The comparison
| Decision factor | Cody | Archiet |
|---|---|---|
| Question-answering inside a large codebase | Excellent. Sourcegraph indexing, real context across files. | Out of scope — Archiet generates, doesn't introspect existing code. |
| Codebase generation | Limited — you can prompt Cody to write code but it's manual. | Designed for it. Twelve target stacks, deterministic pipeline, scored output. |
| Architecture documentation | Cody can read your existing ADRs if you have them. | Generates ADRs in MADR v4 format alongside the code. |
| Multi-stack output | Whatever language you're already in. | Twelve stacks across Python, TypeScript, PHP, Ruby, .NET, Java, Go, Apex, ABAP CDS, X++. |
| Compliance docs | Out of scope. | DPIA / HIPAA / PCI / SOX populated from your entity model when flagged. |
| Multi-tenant safety defaults | Whatever your codebase already has. | Built-in: row-level filter, httpOnly cookie auth, route-level tenant filter on every protected endpoint. |
| Best fit | Existing codebase, especially large ones. Code review, navigation, "where is X." | Greenfield production codebase with handoff requirements. |
| Worst fit | Greenfield production work where you want determinism and a documented decision trail. | Inside-an-existing-codebase work — that's Cody's lane. |
The complementary workflow: Archiet generates the production codebase + handoff pack. Cody is then the daily driver for navigating and modifying it. The docs/ tree Archiet ships gives Cody real context to draw on for "where is the auth flow" or "show me everywhere we call Stripe" type questions.
The mistake teams make is reaching for the wrong tool at the wrong stage. Cody can't generate a production codebase from a PRD — it's not built for that. Archiet can't help you understand the legacy monorepo you inherited last quarter — that's Cody's territory.
For most teams: use both, at different times. Archiet at the start of a project, Cody for the long tail of operating it.
What you get
The generated ZIP from Archiet always includes:
- The codebase in your chosen stack
docs/decisions/— ADRs in MADR v4 (Cody can read these later for context)docs/traceability/matrix.md+.csv— story-to-code mappingdocs/compliance/— populated regulatory documents (when flagged)docs/security/posture.md— attack surface, controls- Quality score, Synthetic Boot Test result
The output is a clean, well-documented codebase that any code-context tool (Cody, Cursor, Continue, Aider) can work inside more effectively because the conventions are explicit.
CTA
Try Archiet — free plan, no credit card. archiet.com.
Keep Cody for the existing codebases. Add Archiet for the new ones.