Archify

Archify is a powerful browser extension designed to demystify the inner workings of web applications. It allows developers and technical users to gain a clear understanding of a web app's architecture, including its components, APIs, and scripts, all directly within their browser environment. The primary goal is to simplify the process of software comprehension, making it more accessible and efficient than traditional methods. In today's complex web development landscape, understanding how an application is built and functions can be a significant challenge. Developers often spend considerable time sifting through browser developer tools, network requests, and source code to piece together the application's structure. This fragmentation of information can lead to inefficiencies in debugging, learning, and overall development. Archify addresses this problem by consolidating these insights into a single, easy-to-access view, thereby reducing the cognitive load and time investment required for software analysis. One of Archify's key features is its ability to visualize components. It identifies and displays the various components that make up a web application, providing a hierarchical view that helps users understand the structure and relationships between different parts of the UI. This is crucial for grasping the modularity and organization of the application. Another significant capability is the detailed API inspection. Archify tracks and presents information about the API calls made by the web application, including their endpoints, methods, and status codes. This feature is invaluable for understanding how different parts of the application communicate with backend services and external APIs. Archify also excels at revealing the scripts and libraries used within a web page. It can identify the various scripts that are loaded and executed, offering insights into the technologies and frameworks powering the application. This helps in understanding the tech stack and dependencies of the software. The tool operates entirely locally, ensuring that all data processing and analysis happen on the user's machine. This local-first approach means that no sensitive code or data ever leaves the browser, providing a secure and private environment for inspection. This is a critical aspect for developers working with proprietary code or sensitive information. Archify works by injecting a script into the web page, similar to how other browser developer tools operate. It then observes the page's live DOM and network activity. By analyzing signals left by frameworks and runtime behavior, it intelligently detects and maps out the application's structure, components, and API interactions without guessing or relying on file names. This method ensures accuracy even in Single Page Applications (SPAs) that dynamically load content. The benefits for users include a significantly reduced learning curve for new projects, faster debugging cycles, and a more intuitive way to understand complex web applications. By providing a consolidated view, Archify empowers developers to grasp software architecture more effectively and efficiently, saving valuable time and effort. Concrete use cases for Archify include onboarding new developers to a project, where they can quickly understand the application's structure. It's also useful for debugging complex issues by visualizing component relationships and API call flows. Developers can use it to audit third-party scripts and understand their interactions within a web page, or to analyze the architecture of competitor websites to learn from their implementation. Archify is currently available as a browser extension, primarily targeting developers and technical users. It is offered for free and runs locally within the web browser. The project is open-source, with its code available on GitHub, allowing for transparency and community contributions. While it currently focuses on browser-based analysis, future explorations into deeper engineering context and repository connections are envisioned. In essence, Archify transforms the complex task of understanding web software into a straightforward, visual process, bringing clarity and efficiency directly to the developer's browser.