Enji GuardEnji Guard vs Semgrep: pattern rules vs AI-aware audit
Semgrep is a fast, flexible static analyzer driven by patterns and custom rules. Enji Guard is an AI-aware auditor that adds dependency, test-quality, and runtime context for how AI-written code fails. Here is how they compare.
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01
What each is built for
Semgrep matches code against rules, its own and ones you write, to enforce patterns and catch known issues quickly across languages. It is excellent when you can express the risk as a rule. Enji Guard audits for the AI-specific risk that is hard to express as a fixed pattern, and spans dependencies, tests, and runtime as well as code.
02
Where they overlap
Both read source and flag risky code. If you want a fast, scriptable static analyzer with custom rules in CI, Semgrep is purpose-built for that.
03
Where Guard is different
A rule fires on a pattern it was told about. A lot of AI failure is not a pattern: a function that looks right but solves the wrong problem, a test that asserts truthy, a dependency that does not exist. Guard uses senior-engineer runbooks instead of fixed rules, and adds runtime checks and plain-language explanations.
04
Use them together
Custom rules and AI-aware auditing complement each other. Keep Semgrep to enforce the patterns you can codify; add Guard for the AI-shaped risk that resists a rule, returned as reviewable GitHub work.
Semgrep vs Enji Guard
| Semgrep | Enji Guard | |
|---|---|---|
| Fast, customizable pattern rules | Runbooks, not fixed rules | |
| Catches risk that is not a known pattern | Limited | |
| Dependency / SCA checks | Supply-chain add-on | |
| Test-quality audit (fake-green tests) | ||
| Bounded runtime / DAST checks | ||
| Findings in plain language as GitHub issues | Rule hits | |
| Opens remediation pull requests |
Quick questions
Does Enji Guard replace Semgrep?
Not for codified pattern enforcement, Semgrep is great at that. Guard targets the AI-specific risk that is hard to write as a rule, plus dependencies, tests, and runtime. The two work well together.
Do I have to write rules to use Guard?
No. Guard reads your repository and stack and applies senior-engineer runbooks, so there is no ruleset to author or maintain.
Catch the risk a rule can't describe.
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