Insitu — Github CLI extension

Problem

Verification and validation of code changes usually happen in cloud pipelines, where queueing and runner spin-up add latency. Timing is also off because the pipeline is triggered by events like commit or tag, and is not available in the local development environment. Consequently, quality cannot be fully checked at the source.

When running AI agents in spec-driven headless mode, this becomes an even bigger issue, because the agent cannot run full verification steps until after it claims the work is done.

Solution

This tool shifts verification left by bringing the full verification step into the development context, whether the contributor is human or a headless AI agent. It exploits the fact that the development environment is already set up to run required checks with zero wait time.

It runs jobs in parallel inside a wave and executes waves sequentially to manage dependencies. It can be wired into a git pre-commit hook to block commits on failing checks. When installed in headless AI agent containers, agents are forced to run the same checks too.

Value

Checking software quality at the source—where files are actually changed—is a prerequisite for trunk-based development and continuous delivery. Execution takes seconds rather than minutes, and the same checks are available on equal terms for both humans and AI agents.

Status

This project is used in production by the Mind Over Machine team, and is in a phase where it collects feedback from users. It is open for contributions.

The intent is to keep the tool focused on its core purpose, to provide insitu support for shift-left verification in the development environment. It’s aiming for feature completeness and stability.