Developer builds CLI tool Serval to map the blast radius of code changes

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A developer has created Serval, a local-first command-line tool designed to help engineers understand the potential impact of changes in large or unfamiliar codebases. The tool analyzes multiple signals — including dependency graphs, Git history, co-change frequency, and CI/CD configurations — to generate an evidence-based risk score for any targeted file. Serval currently supports repositories written in JavaScript, TypeScript, Go, Python, Java, and C, and can parse CI pipelines from GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Azure Pipelines, and Jenkins. Users can also define critical-path rules via a .serval.yml file to flag high-priority areas such as authentication or payment logic. Rather than making AI-driven predictions, Serval aims to surface concrete, repository-level evidence so developers can make more informed decisions before merging changes.

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