Repository Analysis

JamesNK/Newtonsoft.Json

Json.NET is a popular high-performance JSON framework for .NET

5.6 Low AI signal View on GitHub

Analysis Overview

This report presents the forensic synthetic code analysis of JamesNK/Newtonsoft.Json, a C# project with 11,310 GitHub stars. SynthScan v2.0 examined 229,340 lines of code across 981 source files, recording 1258 pattern matches distributed across 4 syntactic categories. The overall adjusted score of 5.6 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).

5.6
Adjusted Score
5.6
Raw Score
100%
Time Factor
2026-08-13
Last Push
11.3K
Stars
C#
Language
229.3K
Lines of Code
981
Files
1.3K
Pattern Hits
2026-08-13
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

Longitudinal tracking requires multiple scan runs. Once this repository is re-scanned after new commits land, this chart will visualise how the synthetic code signal evolves over time — enabling you to detect whether AI authorship is growing, stabilising, or being actively corrected by human engineers.

No multi-scan history yet — run the scanner again to build trend data.

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 3MEDIUM 1LOW 1254

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 1258 distinct pattern matches across 4 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.

Over-Commented Block1247 hits · 1247 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOW.github/workflows/codeql.yml1# For most projects, this workflow file will not need changing; you simply needCOMMENT
LOW.github/workflows/codeql.yml61 # This includes steps like installing compilers or runtimes (`actions/setup-node`COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/ConstructorHandling.cs1#region LicenseCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/ConstructorHandling.cs21// WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISINGCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonRequiredAttribute.cs1#region LicenseCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonConverterAttribute.cs1#region LicenseCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonConverterAttribute.cs41 /// Gets the <see cref="Type"/> of the <see cref="JsonConverter"/>.COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/DefaultJsonNameTable.cs1#region LicenseCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonConverter.cs1#region LicenseCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonConverter.cs41 /// </summary>COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonConverter.cs61 /// <returns>COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonConverter.cs101 /// Writes the JSON representation of the object.COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonConverter.cs121 throw new JsonSerializationException("Converter cannot read JSON with the specified existing value. {0} COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonPosition.cs1#region LicenseCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/Required.cs1#region LicenseCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/Required.cs21// WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISINGCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/WriteState.cs1#region LicenseCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/WriteState.cs21// WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISINGCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/WriteState.cs41COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/IArrayPool.cs1namespace Newtonsoft.JsonCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonConverterCollection.cs1#region LicenseCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/FloatParseHandling.cs1#region LicenseCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/FloatParseHandling.cs21// WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISINGCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/NullValueHandling.cs1#region LicenseCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/NullValueHandling.cs21// WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISINGCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/Formatting.cs1#region LicenseCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/Formatting.cs21// WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISINGCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/IJsonLineInfo.cs1#region LicenseCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/IJsonLineInfo.cs21// WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISINGCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/IJsonLineInfo.cs41 /// <summary>COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonSerializerSettings.cs1#region LicenseCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonSerializerSettings.cs141 /// <summary>COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonSerializerSettings.cs161 /// </summary>COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonSerializerSettings.cs221 /// The default value is <see cref="Json.ConstructorHandling.Default" />.COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonSerializerSettings.cs301 /// <summary>COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonSerializerSettings.cs421 set => _stringEscapeHandling = value;COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonExtensionDataAttribute.cs1using System;COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonTextReader.Async.cs1#region LicenseCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonTextReader.Async.cs41 public partial class JsonTextReaderCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonToken.cs1#region LicenseCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonToken.cs41COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonToken.cs61COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonToken.cs81COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonToken.cs101COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonWriter.Async.cs1#region LicenseCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonWriter.Async.cs661 }COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonTextReader.cs1#region LicenseCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonTextReader.cs2621 }COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/TypeNameHandling.cs1#region LicenseCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/TypeNameHandling.cs21// WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISINGCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/TypeNameHandling.cs41 {COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/TypeNameHandling.cs61COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/DateTimeZoneHandling.cs1#region LicenseCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/DateTimeZoneHandling.cs21// WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISINGCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/DateTimeZoneHandling.cs41 /// Treat as a UTC. If the <see cref="DateTime"/> object represents a local time, it is converted to a UTC.COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonArrayAttribute.cs1#region LicenseCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/TraceLevel.cs21COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonReader.Async.cs1#region LicenseCOMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonReader.Async.cs101 /// <summary>COMMENT
LOWSrc/Newtonsoft.Json/JsonReader.Async.cs161 /// Asynchronously reads the next JSON token from the source as a <see cref="Nullable{T}"/> of <see cref="DateTiCOMMENT
1187 more matches not shown…
Synthetic Comment Markers3 hits · 22 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
HIGH…ewtonsoft.Json.Tests/FileSystemEntityModel.Designer.cs5// This code was generated from a template.COMMENT
HIGH…soft.Json.Tests/LinqToSql/LinqToSqlClasses.designer.cs6// This code was generated by a tool.COMMENT
HIGH…oft.Json.Tests/TestObjects/SqlTypesDataSet.Designer.cs5// This code was generated by a tool.COMMENT
Fake / Example Data7 hits · 7 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOW…ocumentation/Samples/JsonPath/ErrorWhenNoMatchQuery.cs54 'Name': 'John Doe',CODE
LOW…ocumentation/Samples/JsonPath/ErrorWhenNoMatchQuery.cs57 'Name': 'Jane Doe',CODE
LOW….Tests/Serialization/JsonSerializerCollectionsTests.cs1831 PhoneNumber p1 = new PhoneNumber("555-1212");CODE
LOW….Tests/Serialization/JsonSerializerCollectionsTests.cs1843 ""phoneNumber"": ""555-1212""CODE
LOW….Tests/Serialization/JsonSerializerCollectionsTests.cs1857 Assert.AreEqual("555-1212", newName.pNumbers[0].phoneNumber);CODE
LOW…tonsoft.Json.Tests/Serialization/JsonSerializerTest.cs6005 person.Name = "John Doe";CODE
LOW…tonsoft.Json.Tests/Serialization/JsonSerializerTest.cs6386 var testObj = new PersonSerializable() { Name = "John Doe", Age = 28 };CODE
Slop Phrases1 hit · 3 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
MEDIUM.github/workflows/codeql.yml54 # If you are analyzing a compiled language, you can modify the 'build-mode' for that language to customize howCOMMENT