Security and local data

ReviewArc is local-first. Application state lives in the macOS application support directory, including inbox settings, managed Git caches, structured analysis, review progress, private notes, drafts, and publication history.

Local data layout

The default data root is ~/Library/Application Support/ReviewArc, and the resolved location is shown in ReviewArc settings.

• database/reviewarc.db stores application and review state.
• repositories/ and worktrees/ contain ReviewArc-managed Git data.
• cache/analysis-bundles/ contains immutable private artifacts for active analysis runs.
• logs/ contains local application diagnostics.

To clear only managed Git data, quit ReviewArc and remove repositories/ and worktrees/. To reset ReviewArc completely, remove the displayed data root. A full reset also deletes private notes, drafts, decisions, progress, and publication history.

Managed repositories

ReviewArc does not use or modify your working repositories. It creates isolated, bare Git caches under its own application storage and materializes only the revisions needed for review.

Git hooks are disabled for managed operations. ReviewArc never runs project build commands, test commands, package scripts, or arbitrary repository instructions.

Credentials and network access

GitHub authentication is delegated to your installed gh CLI. ReviewArc does not store a separate GitHub token. The Git transport follows the active account’s gh protocol setting.

Network access is limited to the services required for the workflow: GitHub for repository and pull request data, managed Git remotes for revision fetches, the provider configured by the AI harness for an analysis you explicitly start, and reviewarc.dev for signed update checks.

What leaves your machine

Analysis runs through the installed Codex or Claude Code CLI under your account. ReviewArc first writes an immutable private bundle containing:

• the pull request metadata, including its title, description, and existing review discussion
• the base and head revisions and the list of changed files
• one separate artifact for each changed-file diff

The initial model prompt does not contain that complete content. It contains only the bundle identity and digest. The harness can request bounded, audited pages of PR context, individual diffs, literal search results, or pinned file ranges through ReviewArc’s local read-only tools. It cannot use those tools to write repository files, run project commands, read arbitrary paths, or access the network.

Codex runs in its read-only sandbox with an ephemeral session and shell tools disabled. Claude Code runs with built-in tools disabled and only ReviewArc’s context tools allowed. Both must return ReviewArc’s structured JSON schema; ReviewArc validates every AI-provided path and line range against the reviewed revision before displaying it and labels unsupported claims as unverified.

Nothing else is sent anywhere. Your notes, drafts, judgment progress, and the rest of the agent review stay in local storage until you explicitly publish a review to GitHub.

Publishing boundary

Analysis, judgment progress, accepted tradeoffs, notes, and draft comments remain local. Only the explicitly previewed and confirmed review payload is sent to GitHub.