"
The distinction matters at the moment of commit. A developer who just added a CancellationToken parameter to a public interface method does not need a full dependency matrix report - they need to know that the change breaks all existing callers. GauntletCI surfaces that finding in under a second, before the push.
NDepend's strength is longitudinal: tracking how architectural health evolves across dozens of builds and hundreds of contributors. GauntletCI's strength is surgical: catching the single regression in the 20 lines you just wrote.
The tools are complementary. NDepend enforces architecture rules and tracks metric baselines across the full build. GauntletCI enforces behavioral integrity on every diff before it is pushed.
A common setup: GauntletCI runs as a pre-commit hook to catch breaking changes and removed error handling in the diff. NDepend runs in CI to block merges that violate coupling thresholds or introduce architecture violations in the assembled output. Together they provide coverage at both the change level and the codebase level.
Install in under two minutes. No account, no cloud, no configuration required to start.
