Quell reads your docstrings, Pydantic models, and type annotations, extracts every testable requirement, finds which ones have no test, generates pytest tests via a rule engine, verifies each test through a 5-gate pipeline, and writes only proven tests to disk.

Does Quell require an LLM API key?

The rule engine runs entirely in-process — no source code is ever transmitted. ~75% of edge cases are handled with no network call and no API key. LLM fallback is opt-in and only sends the function signature, never the full body.

What is the 5-gate pipeline?

Every generated test must pass: Gate 1 (AST valid Python), Gate 2 (not already in a test file), Gate 3 (no shell calls or file writes), Gate 4 (passes against original code), Gate 5 (fails when the requirement is violated). Only gate-5-verified tests are written to disk.

What is the Production Readiness Score (PRS)?

PRS = (WRITTEN × 1.0 + SCAFFOLDED × 0.5) / total_requirements × 100. Tiers: 80-100 Production Ready, 60-79 Review Needed, 0-59 Needs Work.

How is Quell different from GitHub Copilot or Qodo for test generation?

Quell reads specifications that already exist in your code — it does not generate tests from scratch. It finds requirements already documented in your docstrings, Pydantic models, and type annotations that have no test. The 5-gate pipeline, especially Gate 5 (violation injection), verifies each test actually catches the bug it claims to catch. This verification step is not present in Copilot, Qodo, or Hypothesis.

Can Quell be used in CI pipelines?

Yes. Run quell ci src/ --threshold 80 to fail CI if PRS falls below 80. Set prs_threshold in pyproject.toml under [tool.quell]. Works with GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, and any system that checks exit codes.

CLI Reference

Quell has 7 commands. That's it.

Command	Purpose
`quell find [PATH]`	Main command. Find untested edge cases. Add `--fix` to write tests.
`quell score [PATH]`	Show the Production Readiness Score for a path or project.
`quell reproduce "<bug>"`	Turn a bug description into a failing test (requires LLM).
`quell ci [PATH]`	CI mode. Exit non-zero if score is below threshold.
`quell auth`	Manage LLM API keys. Subcommands: `login`, `logout`, `status`, `set`.
`quell init`	Set up `[tool.quell]` in `pyproject.toml`.
`quell install`	Install GitHub Action workflow or pre-commit hook.

Backward compatibility

quell scan and quell check were aliases of quell find in v1.x and have been removed in v2.0. Use quell find going forward.