WHAT IS IT?

Codefather protects your codebase by controlling who can change what. Set authorization levels, lock down files, and enforce your rules—offline via CLI or online with GitHub Actions.

ℹ️ The documentation is also available on our website!

CODEOWNERS COMPARISON

GitHub’s CODEOWNERS auto-assigns reviewers. But it can’t enforce real rules.

Codefather gives you absolute control over your repository and can either replace or supercharge CODEOWNERS, like a trusted consigliere.

It blocks unauthorized changes before they waste review time, empowers leads without flooding them with every PR, lets you choose between hard blocking or advisory enforcement, and provides actionable feedback by listing sensitive files touched and who to contact.

Run it offline and online with a single config, enjoy advanced file-matching patterns, automatically translate your CODEOWNERS file, and get over 100 personalized reactions to your commits.

Whether you're enforcing strict governance or just want the Don watching over your commits, Codefather brings clarity, control, and charisma to your workflow.

SCREENSHOTS

INSTALLATION

npm install @donedeal0/codefather --save-dev

USAGE

TLDR

npx codefather-init
npm run codefather

Commands

• codefather: checks if your access rules are respected in your repository.
• codefather-init: creates a default config at the root of your repository and adds a codefather command to your package.json.
  • If a .github/CODEOWNERS file is present, it will be used to generate the config.
  • Accepts two optional flags:
    • json: generates a json config file instead of a ts one.
    • overwrite: overwrites an existing codefather config.
      • example: npm run codefather-init json overwrite
• codefather-github: similar to codefather, but designed to run in a GitHub Action environment

You can either add a script shortcut in your package.json:

"scripts": {
  "codefather": "codefather",
}

Or directly run the commands with npx.

👉 The CLI mode only checks files that are staged, unstaged, newly created, or deleted. Once a file is committed, it won’t be rechecked unless modified again. For full enforcement across all commits, use Codefather in a GitHub Action.

CONFIG

At the root of your repository, add a codefather.ts or codefather.json file (you can also use npx codefather-init):

import type { CodefatherConfig } from "@donedeal0/codefather";

export default {
  caporegimes: [{ name: "solozzo" }, { name: "lucabrasi" }],
  rules: [
    {
      match: ["package.json", "src/core/**", /^src\/app\/.*\.css$/],
      goodfellas: [{ name: "solozzo" }, { name: "tomhagen" }],
      crews: ["clemenzaPeople"],
      allowForgiveness: false,
    },
    {
      match: ["src/models/**"],
      goodfellas: [{ name: "mike" }, { name: "sonny" }],
      allowForgiveness: true,
      message: "Custom message to tell you to NOT TOUCH THE MODELS!",
    },
  ],
  options: {
    showAscii: true,
    vouchForAllCommitters: true,
  },
  codeReviews: {
    autoAssignGoodfellas: true,
    autoAssignCaporegimes: true,
  },
  crews: {
    clemenzaPeople: [{ name: "paulieGatto" }, { name: "lucabrasi" }],
  },
} satisfies CodefatherConfig;

⚙️ Here's how it works.

The CodefatherConfig allows you to control which users can modify parts of your codebase, and to refine the behavior of codefather.

type CodefatherConfig {
  /** List of users authorized to modify any files in your repository. */
  caporegimes?: {name: string}[];
  /** Rules that apply to protected files and folders */
  rules: CodefatherRule[];
  /** Options to refine the output */
  options?: {
    /** If true, the codefather face will appear in the terminal. Defaults to true. */
    showAscii?: boolean;
    /** If true, all the pull request committers will be checked against the authorized users. Only used in a GitHub Action context. Defaults to true. */
    vouchForAllCommitters?: boolean;
  };
  /** Options to auto assign reviewers on GitHub */
  codeReviews?: {
    /** If true, goodfellas responsible for modified files will be assigned on relevant pull requests, except the committers. Defaults to true. */
    autoAssignGoodfellas: boolean;
    /** If true, caporegimes will be assigned on every pull request, except the committers. Defaults to false. */
    autoAssignCaporegimes: boolean;
  };
  /** Group users into teams. Crew names and composition are flexible in CLI mode but should match your GitHub teams if used in a GitHub Action */
  crews?: Record<string, {name: string}[]>;
}

A Rule defines which users can change a set of files.

type CodefatherRule {
  /** List of the files or folders that can only be modified by a given list of users */
  match: Array<RegExp | string>;
  /** List of users authorized to modify the list of files or folders. */
  goodfellas: {name: string}[];
  /** List of authorized user crews (teams). The crews must be defined at the root of your config when used in CLI mode. */
  crews?: string[];
  /** The message displayed if an unauthorized user tries to modify a protected file. If empty, a random message will be generated. */
  message?: string;
  /** If true, a warning will be issued and the script will not throw an error. False by default. */
  allowForgiveness?: boolean;
}

Name format

The names should match the GitHub usernames (e.g., tomhagen). In CLI mode, your name will be retrieved from your Git configuration. You can set it like this:

 git config --global user.username "DonCorleone"

You can verify the current value like this:

git config user.username # returns DonCorleone

In a GitHub Action, codefather will use GitHub's API, so you don't have to worry about the git config.

How to write rules

• Match all files in a folder (recursively): src/myfolder/
• Match a specific file: src/myfolder/file.ts
• Match files by extension in a folder (glob): src/folder/*.css
• Match files by extension in a folder (regex): /^src\/folder\/.*\.css$/
• Match any file in any subfolder: src/**
• Match dotfiles: .env
• Use * for single-level matches, ** for recursive matches

ℹ️ More examples are available in the test files. Codefather's matching patterns follow classic file matcher rules, like GitHub CODEOWNERS.

Pre-commit

If you have HUSKY installed, you can add the npm run codefather command in the .husky/pre-commit file.

GITHUB ACTION

Add this code in your .github/workflows/codefather.yml file (the file name is up to you). The GITHUB_TOKEN will be automatically injected by GitHub.

name: Codefather Validation
on:
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

permissions:
  contents: read
  pull-requests: write

jobs:
  validate:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: 20
      - name: Install dependencies
        run: npm install

      - name: Run Codefather
        run: npx codefather-github
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

🛡️ ENFORCE REVIEWS

To enforce reviews from codeowners (goodfellas, caporegimes and crews), consider enabling branch protection in your repository settings. To do it:

• Go to settings
• Click on Branches on the left sidebar
• Select Add classic branch protection rule
• Check
  • Require a pull request before merging
  • Require approvals
  • Require review from Code Owners
  • Require status checks to pass before merging
• ✅ You're now under the protection of the Codefather.

GLOSSARY

Codefather uses the Godfather's lingo. Although you don't need to know it to use the library, here are the definition of the special words used in the config file:

• caporegime: a captain who leads a group of mafia members. It's a tech-lead.
• goodfella: an appellation for a mobster (like "wise-guy" or "made man"). It's a developer.

CODEFATHER VIBE

We believe open source libraries should be both useful and entertaining. The Don will amuse you with over 100 personalized reactions to your commits—whether you trespassed the rules, flirted with the limits, or respected the codebase like an honorable developer.

This being said, if you don't like the gangster movie atmosphere and still want to use codefather, you can absolutely opt-out by providing your own custom messages and hiding the Don's face in the terminal.

CREDITS

DoneDeal0 | talk.donedeal0@gmail.com

SUPPORT

Show your support for Codefather by becoming a sponsor if you or your company uses it! Your name or company logo will be displayed in the README and on the website.

Premium support is also available. https://github.com/sponsors/DoneDeal0

CONTRIBUTING

Issues and pull requests are welcome!