Repository Analysis

ActivityWatch/activitywatch

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8.1 Low AI signal View on GitHub

Analysis Overview

This report presents the forensic synthetic code analysis of ActivityWatch/activitywatch, a Python project with 18,736 GitHub stars. SynthScan v2.0 examined 6,737 lines of code across 53 source files, recording 46 pattern matches distributed across 10 syntactic categories. The overall adjusted score of 8.1 places this repository in the Low AI signal band.

The scanner applied 160+ deterministic lexical heuristics, multi-line block detectors, abstract syntax tree depth profilers, and a cross-file Jaccard similarity matrix to construct a statistically normalised synthetic code estimate. All matches are individually weighted by severity coefficient and contextual multiplier before summation, and the resulting headline score is temporally discounted to account for the repository's development history relative to the commercial emergence of large language model coding tooling (November 2022 onward).

8.1
Adjusted Score
8.1
Raw Score
100%
Time Factor
2026-08-26
Last Push
18.7K
Stars
Python
Language
6.7K
Lines of Code
53
Files
46
Pattern Hits
2026-08-29
Scan Date
0.00
HC Hit Rate

What These Metrics Mean

Adjusted Score
Primary synthetic code indicator. Raw score normalised per 1,000 lines of code and multiplied by the temporal discount factor. This is the definitive comparative metric — use it to rank repositories by AI authorship density.
Raw Score
The unmodified sum of all severity-weighted, context-multiplied pattern match scores before temporal discounting. Reflects the absolute signal strength independent of when the repository was last active.
Time Factor
The temporal discount multiplier (0–100%) applied to the raw score. Repositories last updated before ChatGPT's launch (Nov 2022) receive a 5% factor. Full signal is only assigned to repositories active in the post-adoption era (Jan 2024+).
Pattern Hits
Total count of individual pattern matches across all files and categories. A high hit count with a low score may indicate a very large codebase with isolated AI snippets; a low count with a high score indicates dense, concentrated AI signatures.
HC Hit Rate
High+Critical pattern hits per file, averaged across the repository. This orthogonal signal catches repositories where a few files are densely packed with high-severity AI tells — a strong indicator even when the normalised score appears moderate due to codebase size.
Lines of Code / Files
Total lines and files analysed. The scanner examines 94 file extensions. These denominators are used to normalise the score, enabling fair comparison between repositories of vastly different sizes.

Score History

This chart maps the temporal evolution of the adjusted synthetic code score across successive scan runs. An upward trajectory indicates ongoing incorporation of AI-generated code or expanding LLM-assisted scaffolding; a stable or declining trajectory may reflect active human refactoring, code removal, or the adoption of stricter authorship policies. The dashed secondary line (right axis) independently tracks total raw pattern hit count, which can diverge from the normalised score when codebase size changes significantly between scans.

Severity Breakdown

Classifies detected patterns by their diagnostic confidence and structural impact. CRITICAL patterns (coefficient 10) represent definitive synthetic signatures — hallucinated imports, explicit LLM attribution metadata — virtually never produced by human authors. HIGH (5) indicates strong structural tells such as cross-file repetition or cross-linguistic idioms. MEDIUM (2) covers recognisable conversational padding and AI-specific vocabulary. LOW (1) captures subtle indicators like tautological comments and generic boilerplate that require density to carry independent signal.

CRITICAL 0HIGH 0MEDIUM 4LOW 42

Directory Score Breakdown

This horizontal bar chart decomposes the repository's raw synthetic code score by top-level directory, allowing you to pinpoint precisely which modules or components carry the highest AI authorship density. Directories with disproportionately high scores relative to their size warrant targeted manual review: concentrated AI signatures often trace back to mass-generated configuration layers, auto-ported test suites, LLM-scaffolded boilerplate classes, or entire subsystems authored under heavy copilot assistance. Use this view to prioritise your human code-review effort.

Pattern Findings

The scanner identified 46 distinct pattern matches across 10 syntactic categories. Each entry below represents a discrete location in the source code where the engine recorded a statistically significant AI authorship indicator. Expand any category row to inspect the individual file paths, line numbers, code snippets, and the lexical context (CODE, COMMENT, or STRING) in which each match was detected.

Reading the findings table: The Severity column indicates the diagnostic confidence level (CRITICAL / HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW). The Context column identifies whether the match occurred inside executable code, an inline comment, or a string literal — comment-context matches receive a ×1.5 weight because LLMs systematically over-annotate. The ⚡ bolt icon marks clustered matches: three or more patterns within a 10-line window, each receiving an additional ×1.5 density multiplier as dense clusters constitute far stronger evidence of synthetic authorship than isolated hits.

Hyper-Verbose Identifiers20 hits · 22 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWscripts/tests/test_generate_latest_json.py29def test_normalize_version_strips_v_and_research_suffix():CODE
LOWscripts/tests/test_generate_latest_json.py36def test_infer_edition_from_tag_or_explicit_flag():CODE
LOWscripts/tests/test_generate_latest_json.py44def test_asset_prefix_and_manifest_filename_partition_editions():CODE
LOWscripts/tests/test_generate_latest_json.py51def test_standard_collect_ignores_research_artifacts(tmp_path):CODE
LOWscripts/tests/test_generate_latest_json.py78def test_research_collect_ignores_standard_artifacts(tmp_path):CODE
LOWscripts/tests/test_generate_latest_json.py106def test_windows_prefers_nsis_over_msi_regardless_of_walk_order(tmp_path):CODE
LOWscripts/tests/test_generate_latest_json.py125def test_main_writes_manifest_and_refuses_empty(tmp_path):CODE
LOWscripts/tests/test_patch_research_edition_export.py54def test_patch_inserts_module_and_both_call_sites(tmp_path: Path):STRING
LOWscripts/tests/test_patch_research_edition_export.py93def test_patch_fails_closed_without_export_marker(tmp_path: Path):STRING
LOWscripts/tests/test_patch_research_edition_export.py99def test_live_tree_is_patchable_or_already_patched():STRING
LOWscripts/tests/test_patch_research_edition_export.py111def test_sanitizer_allowlist_covers_config_categories():STRING
LOWscripts/tests/test_emit_research_category_preset.py20def test_preset_covers_every_category_in_the_watcher_map():CODE
LOWscripts/tests/test_emit_research_category_preset.py29def test_rules_match_their_own_category_and_nothing_else():CODE
LOWscripts/tests/test_emit_research_category_preset.py40def test_escaping_is_portable_to_javascript_unicode_mode():CODE
LOWscripts/tests/test_emit_research_category_preset.py58def test_escape_portable_still_escapes_real_metacharacters():CODE
LOWscripts/tests/test_emit_research_category_preset.py67def test_output_is_stable_across_runs():CODE
LOWscripts/tests/test_emit_research_category_preset.py72def test_serialises_without_newlines_for_github_env():CODE
LOWscripts/tests/test_patch_research_edition_config.py97def test_flag_rewrite_is_line_anchored_and_spares_the_sed_comment():CODE
LOWscripts/tests/test_patch_research_edition_config.py123def test_fails_closed_when_flag_is_missing():CODE
LOWscripts/tests/test_patch_research_edition_config.py128def test_fails_closed_on_ambiguous_flag():CODE
Over-Commented Block7 hits · 7 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWscripts/chores/make-release.sh1#!/bin/bashCOMMENT
LOWscripts/research_edition/export_sanitize.rs1//! Research Edition `/api/0/export` sanitizer.COMMENT
LOWscripts/tests/integration_tests.py81COMMENT
LOWscripts/package/dmgbuild-settings.py41# Volume sizeCOMMENT
LOWscripts/package/abi-gate.sh1#!/bin/bashCOMMENT
LOWscripts/package/build_app_tauri.sh181 # Step 2: Sign bundle directories (.framework, .bundle, .plugin) after their contents.COMMENT
LOWscripts/package/build_app_tauri.sh201 # (different timestamp nonces in __LINKEDIT from PyInstaller's ownCOMMENT
Excessive Try-Catch Wrapping4 hits · 6 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
MEDIUMscripts/patch_research_edition_export.py106 print(f"Error: {error}", file=sys.stderr)STRING
MEDIUMscripts/patch_research_edition_config.py830 print(f"Error: {CONFIG_FILE} not found", file=sys.stderr)CODE
MEDIUMscripts/patch_research_edition_config.py836 print(f"Error: {error} in {CONFIG_FILE}", file=sys.stderr)CODE
LOWscripts/build_changelog.py580 except Exception as e:STRING
Verbosity Indicators3 hits · 4 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWscripts/package/build_app_tauri.sh156 # Step 1: Sign all Mach-O binary files (dylibs, .so files, standalone executables).COMMENT
LOWscripts/package/build_app_tauri.sh181 # Step 2: Sign bundle directories (.framework, .bundle, .plugin) after their contents.COMMENT
LOWscripts/package/build_app_tauri.sh264 # Step 3: Sign the top-level .app bundle last.COMMENT
Structural Annotation Overuse3 hits · 4 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWscripts/package/build_app_tauri.sh156 # Step 1: Sign all Mach-O binary files (dylibs, .so files, standalone executables).COMMENT
LOWscripts/package/build_app_tauri.sh181 # Step 2: Sign bundle directories (.framework, .bundle, .plugin) after their contents.COMMENT
LOWscripts/package/build_app_tauri.sh264 # Step 3: Sign the top-level .app bundle last.COMMENT
Deep Nesting4 hits · 4 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWscripts/logcrawler.py22CODE
LOWscripts/build_changelog.py199CODE
LOWscripts/build_changelog.py319CODE
LOWscripts/build_changelog.py444CODE
Self-Referential Comments1 hit · 3 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
MEDIUMscripts/chores/make-release.sh7# Create an annotated tagCOMMENT
Unused Imports2 hits · 2 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWscripts/patch_research_edition_export.py12CODE
LOWscripts/package/dmgbuild-settings.py2CODE
Redundant / Tautological Comments1 hit · 2 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWscripts/package/dmgbuild-settings.py79# Set these to True to force inclusion of icon/list view settings (otherwiseCOMMENT
Modern Structural Boilerplate1 hit · 1 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWscripts/build_changelog.py38logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)CODE