David Baker Effendi

I build open-source, multi-language code intelligence for coding agents at Brokk. Bifrost gives agents and developer tools a structural view of unbuilt or partially broken repositories, including mixed-language workspaces.

The analysis stack is available as a Rust crate, MCP server, LSP, and CLI. Its S-expression query language supports portable structural queries, with semantic layers for relationships such as usages, imports, and type hierarchies built on demand. My work sits at the intersection of static analysis, program verification, and AI-assisted software engineering.

How I got here

I came to coding agents through program analysis. My PhD at Stellenbosch University explored how language-agnostic representations, graph backends, and parallel processing could make static analysis more practical at repository scale. Along the way, I maintained Plume and contributed to Joern, working directly with the opportunities and limitations of code property graphs.

From 2022 to June 2025, I applied that research at Whirly Labs, leading the development of tailored static-analysis systems for clients. That work shifted my focus from analysis as a research artifact toward code intelligence as dependable product infrastructure: tools that must remain useful on large, evolving, and occasionally broken codebases.

Since 2025, I have been bringing those lessons to AI-assisted software engineering at Brokk. My current work on Bifrost and Anvil focuses on giving coding agents reliable structural context and a reusable execution environment, rather than asking language models to infer everything from text alone.

I remain connected to Stellenbosch University as a visiting lecturer and postgraduate co-supervisor in static program analysis.