By Arjun Mehta
Codebase analysis tools have become essential. The question isn't whether to buy one, but which one solves your actual problem.
Tool Categories
Static Analysis Tools (SonarQube, CodeClimate): Measure metrics (complexity, duplication, coverage). Good for baseline quality. Not good for understanding architecture or impact.
Architecture Visualization (Structurizr, Dependency Check): Map your structure and dependencies. Good for onboarding. Not good for understanding why architecture is this way.
AI-Powered Codebase Intelligence (Glue): Understand your codebase, answer questions, identify risks. Good for strategic questions. Newer, emerging.
Developer Portals (Backstage, Cortex): Centralize knowledge. Good for service catalogs. Not good for understanding code.
The Decision Matrix
Need metrics on code quality? → Static analysis Need to understand architecture? → Visualization tools Need to answer business questions about code? → AI codebase analysis Need to track what services you own? → Developer portal
Glue vs Competitors
vs SonarQube: SonarQube measures code metrics. Glue translates code into business outcomes.
vs Structurizr: Structurizr requires you to manually define architecture. Glue reads it from code.
vs Backstage: Backstage organizes information. Glue understands code.
Choosing a Tool
Start with the problem. What are you solving?
- Code quality too low? → Static analysis
- New engineers don't understand? → Architecture tools
- Can't make accurate estimates? → AI codebase analysis
- Don't know what services exist? → Developer portal
Consider your maturity:
- Early stage: Probably don't need specialized tools yet
- Growth stage (30-50 engineers): Invest in static analysis + architecture clarity
- Scale (50+ engineers): Add AI codebase analysis
Implementation Tips
Don't install everything. Pick one, get value, then add more.
Integrate into workflows. Tools fail when they're separate dashboards. Success happens when they're in Slack, in GitHub, in your process.
Measure impact. Did you reduce onboarding time? Did estimation improve? If the tool doesn't move metrics, reconsider.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Should we buy a tool now or wait?
If code quality is causing shipping delays, buy now. If it's not a problem, wait.
Q: Can we use free tools?
Free static analysis works. Free AI codebase analysis doesn't exist — the computing cost is too high.