Repository Analysis

contour-terminal/contour

Modern C++ Terminal Emulator

5.4 Low AI signal View on GitHub

Analysis Overview

This report presents the forensic synthetic code analysis of contour-terminal/contour, a C++ project with 3,009 GitHub stars. SynthScan v2.0 examined 299,163 lines of code across 1063 source files, recording 1587 pattern matches distributed across 11 syntactic categories. The overall adjusted score of 5.4 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).

5.4
Adjusted Score
5.4
Raw Score
100%
Time Factor
2026-08-28
Last Push
3.0K
Stars
C++
Language
299.2K
Lines of Code
1.1K
Files
1.6K
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 26LOW 1561

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 1587 distinct pattern matches across 11 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 Block1536 hits · 1519 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOW_typos.toml1# Spell-check configuration. Run it with `scripts/check-spelling.py`, or via `ctest -L lint`.COMMENT
LOWCMakeLists.txt21if (NOT(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD))COMMENT
LOWCMakeLists.txt101# libc++ 18 and 19 only; FreeBSD 15's base Clang 19 is where CI meets it, and so does anyoneCOMMENT
LOWCMakeLists.txt241 list(APPEND CONTOUR_LINT_GATES ${name})COMMENT
LOWCMakeLists.txt281endif()COMMENT
LOWtest/DECAC.sh1#! /bin/bashCOMMENT
LOWtest/colors-256.sh1#!/usr/bin/env bashCOMMENT
LOWtest/DECATC.sh1#! /bin/bashCOMMENT
LOWtest/decoration.sh41# decoration 25 "Not blinking"COMMENT
LOWexamples/regis-animation.cpp1// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0COMMENT
LOWexamples/text-sizing-demo.cpp1// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0COMMENT
LOWexamples/text-sizing-demo.cpp21/// | `h` | 0..2 | horizontal alignment: left/right/center |COMMENT
LOWexamples/multi-page-demo.cpp1// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0COMMENT
LOWexamples/regis-plot3d.cpp1// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0COMMENT
LOWexamples/regis-primitives.cpp1// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0COMMENT
LOWexamples/watch-mouse-events.cpp1// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0COMMENT
LOWexamples/watch-dec-locator.cpp1// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0COMMENT
LOWexamples/watch-dec-locator.cpp81/// Decodes the parameter string of a DECLRP report into its five fields.COMMENT
LOWexamples/drcs-demo.cpp1// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0COMMENT
LOWexamples/drcs-demo.cpp141COMMENT
LOWscripts/run-display-tests.sh1#! /bin/bashCOMMENT
LOWscripts/apt-update.sh1#! /bin/bashCOMMENT
LOWscripts/fetch-vttest.sh1#!/usr/bin/env bashCOMMENT
LOWscripts/fetch-vttest.sh21# leaves it fully buffered, and only `Wait:`/`Done:`, give_up() and menu2() ever flush -- so aCOMMENT
LOWscripts/fetch-esctest.sh1#!/usr/bin/env bashCOMMENT
LOWscripts/check-clang-tidy-config.sh1#! /bin/bashCOMMENT
LOWscripts/ci/vttest-install.sh1#! /bin/bashCOMMENT
LOWscripts/ci/notcurses-install-deps.sh1#! /bin/bashCOMMENT
LOW.github/workflows/docs.yml41 # C driver has to exist under that name too (g++-14 does depend on it, but the build shouldCOMMENT
LOW.github/workflows/spelling.yml1# Spell check.COMMENT
LOW.github/workflows/build.yml101 - name: set environment variablesCOMMENT
LOW.github/workflows/build.yml221 # nothing about its behaviour.COMMENT
LOW.github/workflows/build.yml241 test -f "$RUNNER_TEMP/contour-headless/share/contour/shell-integration/shell-integration.zsh"COMMENT
LOW.github/workflows/build.yml361 # os_version: [40]COMMENT
LOW.github/workflows/build.yml381 # echo "ARCH=${arch##* }" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"COMMENT
LOW.github/workflows/build.yml401 # set -xCOMMENT
LOW.github/workflows/build.yml421 # sed -i -e "s/fedora:35/fedora:${{ matrix.os_version }}/" .github/fedora/DockerfileCOMMENT
LOW.github/workflows/build.yml441 # name: "contour-${{ steps.set_vars.outputs.VERSION }}-1.fc${{ matrix.os_version }}.${{ steps.tags.outputs.ARCCOMMENT
LOW.github/workflows/build.yml481 cmake --build build/ -j2COMMENT
LOW.github/workflows/build.yml681 # cairo) are built from source against CMAKE_OSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET rather thanCOMMENT
LOW.github/workflows/build.yml721 && sudo make installCOMMENT
LOW.github/workflows/build.yml761 # ctest, not a hand-written list of binaries: the previous four-line list predatedCOMMENT
LOW.github/workflows/build.yml821 # that hdiutil succeeded.COMMENT
LOW.github/workflows/build.yml1141 # framing that landed after 3.5. With 3.4 that oracle self-skipped, and the verification stepCOMMENT
LOW.github/workflows/build.yml1261 # A hung test (e.g. a dead-loop) must fail the matrix fast, not stall for hours.COMMENT
LOWsrc/vtrasterizer/TextureAtlas.hpp1// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0COMMENT
LOWsrc/vtrasterizer/TextureAtlas.hpp21{COMMENT
LOWsrc/vtrasterizer/TextureAtlas.hpp121COMMENT
LOWsrc/vtrasterizer/TextureAtlas.hpp461 constexpr iterator& operator++() noexceptCOMMENT
LOWsrc/vtrasterizer/BoxDrawingRenderer.cpp1// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0COMMENT
LOWsrc/vtrasterizer/BoxDrawingRenderer.cpp2261 // TODO: ▣ U+25A3 WHITE SQUARE CONTAINING BLACK SMALL SQUARECOMMENT
LOWsrc/vtrasterizer/BoxDrawingRenderer.cpp2281 // TODO: ▸ U+25B8 BLACK RIGHT-POINTING SMALL TRIANGLECOMMENT
LOWsrc/vtrasterizer/BoxDrawingRenderer.cpp2301 // TODO: ◍ U+25CD CIRCLE WITH VERTICAL FILLCOMMENT
LOWsrc/vtrasterizer/BoxDrawingRenderer.cpp2321 // TODO: ◡ U+25E1 LOWER HALF CIRCLECOMMENT
LOWsrc/vtrasterizer/BoxDrawingRenderer.cpp2341 // TODO: ◵ U+25F5 WHITE CIRCLE WITH LOWER LEFT QUADRANTCOMMENT
LOWsrc/vtrasterizer/TextRenderer.hpp1// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0COMMENT
LOWsrc/vtrasterizer/TextRenderer.hpp81 void inspect(std::ostream& textOutput) const override;COMMENT
LOWsrc/vtrasterizer/GlyphSlicing.hpp1// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0COMMENT
LOWsrc/vtrasterizer/GlyphSlicing.hpp141COMMENT
LOWsrc/vtrasterizer/GlyphSlicing.hpp221};COMMENT
1476 more matches not shown…
Decorative Section Separators12 hits · 36 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
MEDIUMCMakeLists.txt190# ----------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMCMakeLists.txt270# ----------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMCMakeLists.txt306# ----------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMtest/demo_math_symbols.py316 # = 1 - ───── + ───── - ───── + ...COMMENT
MEDIUMtest/demo_parenthesis_pieces.py338 # sin(x) = x · ⎜ 1 - ────── ⎟COMMENT
MEDIUM.github/workflows/build.yml1915 # -------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMsrc/crispy/CMakeLists.txt5# --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMsrc/crispy/CMakeLists.txt137# --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMsrc/contour/CMakeLists.txt889# ====================================================================================COMMENT
MEDIUMsrc/contour/CMakeLists.txt891# ====================================================================================COMMENT
MEDIUMsrc/vtbackend/CMakeLists.txt182# ----------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMsrc/vtbackend/core/Color.hpp312 // ╞═════════════╪═════════╪════════╪════════╡COMMENT
AI Slop Vocabulary10 hits · 32 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
MEDIUMtest/demo_parenthesis_pieces.py218 """Verify seamless junction between hooks and extensions."""STRING
MEDIUMscripts/fetch-vttest.sh13# conformance harness is happy with either: it takes whatever is on PATH unless told otherwise withCOMMENT
MEDIUMscripts/fetch-esctest.sh52# The suite's entry point lives one level down; that is the directory the harness runs it from.COMMENT
MEDIUMscripts/ci/vttest-install.sh5# Installs vttest, the VT test program the conformance harness drives.COMMENT
MEDIUMscripts/ci/vttest-install.sh7# vttest is a TEST-ONLY dependency: nothing of it is compiled, linked or shipped. The harness spawnsCOMMENT
MEDIUMscripts/ci/vttest-install.sh13# out of step: vttest runs off the end of the file, never reaches its exit, and the harness reports aCOMMENT
MEDIUMscripts/ci/notcurses-install-deps.sh4# Installs ONLY the test-harness runtime dependencies for the notcurses-demo / quick-shell-exit CICOMMENT
MEDIUMsrc/crispy/Environment_test.cpp121 // absent. Asserting only that it is not silently aliased keeps this robust either way.COMMENT
MEDIUMsrc/vthost/client/LayoutReconstruction_test.cpp183 // the converter must be robust on its own too: a split node missing a childCOMMENT
MEDIUMsrc/vtconformance/Report.hpp128 std::string_view { "# VT sequences Contour does not yet honour, as reported by the conformance harness.\n"CODE
Deep Nesting12 hits · 12 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWtest/demo_math_symbols.py67CODE
LOWtest/demo_math_symbols.py84CODE
LOWtest/demo_math_symbols.py205CODE
LOWtest/demo_math_symbols.py261CODE
LOWtest/demo_parenthesis_pieces.py99CODE
LOWtest/demo_parenthesis_pieces.py116CODE
LOWtest/demo_parenthesis_pieces.py188CODE
LOWscripts/check-spelling.py53CODE
LOWscripts/macos-bundle.py633CODE
LOWscripts/macos-bundle.py216CODE
LOWscripts/extract-changelog-from-metainfo.py42CODE
LOWscripts/lib/toolcache.py119CODE
Self-Referential Comments4 hits · 11 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
MEDIUM…c/contour/cli/shell-integration/shell-integration.bash135# This function is installed as part of the PROMPT_COMMAND;COMMENT
MEDIUM…c/contour/cli/shell-integration/shell-integration.bash143# This function is installed as part of the PROMPT_COMMAND.COMMENT
MEDIUM…c/contour/cli/shell-integration/shell-integration.bash203# This function is installed as the DEBUG trap. It is invoked before eachCOMMENT
MEDIUMsrc/vtconformance/Report.hpp130 "# This file is a RATCHET, not a suppression list:\n"CODE
TODO Padding4 hits · 6 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWsrc/vtrasterizer/GridMetrics.hpp51 CellMargin cellMargin {}; // TODO: implement respecting cell margins.CODE
LOWsrc/vtpty/SshSession.cpp994 // TODO: implementCOMMENT
LOWsrc/contour/session/SessionFactory.cpp90 // TODO: implement SSH host key verification dialogCOMMENT
LOWsrc/vtbackend/input/InputGenerator.cpp537 // TODO: implement meCOMMENT
Unused Imports4 hits · 4 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWscripts/check-spelling.py17CODE
LOWscripts/check-workflows.py18CODE
LOWscripts/macos-bundle.py48CODE
LOWscripts/lib/toolcache.py16CODE
Hyper-Verbose Identifiers2 hits · 2 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWscripts/extract-changelog-from-metainfo.py42def extract_changelog_from_metainfo(metainfo_file: str) -> list[Release]:CODE
LOWsrc/contour/test/QmlComponents_test.cpp2935 " function onCommandPaletteRequested() { paletteItem.open(); }\n"CODE
Redundant / Tautological Comments1 hit · 2 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWtest/display-modes.sh32 # Check if we got the terminatorCOMMENT
Structural Annotation Overuse1 hit · 2 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOW…c/contour/cli/shell-integration/shell-integration.bash56# WARNING: This variable is no longer used and should not be relied upon.COMMENT
Slop Phrases1 hit · 1 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWmetainfo.xml94 <!-- unreleased: TODO: Don't forget to add date attribute to it. -->CODE