Repository Analysis

etcd-io/etcd

Distributed reliable key-value store for the most critical data of a distributed system

5.3 Low AI signal View on GitHub

Analysis Overview

This report presents the forensic synthetic code analysis of etcd-io/etcd, a Go project with 51,986 GitHub stars. SynthScan v2.0 examined 245,955 lines of code across 1259 source files, recording 1268 pattern matches distributed across 9 syntactic categories. The overall adjusted score of 5.3 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).

5.3
Adjusted Score
5.3
Raw Score
100%
Time Factor
2026-07-13
Last Push
52.0K
Stars
Go
Language
246.0K
Lines of Code
1.3K
Files
1.3K
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 0HIGH 0MEDIUM 3LOW 1265

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 1268 distinct pattern matches across 9 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 Block1240 hits · 1240 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWdummy.go1// Copyright 2016 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWetcdutl/ctl.go1// Copyright 2021 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWetcdutl/main.go1// Copyright 2021 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWetcdutl/etcdutl/completion_commmand.go1// Copyright 2021 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWetcdutl/etcdutl/printer_fields.go1// Copyright 2021 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWetcdutl/etcdutl/common_test.go1// Copyright 2025 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWetcdutl/etcdutl/snapshot_command.go1// Copyright 2021 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWetcdutl/etcdutl/printer_protobuf.go1// Copyright 2021 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWetcdutl/etcdutl/printer_table.go1// Copyright 2021 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWetcdutl/etcdutl/common.go1// Copyright 2021 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWetcdutl/etcdutl/printer_simple.go1// Copyright 2021 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWetcdutl/etcdutl/migrate_command.go1// Copyright 2021 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWetcdutl/etcdutl/printer_json.go1// Copyright 2021 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWetcdutl/etcdutl/defrag_command.go1// Copyright 2021 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWetcdutl/etcdutl/hashkv_command_test.go1// Copyright 2026 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWetcdutl/etcdutl/printer.go1// Copyright 2021 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWetcdutl/etcdutl/version_command.go1// Copyright 2021 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWetcdutl/etcdutl/hashkv_command.go1// Copyright 2024 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWetcdutl/snapshot/doc.go1// Copyright 2018 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWetcdutl/snapshot/v3_snapshot.go1// Copyright 2018 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWetcdutl/snapshot/v3_snapshot.go221 // OutputDataDir should not conflict with existing etcd data directory.COMMENT
LOWetcdutl/snapshot/v3_snapshot_test.go1// Copyright 2018 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/benchmark/doc.go1// Copyright 2016 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/benchmark/main.go1// Copyright 2015 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/benchmark/cmd/txn_put.go1// Copyright 2017 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/benchmark/cmd/put.go1// Copyright 2015 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/benchmark/cmd/mvcc.go1// Copyright 2015 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/benchmark/cmd/watch_latency.go1// Copyright 2015 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/benchmark/cmd/range.go1// Copyright 2015 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/benchmark/cmd/util.go1// Copyright 2015 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/benchmark/cmd/mvcc-put.go1// Copyright 2015 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/benchmark/cmd/doc.go1// Copyright 2016 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/benchmark/cmd/txn_mixed.go1// Copyright 2021 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/benchmark/cmd/watch_get.go1// Copyright 2016 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/benchmark/cmd/lease.go1// Copyright 2016 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/benchmark/cmd/root.go1// Copyright 2015 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/benchmark/cmd/watch.go1// Copyright 2015 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/benchmark/cmd/stm.go1// Copyright 2016 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/local-tester/bridge/bridge.go1// Copyright 2016 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/local-tester/bridge/dispatch.go1// Copyright 2016 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/testgrid-analysis/main.go1// Copyright 2024 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/testgrid-analysis/cmd/flaky.go1// Copyright 2024 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/testgrid-analysis/cmd/data.go1// Copyright 2024 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/testgrid-analysis/cmd/github.go1// Copyright 2024 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/testgrid-analysis/cmd/root.go1// Copyright 2024 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/proto-annotations/main.go1// Copyright 2021 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/proto-annotations/cmd/etcd_version.go1// Copyright 2021 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/proto-annotations/cmd/root.go1// Copyright 2021 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/etcd-dump-metrics/install_windows.go1// Copyright 2018 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/etcd-dump-metrics/metrics.go1// Copyright 2018 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/etcd-dump-metrics/install_darwin.go1// Copyright 2018 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/etcd-dump-metrics/utils.go1// Copyright 2018 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/etcd-dump-metrics/etcd.go1// Copyright 2018 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/etcd-dump-metrics/install_linux.go1// Copyright 2018 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/etcd-dump-metrics/main.go1// Copyright 2018 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/etcd-dump-db/backend.go1// Copyright 2016 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/etcd-dump-db/page.go1// Copyright 2024 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/etcd-dump-db/scan.go1// Copyright 2024 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/etcd-dump-db/doc.go1// Copyright 2016 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtools/etcd-dump-db/utils.go1// Copyright 2016 The etcd AuthorsCOMMENT
1180 more matches not shown…
Structural Annotation Overuse14 hits · 25 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWDocumentation/contributor-guide/triage_issues.md21## Step 1 - Find an issue to triageCOMMENT
LOWDocumentation/contributor-guide/triage_issues.md31## Step 2 - Check the issue is validCOMMENT
LOWDocumentation/contributor-guide/triage_issues.md45## Step 3 - Apply the appropriate type of labelCOMMENT
LOWDocumentation/contributor-guide/triage_issues.md104## Step 4 - Define the areas impactedCOMMENT
LOWDocumentation/contributor-guide/triage_issues.md130## Step 5 - Prioritise the issueCOMMENT
LOWDocumentation/contributor-guide/triage_issues.md144## Step 6 - Support new contributorsCOMMENT
LOWDocumentation/contributor-guide/triage_issues.md176## Step 7 - Follow upCOMMENT
LOWtests/e2e/v3_curl_maxstream_test.go81 // Step 1: generate configuration for creating clusterCOMMENT
LOWtests/e2e/v3_curl_maxstream_test.go90 // Step 2: create the clusterCOMMENT
LOWtests/e2e/v3_curl_maxstream_test.go97 // Step 3: run testCOMMENT
LOWtests/e2e/v3_curl_maxstream_test.go115 // Step 4: Close the clusterCOMMENT
LOWtests/e2e/v3_curl_maxstream_test.go121 // Step 5: Waiting all watch goroutines to exit.COMMENT
LOWscripts/test_lib.sh309# WARNING: This depend on "any" version of the 'binary' that might be trickyCOMMENT
LOWclient/v3/client.go141// NOTE: This method is for internal use of etcd-client library and should not be used as general-purpose logger.COMMENT
Verbosity Indicators5 hits · 11 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWtests/e2e/v3_curl_maxstream_test.go81 // Step 1: generate configuration for creating clusterCOMMENT
LOWtests/e2e/v3_curl_maxstream_test.go90 // Step 2: create the clusterCOMMENT
LOWtests/e2e/v3_curl_maxstream_test.go97 // Step 3: run testCOMMENT
LOWtests/e2e/v3_curl_maxstream_test.go115 // Step 4: Close the clusterCOMMENT
LOWtests/e2e/v3_curl_maxstream_test.go121 // Step 5: Waiting all watch goroutines to exit.COMMENT
Self-Referential Comments2 hits · 6 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
MEDIUMscripts/benchmark_test.sh34# Create a directory for etcd data under /tmp/etcdCOMMENT
MEDIUMscripts/test_lib.sh321# This function is only used to run commands that are managed by tools/mod.COMMENT
TODO Padding2 hits · 3 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWserver/proxy/grpcproxy/cluster.go182 // TODO: implementCOMMENT
LOWpkg/proxy/server.go280// TODO: implement packet reordering from multiple TCP connectionsCOMMENT
AI Slop Vocabulary1 hit · 3 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
MEDIUMserver/etcdserver/server.go185 // The API/raft component can utilize ClusterVersion to determine ifCOMMENT
Fake / Example Data2 hits · 2 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWtests/e2e/watch_test.go109 validateWatchDelay(t, c.Watch(ctx, "fake-key", clientv3.WithProgressNotify()), tc.maxWatchDelay)CODE
LOWtests/e2e/watch_test.go146 validateWatchDelay(t, c.Watch(ctx, "fake-key"), tc.maxWatchDelay)CODE
Example Usage Blocks1 hit · 2 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWscripts/update_dep.sh16# Usage:COMMENT
Redundant / Tautological Comments1 hit · 2 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWscripts/update_dep.sh70 # Check if the module is a dependency.COMMENT