Repository Analysis

open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go

OpenTelemetry Go API and SDK

9.5 Low AI signal View on GitHub

Analysis Overview

This report presents the forensic synthetic code analysis of open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go, a Go project with 6,528 GitHub stars. SynthScan v2.0 examined 963,517 lines of code across 1479 source files, recording 14983 pattern matches distributed across 5 syntactic categories. The overall adjusted score of 9.5 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).

9.5
Adjusted Score
9.5
Raw Score
100%
Time Factor
2026-08-29
Last Push
6.5K
Stars
Go
Language
963.5K
Lines of Code
1.5K
Files
15.0K
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 54LOW 14929

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 14983 distinct pattern matches across 5 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 Block14928 hits · 8994 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWlog.go1// Copyright The OpenTelemetry AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWhandler.go1// Copyright The OpenTelemetry AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWhandler.go21// to the new ErrorHandler for prior returned instances.COMMENT
LOWtrace.go21//COMMENT
LOWmetric.go1// Copyright The OpenTelemetry AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWmetric.go21// the new MeterProvider.COMMENT
LOWerror_handler.go1// Copyright The OpenTelemetry AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtrace/provider.go1// Copyright The OpenTelemetry AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtrace/provider.go21//COMMENT
LOWtrace/provider.go41 // libraries may sometimes use traces to communicate different domains ofCOMMENT
LOWtrace/tracestate.go101COMMENT
LOWtrace/tracestate.go161COMMENT
LOWtrace/noop.go81// SetName does nothing.COMMENT
LOWtrace/hex.go1// Copyright The OpenTelemetry AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtrace/auto.go381// UTF-8 is supported. When truncating, all invalid characters are droppedCOMMENT
LOWtrace/auto.go621 Attrs intCOMMENT
LOWtrace/tracer.go21 embedded.TracerCOMMENT
LOWtrace/span.go21// default behavior for unimplemented methods.COMMENT
LOWtrace/span.go41 AddLink(link Link)COMMENT
LOWtrace/span.go61 SetStatus(code codes.Code, description string)COMMENT
LOWtrace/span.go81// the same Trace or across different Traces.COMMENT
LOWtrace/span.go121 // SpanKindUnspecified is an unspecified SpanKind and is not a validCOMMENT
LOWtrace/noop/noop.go1// Copyright The OpenTelemetry AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtrace/internal/telemetry/span.go21 // the same `trace_id`. The ID is a 16-byte array. An ID with all zeroes ORCOMMENT
LOWtrace/internal/telemetry/span.go41 // Flags, a bit field.COMMENT
LOWtrace/internal/telemetry/span.go61 // [Optional].COMMENT
LOWtrace/internal/telemetry/span.go81 // is the time when the server's application handler starts running.COMMENT
LOWtrace/internal/telemetry/span.go101 // The OpenTelemetry API specification further restricts the allowed value types:COMMENT
LOWtrace/internal/telemetry/span.go241// expression like:COMMENT
LOWtrace/internal/telemetry/span.go261 // remote. Bit 8 (`HAS_IS_REMOTE`) indicates whether the value is known.COMMENT
LOWtrace/internal/telemetry/span.go281 // RPC or other remote network request.COMMENT
LOWtrace/internal/telemetry/span.go381}COMMENT
LOWtrace/internal/telemetry/span.go401 // then no attributes were dropped.COMMENT
LOWtrace/internal/telemetry/test/doc.go1// Copyright The OpenTelemetry AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtrace/embedded/embedded.go1// Copyright The OpenTelemetry AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWtrace/embedded/embedded.go21// experience a compilation error, signaling they need to update to your latestCOMMENT
LOWtrace/embedded/embedded.go41// compilation error, signaling they need to update to your latestCOMMENT
LOWattribute/encoder.go21COMMENT
LOWattribute/kv.go61//COMMENT
LOWattribute/kv.go101//COMMENT
LOWattribute/kv.go121//COMMENT
LOWattribute/key.go21// BoolSlice returns a [KeyValue] for a []bool value.COMMENT
LOWattribute/key.go41// If creating both a key and value at the same time, use the package-level [Int]COMMENT
LOWattribute/key.go81// Note that many observability backends are not optimized to query, index, orCOMMENT
LOWattribute/key.go121COMMENT
LOWattribute/key.go181// Map returns a [KeyValue] for a []KeyValue value.COMMENT
LOWattribute/filter.go1// Copyright The OpenTelemetry AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWattribute/hash.go61// before calling Write.COMMENT
LOWattribute/set.go21 // This type will remain comparable for backwards compatibility. TheCOMMENT
LOWattribute/set.go201 return encoder.Encode(l.Iter())COMMENT
LOWattribute/set.go261 if div := filteredToFront(kvs, filter); div != 0 {COMMENT
LOWattribute/set.go281// can avoid memory allocations by:COMMENT
LOWattribute/value.go41 // INT64 identifies a Value containing an int64.COMMENT
LOWattribute/value.go81// aggregate complex attribute values. Complex values may also carryCOMMENT
LOWattribute/value.go181COMMENT
LOWattribute/value.go201func SliceValue(v ...Value) Value {COMMENT
LOWsemconv/v1.16.0/trace.go1// Copyright The OpenTelemetry AuthorsCOMMENT
LOWsemconv/v1.16.0/trace.go21 // The exception message.COMMENT
LOWsemconv/v1.16.0/trace.go41)COMMENT
LOWsemconv/v1.16.0/trace.go61COMMENT
14868 more matches not shown…
AI Slop Vocabulary31 hits · 93 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.39.0/attribute_group.go6299 // `gen_ai.data_source.id` MAY also leverage additional attributes, such asCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.39.0/attribute_group.go11827 // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted.COMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.39.0/attribute_group.go11830 // The system will utilize the default scale tier.COMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.33.0/attribute_group.go6120 // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted.COMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.33.0/attribute_group.go6123 // The system will utilize the default scale tier.COMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.37.0/attribute_group.go6020 // `gen_ai.data_source.id` MAY also leverage additional attributes, such asCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.37.0/attribute_group.go10862 // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted.COMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.37.0/attribute_group.go10865 // The system will utilize the default scale tier.COMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.30.0/attribute_group.go5331 // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted.COMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.30.0/attribute_group.go5334 // The system will utilize the default scale tier.COMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.34.0/attribute_group.go5889 // `gen_ai.data_source.id` MAY also leverage additional attributes, such asCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.34.0/attribute_group.go6425 // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted.COMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.34.0/attribute_group.go6428 // The system will utilize the default scale tier.COMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.41.0/attribute_group.go6393 // `gen_ai.data_source.id` MAY also leverage additional attributes, such asCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.41.0/attribute_group.go12660 // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted.COMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.41.0/attribute_group.go12663 // The system will utilize the default scale tier.COMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.31.0/attribute_group.go5574 // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted.COMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.31.0/attribute_group.go5577 // The system will utilize the default scale tier.COMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.40.0/attribute_group.go6370 // `gen_ai.data_source.id` MAY also leverage additional attributes, such asCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.40.0/attribute_group.go12271 // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted.COMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.40.0/attribute_group.go12274 // The system will utilize the default scale tier.COMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.32.0/attribute_group.go5903 // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted.COMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.32.0/attribute_group.go5906 // The system will utilize the default scale tier.COMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.38.0/attribute_group.go6278 // `gen_ai.data_source.id` MAY also leverage additional attributes, such asCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.38.0/attribute_group.go11506 // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted.COMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.38.0/attribute_group.go11509 // The system will utilize the default scale tier.COMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.36.0/attribute_group.go5904 // `gen_ai.data_source.id` MAY also leverage additional attributes, such asCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.36.0/attribute_group.go6440 // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted.COMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.36.0/attribute_group.go6443 // The system will utilize the default scale tier.COMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.28.0/attribute_group.go4981 // The system will utilize scale tier credits until they are exhausted.COMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.28.0/attribute_group.go4984 // The system will utilize the default scale tier.COMMENT
Modern AI Meta-Vocabulary18 hits · 54 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.39.0/attribute_group.go521 // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.htmlCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.39.0/attribute_group.go1253// [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.htmlCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.37.0/attribute_group.go475 // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.htmlCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.37.0/attribute_group.go1207// [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.htmlCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.42.0/attribute_group.go546 // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.htmlCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.42.0/attribute_group.go1278// [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.htmlCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.34.0/attribute_group.go398 // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.htmlCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.34.0/attribute_group.go1130// [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.htmlCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.41.0/attribute_group.go521 // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.htmlCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.41.0/attribute_group.go1253// [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.htmlCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.40.0/attribute_group.go521 // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.htmlCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.40.0/attribute_group.go1253// [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.htmlCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.38.0/attribute_group.go521 // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.htmlCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.38.0/attribute_group.go1253// [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.htmlCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.36.0/attribute_group.go398 // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.htmlCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.36.0/attribute_group.go1130// [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.htmlCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.43.0/attribute_group.go546 // [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.htmlCOMMENT
MEDIUMsemconv/v1.43.0/attribute_group.go1278// [guardrail]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/guardrails.htmlCOMMENT
Decorative Section Separators5 hits · 22 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
MEDIUM.github/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml6 # ┌───────────── minute (0 - 59)COMMENT
MEDIUM.github/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml7 # │ ┌───────────── hour (0 - 23)COMMENT
MEDIUM.github/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml8 # │ │ ┌───────────── day of the month (1 - 31)COMMENT
MEDIUM.github/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml9 # │ │ │ ┌───────────── month (1 - 12 or JAN-DEC)COMMENT
MEDIUM.github/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml10 # │ │ │ │ ┌───────────── day of the week (0 - 6 or SUN-SAT)COMMENT
Structural Annotation Overuse1 hit · 2 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWsdk/trace/trace_test.go1808 // NOTE: This function tests ReadWriteSpan which is an interface whichCOMMENT