Technical Architecture Guide: Fixing Code Issues Early to Protect Developer Flow

The guide argues that AI-assisted development shifts the optimal security control point from post-commit checks to the developer endpoint, recommending pre-commit, in-IDE policy enforcement that delivers sub-200ms feedback and automatically collects audit evidence. It outlines an architecture with lightweight IDE plugins, real-time policy evaluation, and transparent evidence capture to prevent issues like secrets exposure and insecure patterns before they reach the repository. The paper promotes patterns such as policy-based auto-approval and inline warnings at generation time, and warns against blocking all AI code or relying on post-commit alerts. Reported outcomes include fewer security-related delays, reduced rework, fewer secrets and license violations, higher developer satisfaction, and increased deployment frequency.