FAQ

How is this different from CodeRabbit / Greptile / etc?

Those tools are AI reviewers that comment on your PRs. Saguaro is part rules engine and part background agent: you define what matters to your team, Saguaro enforces it during development. If you choose to only run a rules-based review there is no noise, no generic suggestions, no “consider adding a docstring” comments. If nothing is violated, you hear nothing.

How is this different from Mesa's cloud review?

Mesa's cloud review at mesa.dev/features/code-review is a GitHub app that comments on PRs. Saguaro is a complementary tool — it enforces your team's specific rules locally during development, before code ever reaches a PR.

How much does it cost?

You use your own API key. Cost depends on your model choice, codebase size, number of rules, and how often you run reviews. sag stats shows your usage history.

Can I use it without Claude Code?

Yes. The CLI works standalone. Run sag review from any terminal or CI pipeline. The Claude Code integration (hook, MCP, slash commands) is optional.

Where does my data go?

Nowhere. Saguaro runs locally. Your code is sent to the AI provider you configure (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google) for review. Review history is stored locally in .saguaro/history/reviews.jsonl.

What languages are supported?

Saguaro reviews any text file — rules are language-agnostic. For import graph indexing (codebase context), Saguaro supports TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Go, Rust, Java, and Kotlin.

Can I use it in CI?

Yes. Run sag review --base origin/main in your CI pipeline. Exit code 1 means violations were found. Use --output json for structured output.

What's the background daemon?

The daemon is an optional async review system for long-running agent sessions. Instead of blocking the agent on every edit (like the stop hook), it reviews in parallel and surfaces findings as soft guidance. Run sag daemon start to start it. It runs locally on localhost backed by SQLite — no external services.

What AI providers are supported?

Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI (GPT-4o, o3), and Google (Gemini). Configure in .saguaro/config.yaml. You bring your own API key.

Is this open source?

Yes. Saguaro is fully open source under the Apache-2.0 license. Source code, issues, and contributions at github.com/mesa-dot-dev/saguaro.