Repository Analysis

cert-manager/cert-manager

Automatically provision and manage TLS certificates in Kubernetes

2.5 Likely human-written View on GitHub

Analysis Overview

This report presents the forensic synthetic code analysis of cert-manager/cert-manager, a Go project with 13,929 GitHub stars. SynthScan v2.0 examined 245,271 lines of code across 1087 source files, recording 625 pattern matches distributed across 8 syntactic categories. The overall adjusted score of 2.5 places this repository in the Likely human-written 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).

2.5
Adjusted Score
2.5
Raw Score
100%
Time Factor
2026-07-12
Last Push
13.9K
Stars
Go
Language
245.3K
Lines of Code
1.1K
Files
625
Pattern Hits
2026-07-14
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 1HIGH 0MEDIUM 11LOW 613

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 625 distinct pattern matches across 8 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 Block586 hits · 538 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOW.clomonitor.yml1# License scanning informationCOMMENT
LOWcmd/cainjector/app/controller.go101 // Why do we disable the cache for v1.Secret?COMMENT
LOWcmd/cainjector/app/controller.go121 // This initial list operation can place enormous load onCOMMENT
LOWdesign/20190708.certificate-request-crd.md121## ProposalCOMMENT
LOWdesign/20200326.extensible-certificate-controller.md121 //COMMENT
LOWdesign/20200326.extensible-certificate-controller.md141 // for the next certificate iteration.COMMENT
LOWdesign/20200326.extensible-certificate-controller.md161 // the options on the Certificate resource are compared against theCOMMENT
LOWdesign/acme-orders-challenges-crd.md81 // If the Issuer does not exist, processing will be retried.COMMENT
LOWdesign/acme-orders-challenges-crd.md101 // Config specifies a mapping from DNS identifiers to how those identifiersCOMMENT
LOWdesign/acme-orders-challenges-crd.md141// State represents the state of an ACME resource, such as an Order.COMMENT
LOWdesign/acme-orders-challenges-crd.md161 // If an Order is marked 'Ready', the corresponding certificateCOMMENT
LOWdesign/acme-orders-challenges-crd.md181 // Expired signifies that an ACME resource has expired.COMMENT
LOWdesign/acme-orders-challenges-crd.md261 // or not.COMMENT
LOWtools/setup-integration-test-dependencies.sh1#!/usr/bin/env bashCOMMENT
LOW…st/integration/certificates/metrics_controller_test.go241certmanager_certificate_challenge_status{domain="example.com",name="test-challenge-status",namespace="testns",processingCOMMENT
LOWtest/e2e/framework/addon/internal/globals.go41 SupportsGlobal() boolCOMMENT
LOWtest/e2e/framework/log/log.go41COMMENT
LOWtest/e2e/framework/helper/featureset/featureset.go41 // IPAddressFeature denotes tests that set the IPAddresses field.COMMENT
LOWtest/e2e/framework/helper/featureset/featureset.go61COMMENT
LOWtest/e2e/suite/issuers/ca/fixtures.go21 metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"COMMENT
LOWtest/e2e/suite/issuers/ca/fixtures.go41// Public Key Algorithm: id-ecPublicKeyCOMMENT
LOWtest/e2e/suite/issuers/ca/fixtures.go101// Version: 3 (0x2)COMMENT
LOWtest/e2e/suite/issuers/ca/fixtures.go121// X509v3 extensions:COMMENT
LOWtest/e2e/suite/issuers/ca/fixtures.go181// Not After : Oct 21 13:13:40 2121 GMTCOMMENT
LOW…/suite/conformance/certificatesigningrequests/suite.go41 // returns an SignerName to that Issuer that will be used as the SignerNameCOMMENT
LOW…/suite/conformance/certificatesigningrequests/suite.go61COMMENT
LOWtest/e2e/suite/conformance/certificates/suite.go41 // IssuerRef on Certificate resources that this suite creates.COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml1# +docs:section=GlobalCOMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml21 # If a component-specific nodeSelector is also set, it will be merged and take precedence.COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml41 priorityClassName: ""COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml81 # +docs:propertyCOMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml101COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml121#COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml141COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml161 # +docs:propertyCOMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml181# +docs:propertyCOMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml201 # registry: ""COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml221 # digest: sha256:0e072dddd1f7f8fc8909a2ca6f65e76c5f0d2fcfb8be47935ae3457e8bbceb20COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml241# Override the "cert-manager.name" value, which is used to annotate some ofCOMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml261 # "{{ .Chart.Name }}-helm-chart/version": "{{ .Chart.Version }}"COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml281#COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml301# # See https://cert-manager.io/docs/cli/controller/COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml321# dnsNames:COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml341# Forces cert-manager to use only the recursive nameservers for verification.COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml361COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml381# command: [aws_signing_helper]COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml401# secretName: certCOMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml441COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml461# +docs:propertyCOMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml481# podDnsPolicy: "None"COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml501# - bar.remoteCOMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml561 # defaultIssuerKind: ""COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml581COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml601runtimeClassName: ""COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml621# matchLabels:COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml641COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml661 # Create a ServiceMonitor to add cert-manager to Prometheus.COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml681 labels: {}COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml721 # The timeout before a metrics scrape fails.COMMENT
LOWdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml741 # - __meta_kubernetes_pod_node_nameCOMMENT
526 more matches not shown…
Fake / Example Data24 hits · 26 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWtest/e2e/suite/certificates/othernamesan.go151 UTF8Value: "user@example.org",CODE
LOWtest/e2e/suite/certificates/othernamesan.go166 UTF8Value: "user@example.org",CODE
LOWthird_party/forked/acme/rfc8555_test.go363 const email = "mailto:user@example.org"CODE
LOWthird_party/forked/acme/rfc8555_test.go441 const email = "mailto:user@example.org"CODE
LOWthird_party/forked/acme/rfc8555_test.go589 const email = "mailto:user@example.org"CODE
LOWthird_party/forked/acme/rfc8555_test.go723 const email = "mailto:user@example.org"CODE
LOWpkg/util/pki/csr_test.go312 UTF8String: "user@example.org",CODE
LOWpkg/util/pki/csr_test.go590 UTF8Value: "user@example.org",CODE
LOWpkg/util/pki/csr_test.go616 EmailAddresses: []string{"user@example.org", "alt-email@example.org"},CODE
LOWpkg/util/pki/csr_test.go620 UTF8Value: "user@example.org",CODE
LOWpkg/util/pki/csr_test.go624 UTF8Value: "user@example.org",CODE
LOWpkg/util/pki/csr_test.go635 {Tag: nameTypeRFC822Name, Class: 2, Bytes: []byte("user@example.org")},CODE
LOWpkg/util/pki/csr_test.go636 {Tag: nameTypeRFC822Name, Class: 2, Bytes: []byte("alt-email@example.org")},CODE
LOWpkg/util/pki/csr_test.go657 UTF8Value: "user@example.org",CODE
LOWpkg/util/pki/nameconstraints_test.go59 PermittedEmailAddresses: []string{"user@example.com"},CODE
LOWpkg/util/pki/nameconstraints_test.go87 PermittedEmailAddresses: []string{"user@example.com"},CODE
LOWpkg/controller/certificate-shim/sync_test.go750 cmapi.IngressSecretTemplate: `{ "annotations": { "example-annotation" : "dummy-value" }, "labels":CODE
LOWpkg/controller/certificate-shim/sync_test.go777 "example-annotation": "dummy-value",CODE
LOWpkg/controller/certificate-shim/sync_test.go780 "example-label": "dummy-value",CODE
LOWpkg/controller/certificate-shim/sync_test.go801 cmapi.IngressSecretTemplate: `{ "annotations": { "cert-manager.io/disallowed-annotation" : "dummy-CODE
LOW…oller/certificaterequests/venafi/custom_fields_test.go31 {"name": "Authoriser Name", "value": "John Doe"},{"name": "Division", "value": "BU1"}CODE
LOW…oller/certificaterequests/venafi/custom_fields_test.go36 {Name: "Authoriser Name", Value: "John Doe"},CODE
LOW…oller/certificaterequests/venafi/custom_fields_test.go51 {Name: "Authoriser Name", Value: "John Doe"},CODE
LOWpkg/issuer/acme/setup_test.go90 someEmail = "test@test.com"CODE
Self-Referential Comments7 hits · 21 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
MEDIUMdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml661 # Create a ServiceMonitor to add cert-manager to Prometheus.COMMENT
MEDIUMdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml705 # Create a PodMonitor to add cert-manager to Prometheus.COMMENT
MEDIUMdeploy/charts/cert-manager/values.yaml1180 # Create the CA Injector deploymentCOMMENT
MEDIUMhack/verify-upgrade.sh92# Create a cert-manager issuer and certCOMMENT
MEDIUMhack/verify-upgrade.sh152# Create a cert-manager issuer and certCOMMENT
MEDIUMmake/config/samplewebhook/chart/templates/pki.yaml2# Create a selfsigned Issuer, in order to create a root CA certificate forCOMMENT
MEDIUMmake/config/samplewebhook/chart/templates/pki.yaml40# Create an Issuer that uses the above generated CA certificate to issue certsCOMMENT
Hallucination Indicators1 hit · 10 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
CRITICAL…troller/certificates/readiness/readiness_controller.go364 c.scheduledWorkQueue.Add(key, crt.Status.ACME.ARI.NextCheck.Time.Sub(now))CODE
AI Slop Vocabulary3 hits · 9 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
MEDIUMinternal/controller/certificates/policies/checks.go219 // This comparison is a lot less robust than comparing against the CertificateRequestCOMMENT
MEDIUMhack/latest-base-images.sh25# We use the nonroot variants of the distroless images to follow best practices around container security.COMMENT
MEDIUMhack/latest-kind-images.sh35# It can be made more robust if / when KindCOMMENT
Slop Phrases1 hit · 3 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
MEDIUMmake/config/kind/cluster.yaml19# TIP: If you are running kind on a computer with corporate MITM VPN, you can addCOMMENT
Verbosity Indicators2 hits · 3 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWpkg/controller/certificate-shim/ingresses/controller.go80 // We re-queue on "Update" because we need to check if the Certificate isCOMMENT
LOWpkg/controller/certificate-shim/gateways/controller.go66 // Gateway because we need to check if the Certificate is still up to date.COMMENT
Structural Annotation Overuse1 hit · 2 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWinternal/controller/certificates/policies/checks.go375// NOTE: This function only compares the values of annotations and labels thatCOMMENT