ripr

ripr is a static RIPR mutation-exposure analyzer for Rust workspaces.

It answers a draft-time testing question:

For the behavior changed in this diff, do the current tests appear to contain
a discriminator that would notice if that behavior were wrong?

ripr is alpha software. The current release is a syntax-first scanner that is useful for early feedback, not a proof system.

This is the product repository for ripr. The 0.3.x line keeps the analyzer scope narrow while strengthening syntax-backed evidence and the editor loop.

Mission

ripr helps Rust developers and coding agents write tests that actually notice changed behavior.

It performs static RIPR exposure analysis over changed Rust code, creates mutation-shaped probes, and reports whether existing tests appear to contain the discriminators needed to expose those changes.

It is a fast draft-mode companion to real mutation testing: static guidance while the pull request is moving, real mutation confirmation when the change is ready.

Vision

The vision for ripr is to become the live test-adequacy layer between coverage and mutation testing for Rust/Cargo workspaces.

Coverage tells developers what executed. Mutation testing tells developers what survived. ripr tells developers, reviewers, and agents what changed behavior appears to lack a meaningful oracle before the expensive mutation run begins.

The end state is an LSP-native sidecar that watches changed code, identifies missing discriminators, explains the evidence path, emits agent-ready test intent, and calibrates itself against real mutation outcomes.

Category

ripr defines its category as:

Static Mutation Exposure Analysis

More specifically:

Static oracle-gap analysis for diff-derived mutation probes.

The tool is not trying to be a coverage dashboard, a full mutation engine, a proof system, a second rust-analyzer, or a generic LLM test generator. Its job is to shorten the path from "this behavior changed" to "this is the exact test oracle that should notice."

What ripr Does

ripr reads changed Rust code, creates mutation-shaped probes, and estimates whether related tests appear to reach, infect, propagate, observe, and discriminate the changed behavior.

It looks for missing or weak test oracles such as:

• boundary changes without boundary-value assertions
• error-path changes checked only with is_err()
• return-value changes checked only with smoke assertions
• field construction changes without field, object, or snapshot assertions
• side effects without mock, event, state, persistence, or metric oracles

What ripr Does Not Do

ripr does not run mutants.

It does not report killed or survived, prove test adequacy, replace coverage, or replace real mutation testing. Use a real mutation runner, such as cargo-mutants, when the change is ready for confirmation.

Where It Fits

coverage:
  did this code execute?

ripr:
  does changed behavior appear exposed to a meaningful oracle?

mutation testing:
  did tests fail when a concrete mutant was run?

The goal is fast, honest oracle-gap feedback while code is still changing.

Ecosystem Positioning

Install

Install from crates.io:

cargo install ripr

Links:

• crates.io: https://crates.io/crates/ripr
• docs.rs: https://docs.rs/ripr

For local development from this repository:

cargo install --path crates/ripr

ripr targets Rust 2024 and requires Rust 1.93 or newer.

Quick Start

# Check local tooling and workspace shape
ripr doctor

# Analyze the current Git diff against origin/main
ripr check --base origin/main

# Analyze an explicit unified diff
ripr check --diff example.diff

# Emit stable JSON for tools and agents
ripr check --diff example.diff --json

# Emit GitHub Actions annotations
ripr check --diff example.diff --format github

# Explain one finding
ripr explain --diff example.diff probe:src_lib.rs:88:predicate

# Emit an agent-ready context packet
ripr context --diff example.diff --at probe:src_lib.rs:88:predicate --json

# Start the experimental LSP sidecar
ripr lsp

Example Finding

WARNING src/pricing.rs:88

Static exposure: weakly_exposed (predicate, control)

Changed behavior:
  after:  if amount >= discount_threshold {

RIPR:
  Reach:        yes
  Infect:      weak
  Propagate:   yes
  Observe:     yes
  Discriminate: weak

Gap:
  - No detected boundary input for the changed predicate
  - No strong discriminator was detected

Recommended next step:
  Add below, equal, and above threshold tests with exact assertions.

Output Formats

Human output is optimized for local use.

JSON output is versioned and intended for editor integrations, CI, and coding agents:

{
  "schema_version": "0.1",
  "tool": "ripr",
  "mode": "draft",
  "base": "origin/main",
  "findings": []
}

GitHub output emits workflow annotations.

Classifications

Current Scope

The current alpha line is intentionally narrow:

• one published package: ripr
• one CLI binary: ripr
• one shared analysis engine
• syntax-first unified diff analysis
• basic Rust function, test, and assertion indexing
• human, JSON, and GitHub outputs
• experimental LSP sidecar

The package is not split into ripr-core, ripr-cli, or ripr-lsp. Public crate boundaries can be added later if external consumers need them.

Current Capability Snapshot

ripr is currently strongest as a fast, syntax-first draft signal. The next planned work is to make findings more grounded through fixtures, file facts, parser-backed syntax, stable probe ownership, richer oracle facts, local flow, and activation/value modeling.

Development

cargo fmt --check
cargo check --workspace --all-targets
cargo test --workspace
cargo clippy --workspace --all-targets -- -D warnings
cargo doc --workspace --no-deps
cargo package -p ripr --list
cargo publish -p ripr --dry-run

Useful sample commands:

cargo run -p ripr -- check --diff crates/ripr/examples/sample/example.diff
cargo run -p ripr -- check --diff crates/ripr/examples/sample/example.diff --json