Zenith Tooling Stack¶

Zenith replaces fragmented Python tooling with a fast, Rust-based toolchain configured with automated quality checks.

Tool Architecture & Categories¶

The diagram below maps the complete Zenith tool ecosystem across four operational pillars:

flowchart TB
    subgraph Build["🛠️ Build & Workflow"]
        direction TB
        uv["uv<br/><i>Package Manager & Builds</i>"]
        poe["Poe the Poet<br/><i>Hermetic Task Runner</i>"]
        prek["prek<br/><i>Git Hook Automation</i>"]
        typer["Typer<br/><i>Type-Safe CLI Framework</i>"]
        cc["Cookiecutter<br/><i>Template Scaffolding</i>"]
    end

    subgraph Quality["🛡️ Code Quality & Architecture"]
        direction TB
        ruff["Ruff<br/><i>Linter & Formatter</i>"]
        pyrefly["Pyrefly<br/><i>Strict Type Checker</i>"]
        tach["Tach<br/><i>Boundary Enforcer</i>"]
        deptry["Deptry<br/><i>Dependency Checker</i>"]
        complex["complexipy<br/><i>Complexity Ceiling</i>"]
        griffe["Griffe<br/><i>API Change Detector</i>"]
        typos["typos<br/><i>Source Spell Checker</i>"]
    end

    subgraph Test["🧪 Testing & Security"]
        direction TB
        pytest["pytest<br/><i>Parallel Test Engine</i>"]
        cov["Coverage.py<br/><i>100% Branch Coverage</i>"]
        mutmut["mutmut<br/><i>Fast Local Mutation</i>"]
        cosmic["Cosmic Ray<br/><i>Deep AST Mutation</i>"]
        zizmor["zizmor<br/><i>CI Security Analyzer</i>"]
    end

    subgraph Docs["📚 Documentation & Formatting"]
        direction TB
        zensical["Zensical<br/><i>Fast Docs Generator</i>"]
        rumdl["rumdl<br/><i>Markdown Linter</i>"]
        taplo["Taplo<br/><i>TOML Formatter</i>"]
        prettier["Prettier<br/><i>YAML & CSS Formatter</i>"]
        typst["Typst<br/><i>SVG Layout Engine</i>"]
        termy["Termynal<br/><i>Animated Terminal</i>"]
    end

    click uv "uv/" "Explore uv documentation"
    click poe "poethepoet/" "Explore Poe the Poet documentation"
    click prek "prek/" "Explore prek documentation"
    click typer "typer/" "Explore Typer documentation"
    click cc "cookiecutter/" "Explore Cookiecutter documentation"
    click ruff "ruff/" "Explore Ruff documentation"
    click pyrefly "pyrefly/" "Explore Pyrefly documentation"
    click tach "tach/" "Explore Tach documentation"
    click deptry "deptry/" "Explore Deptry documentation"
    click complex "complexipy/" "Explore complexipy documentation"
    click griffe "griffe/" "Explore Griffe documentation"
    click typos "typos/" "Explore typos documentation"
    click pytest "pytest/" "Explore pytest documentation"
    click cov "coverage/" "Explore Coverage.py documentation"
    click mutmut "mutmut/" "Explore mutmut documentation"
    click cosmic "cosmic-ray/" "Explore Cosmic Ray documentation"
    click zizmor "zizmor/" "Explore zizmor documentation"
    click zensical "zensical/" "Explore Zensical documentation"
    click rumdl "rumdl/" "Explore rumdl documentation"
    click taplo "taplo/" "Explore Taplo documentation"
    click prettier "prettier/" "Explore Prettier documentation"
    click typst "typst/" "Explore Typst documentation"
    click termy "termynal/" "Explore Termynal documentation"

Click any tool above to view its technical specifications, architectural rationale in Zenith, configuration showcases, and upstream references.

Two-Tier Tooling Architecture: Daily Essentials Vs. Hardening¶

Seeing over twenty tools can feel overwhelming. Zenith organizes its tooling into two distinct tiers so developers can focus immediately on shipping code:

You do not need to learn or configure Tier 2 tools on Day 1. They operate as automated safety nets that prevent architectural rot, loose typing, and security leaks.

Customizing or Pruning Tools¶

Zenith's tools are decoupled and modular. If your team does not need architectural boundary enforcement (tach), complexity ceilings (complexipy), or mutation testing (mutmut), you can prune them in three simple steps without breaking other tasks:

1. Remove from Composite Tasks (poe_tasks.toml): Open poe_tasks.toml and remove the tool's command from the code-quality task array.
2. Remove from Git Hooks (prek.toml): Open prek.toml and remove the hook entry so git commit does not execute it.
3. Remove from Dependencies (pyproject.toml): Remove the package from [dependency-groups.dev] in pyproject.toml and run uv sync. You can then safely delete the tool's standalone .toml configuration file.

Dedicated Configuration Files¶

Most modern Python tools—such as Ruff, Pytest, Coverage, and Taplo—support defining configuration directly inside pyproject.toml using [tool.*] tables. While consolidating settings into a single file appears convenient, Zenith intentionally standardizes on separate, dedicated configuration files per tool whenever possible (ruff.toml, pyrefly.toml, complexipy.toml, tach.toml, poe_tasks.toml, pytest.ini, .coveragerc, .taplo.toml, prek.toml):

• Focused, High-Signal Code Reviews: Updating a linter rule, adjusting type check settings, or revising task scripts creates a clean Git diff in that tool's specific file. Pull requests remain easy to review without noise in the core packaging manifest.
• Prevents Monolithic File Bloat: Storing configuration for 15+ developer tools in pyproject.toml results in a file stretching hundreds of lines. This bloat obscures essential PEP 621 package metadata, dependencies, and build specifications.
• Granular Git Blame & History: Each tool configuration retains an independent commit history. Inspecting git log ruff.toml or git blame tach.toml surfaces the exact context, author, and pull request for architectural decisions over time.
• Tool-Native Schema Support: Dedicated files allow language servers, editors, and formatters to attach dedicated JSON/TOML schemas directly without schema interference.

Tooling Matrix¶