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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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW⚡ | scripts/tests/test_generate_latest_json.py | 29 | def test_normalize_version_strips_v_and_research_suffix(): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | scripts/tests/test_generate_latest_json.py | 36 | def test_infer_edition_from_tag_or_explicit_flag(): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | scripts/tests/test_generate_latest_json.py | 44 | def test_asset_prefix_and_manifest_filename_partition_editions(): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | scripts/tests/test_generate_latest_json.py | 51 | def test_standard_collect_ignores_research_artifacts(tmp_path): | CODE |
| LOW | scripts/tests/test_generate_latest_json.py | 78 | def test_research_collect_ignores_standard_artifacts(tmp_path): | CODE |
| LOW | scripts/tests/test_generate_latest_json.py | 106 | def test_windows_prefers_nsis_over_msi_regardless_of_walk_order(tmp_path): | CODE |
| LOW | scripts/tests/test_generate_latest_json.py | 125 | def test_main_writes_manifest_and_refuses_empty(tmp_path): | CODE |
| LOW | scripts/tests/test_patch_research_edition_export.py | 54 | def test_patch_inserts_module_and_both_call_sites(tmp_path: Path): | STRING |
| LOW | scripts/tests/test_patch_research_edition_export.py | 93 | def test_patch_fails_closed_without_export_marker(tmp_path: Path): | STRING |
| LOW | scripts/tests/test_patch_research_edition_export.py | 99 | def test_live_tree_is_patchable_or_already_patched(): | STRING |
| LOW | scripts/tests/test_patch_research_edition_export.py | 111 | def test_sanitizer_allowlist_covers_config_categories(): | STRING |
| LOW | scripts/tests/test_emit_research_category_preset.py | 20 | def test_preset_covers_every_category_in_the_watcher_map(): | CODE |
| LOW | scripts/tests/test_emit_research_category_preset.py | 29 | def test_rules_match_their_own_category_and_nothing_else(): | CODE |
| LOW | scripts/tests/test_emit_research_category_preset.py | 40 | def test_escaping_is_portable_to_javascript_unicode_mode(): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | scripts/tests/test_emit_research_category_preset.py | 58 | def test_escape_portable_still_escapes_real_metacharacters(): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | scripts/tests/test_emit_research_category_preset.py | 67 | def test_output_is_stable_across_runs(): | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | scripts/tests/test_emit_research_category_preset.py | 72 | def test_serialises_without_newlines_for_github_env(): | CODE |
| LOW | scripts/tests/test_patch_research_edition_config.py | 97 | def test_flag_rewrite_is_line_anchored_and_spares_the_sed_comment(): | CODE |
| LOW | scripts/tests/test_patch_research_edition_config.py | 123 | def test_fails_closed_when_flag_is_missing(): | CODE |
| LOW | scripts/tests/test_patch_research_edition_config.py | 128 | def test_fails_closed_on_ambiguous_flag(): | CODE |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | scripts/chores/make-release.sh | 1 | #!/bin/bash | COMMENT |
| LOW | scripts/research_edition/export_sanitize.rs | 1 | //! Research Edition `/api/0/export` sanitizer. | COMMENT |
| LOW | scripts/tests/integration_tests.py | 81 | COMMENT | |
| LOW | scripts/package/dmgbuild-settings.py | 41 | # Volume size | COMMENT |
| LOW | scripts/package/abi-gate.sh | 1 | #!/bin/bash | COMMENT |
| LOW | scripts/package/build_app_tauri.sh | 181 | # Step 2: Sign bundle directories (.framework, .bundle, .plugin) after their contents. | COMMENT |
| LOW | scripts/package/build_app_tauri.sh | 201 | # (different timestamp nonces in __LINKEDIT from PyInstaller's own | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEDIUM | scripts/patch_research_edition_export.py | 106 | print(f"Error: {error}", file=sys.stderr) | STRING |
| MEDIUM | scripts/patch_research_edition_config.py | 830 | print(f"Error: {CONFIG_FILE} not found", file=sys.stderr) | CODE |
| MEDIUM | scripts/patch_research_edition_config.py | 836 | print(f"Error: {error} in {CONFIG_FILE}", file=sys.stderr) | CODE |
| LOW | scripts/build_changelog.py | 580 | except Exception as e: | STRING |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | scripts/package/build_app_tauri.sh | 156 | # Step 1: Sign all Mach-O binary files (dylibs, .so files, standalone executables). | COMMENT |
| LOW | scripts/package/build_app_tauri.sh | 181 | # Step 2: Sign bundle directories (.framework, .bundle, .plugin) after their contents. | COMMENT |
| LOW | scripts/package/build_app_tauri.sh | 264 | # Step 3: Sign the top-level .app bundle last. | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | scripts/package/build_app_tauri.sh | 156 | # Step 1: Sign all Mach-O binary files (dylibs, .so files, standalone executables). | COMMENT |
| LOW | scripts/package/build_app_tauri.sh | 181 | # Step 2: Sign bundle directories (.framework, .bundle, .plugin) after their contents. | COMMENT |
| LOW | scripts/package/build_app_tauri.sh | 264 | # Step 3: Sign the top-level .app bundle last. | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | scripts/logcrawler.py | 22 | CODE | |
| LOW | scripts/build_changelog.py | 199 | CODE | |
| LOW | scripts/build_changelog.py | 319 | CODE | |
| LOW | scripts/build_changelog.py | 444 | CODE |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEDIUM | scripts/chores/make-release.sh | 7 | # Create an annotated tag | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | scripts/patch_research_edition_export.py | 12 | CODE | |
| LOW | scripts/package/dmgbuild-settings.py | 2 | CODE |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | scripts/package/dmgbuild-settings.py | 79 | # Set these to True to force inclusion of icon/list view settings (otherwise | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | scripts/build_changelog.py | 38 | logger = logging.getLogger(__name__) | CODE |