Repository Analysis

ponylang/ponyc

Pony is an open-source, actor-model, capabilities-secure, high performance programming language

4.2 Likely human-written View on GitHub

Analysis Overview

This report presents the forensic synthetic code analysis of ponylang/ponyc, a Pony project with 6,178 GitHub stars. SynthScan v2.0 examined 144,315 lines of code across 760 source files, recording 653 pattern matches distributed across 9 syntactic categories. The overall adjusted score of 4.2 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).

4.2
Adjusted Score
4.2
Raw Score
100%
Time Factor
2026-08-28
Last Push
6.2K
Stars
Pony
Language
144.3K
Lines of Code
760
Files
653
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 1MEDIUM 8LOW 644

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 653 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 Block541 hits · 454 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWCMakeLists.txt41# LOAD-BEARING PLACEMENT: keep this include between project() above and theCOMMENT
LOWCMakeLists.txt181# knob the weekly checks flip with -DPONY_ALWAYS_ASSERT=ON to run the arena'sCOMMENT
LOWCMakeLists.txt201set(PONY_OUTPUT_DIR "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/../$<CONFIG>${PONY_OUTPUT_SUFFIX}")COMMENT
LOWCMakeLists.txt221#COMMENT
LOWCMakeLists.txt261# header_name - output header filename, written under pony_generated/.COMMENT
LOWCMakeLists.txt281 # other arch flag is passed to any probe: the runtime the driver selectsCOMMENT
LOWCMakeLists.txt401 "sanitizer_link_args.h"COMMENT
LOWCMakeLists.txt821 set_tests_properties(pony-doc-tests pony-lsp-tests pony-lint-tests pony-compiler-testsCOMMENT
LOWCMakeLists.txt941 # ponyc's own runtime headers, so a C shim can #include <pony.h> andCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/cross-test.sh1#!/bin/shCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/macos-dtrace-smoke.sh1#!/bin/bashCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/freebsd-sanitizer-smoke.sh1#!/bin/shCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/linux-coverage-smoke.sh1#!/bin/shCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/linux-coverage-smoke.sh21# 1. use=coverage builds and links the Pony programs ponyc compiles (theCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/freebsd-dtrace-smoke.sh1#!/bin/shCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/openbsd-reject-unsupported-builds.sh1#!/bin/shCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/freebsd-coverage-smoke.sh1#!/bin/shCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/macos-sanitizer-smoke.sh1#!/bin/bashCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/pr_changed_suites_test.py21# case. Each suite predicate is exercised at every boundary it draws.COMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/freebsd-valgrind-smoke.sh1#!/bin/shCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/freebsd-valgrind-smoke.sh21# concern from "the build works and runs".COMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/test-debugger.sh1#!/usr/bin/env bashCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/linux-runtimebc-smoke.sh1#!/bin/shCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/dragonfly-coverage-smoke.sh1#!/bin/shCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/dragonfly-coverage-smoke.sh21# runtime, not just at link time.COMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/dragonfly-reject-unsupported-builds.sh1#!/bin/shCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/cross-libponyrt.sh1#!/bin/shCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/misc/trigger-release-tasks.bash1#!/bin/bashCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/misc/trigger-release-tasks.bash21# documentation/shared-docker repos.COMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/misc/trigger-nightly-tasks.bash1#!/bin/bashCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/misc/trigger-nightly-tasks.bash21# -> macOS arm64 nightly-released (appdirs, corral, lori, ponyup)COMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/bsd/freebsd-libs-cache.bash1#!/usr/bin/env bashCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/bsd/dragonfly-libs-cache.bash1#!/usr/bin/env bashCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/bsd/dragonfly-provision.bash1#!/usr/bin/env bashCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/bsd/openbsd-libs-cache.bash1#!/usr/bin/env bashCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/bsd/openbsd-provision.bash1#!/usr/bin/env bashCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/bsd/freebsd-provision.bash1#!/usr/bin/env bashCOMMENT
LOW.ci-scripts/systematic-testing/determinism_smoke.py121# the ORCA reference-counting (ACQUIRE/RELEASE) send path and runs withCOMMENT
LOWtest/libponyc/util.h1#ifndef UNIT_UTIL_HCOMMENT
LOWtest/libponyc/util.h61COMMENT
LOWtest/libponyc/util.h101COMMENT
LOWtest/rt-stress/tcp-swarm/orchestrate_tcp.py41# this long, the run is stuck (a stalled connection, a teardown that never finishes)COMMENT
LOWtest/rt-stress/tcp-swarm/orchestrate_tcp.py81# profile's lists and nothing else. The profiles are fully separate -- each carries itsCOMMENT
LOWtest/rt-stress/tcp-swarm/orchestrate_tcp.py101 # above it, so runs straddle the read-chunk boundary rather than clustering small.COMMENT
LOWtest/rt-stress/tcp-swarm/orchestrate_tcp.py121# out of the exhaustion regime on its own.) So macOS draws from its own narrower lists,COMMENT
LOWtest/rt-stress/tcp-swarm/orchestrate_tcp.py201# --------------------------------------------------------------- memory budgetCOMMENT
LOWtest/rt-stress/tcp-swarm/orchestrate_tcp.py221#COMMENT
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common_test.py181 invariants)COMMENT
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common_test.py401# bucket or adding a bigger group trips this guard and forces a re-measure (strictCOMMENT
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common_test.py421ISO_ACQUIRE_CEILING = 96000COMMENT
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common_test.py441# serialized re-measure. cyclic cost ~ generations*group workers; iso 1-node cost ~COMMENT
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common_test.py561 # actorref's ttl floor is load-bearing coverage (a ttl=0 zero-hop chain drives zeroCOMMENT
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common_test.py721COMMENT
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common_test.py1281 # Hook returns True and the child exits during the grace (lldb printedCOMMENT
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common_test.py1361 timed_out, rc, _out, _err = common._capture(COMMENT
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common_test.py1381 # hang every run.) The flat timeout is a GENEROUS 60s on purpose: theCOMMENT
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/orchestrate_normal.py261 # conservation still passes. The --use-flags guard above only catches it whenCOMMENT
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common.py61DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 120COMMENT
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common.py181# path). Two shapes:COMMENT
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common.py241# Normal-mode workload-kind weights for the 5-way draw (draw_workload). mesh is theCOMMENT
481 more matches not shown…
Hyper-Verbose Identifiers76 hits · 88 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOW.ci-scripts/pr_changed_suites_test.py105def test_ponyc_subset_of_tools():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/pr_changed_suites_test.py151def test_main_truncation_runs_all():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/pr_libs_cache_test.py75def test_nonfork_branch_reuse():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/pr_libs_cache_test.py82def test_nonfork_both_miss_builds_pushes_branch_without_pr():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/pr_libs_cache_test.py95def test_nonfork_branch_push_failure_best_effort():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/pr_libs_cache_test.py104def test_nonfork_build_failure_propagates_no_push():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/pr_libs_cache_test.py111def test_fork_skips_branch_ops():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/pr_libs_cache_test.py125def test_ensure_uses_exists_and_pushes():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/pr_libs_cache_test.py133def test_ensure_branch_push_failure_hard_fails():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/pr_libs_cache_test.py141def test_ensure_requires_branch_cache():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/package_name_test.py68def test_branch_matches_main_modulo_namespace():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/repo_root_test.py25def test_repo_root_points_at_root():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/resolve_libs_cache_test.py111def test_consumer_miss_builds_never_pushes():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/resolve_libs_cache_test.py121def test_consumer_build_failure_propagates():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/resolve_libs_cache_test.py129def test_branch_cache_main_hit_short_circuits():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/resolve_libs_cache_test.py137def test_branch_cache_reuse_on_main_miss():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/resolve_libs_cache_test.py145def test_branch_cache_both_miss_builds_then_pushes_branch():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/resolve_libs_cache_test.py154def test_branch_cache_push_failure_tolerated():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/resolve_libs_cache_test.py163def test_branch_cache_build_failure_propagates_no_push():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/resolve_libs_cache_test.py189def test_warm_promote_failure_falls_through_to_build():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/resolve_libs_cache_test.py199def test_warm_branch_miss_builds_then_pushes_main():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/resolve_libs_cache_test.py207def test_warm_build_failure_no_push():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/resolve_libs_cache_test.py215def test_warm_push_failure_hard_fails():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/resolve_libs_cache_test.py231def test_require_hit_miss_dies_never_builds():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/resolve_libs_cache_test.py239def test_require_hit_hit_with_image():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/resolve_libs_cache_test.py245def test_require_hit_rejects_build_command():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/resolve_libs_cache_test.py253def test_require_hit_branch_main_hit_short_circuits():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/resolve_libs_cache_test.py260def test_require_hit_branch_reuse_on_main_miss():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/resolve_libs_cache_test.py267def test_require_hit_branch_both_miss_dies_never_builds():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/resolve_libs_cache_test.py279def test_require_hit_skip_hit_no_marker():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/resolve_libs_cache_test.py286def test_require_hit_skip_miss_writes_marker_exits_zero():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/resolve_libs_cache_test.py295def test_require_hit_branch_skip_both_miss_skips():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/resolve_libs_cache_test.py178def test_warm_promotes_on_branch_hit():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/resolve_libs_cache_test.py306def test_branch_cache_rejected_with_warm():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/resolve_libs_cache_test.py313def test_skip_on_miss_rejected_without_require_hit():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/promote_libs_cache_test.py94def test_copy_promotes_with_fresh_consistent_manifest():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/promote_libs_cache_test.py140def test_copy_aborts_on_archive_digest_mismatch():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/promote_libs_cache_test.py162def test_entry_resolves_branch_src_and_main_dst():CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/cache_arch_test.py55def test_aliases_are_self_consistent():CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/tcp-swarm/orchestrate_tcp_test.py23def test_resolve_config_golden():CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/tcp-swarm/orchestrate_tcp_test.py171def test_est_peak_bytes_monotonic():CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/tcp-swarm/orchestrate_tcp_test.py197def test_memory_budget_rotates_the_trimmed_lever():CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/tcp-swarm/orchestrate_tcp_test.py255def test_resolve_config_coverage_and_invariants():CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/tcp-swarm/orchestrate_tcp_test.py407def test_macos_draw_from_own_sets():CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/tcp-swarm/orchestrate_tcp_test.py487def test_ponymaxthreads_is_last_and_host_dependent():CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/tcp-swarm/orchestrate_tcp_test.py576def test_watchdog_kill_reason():CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common_test.py61def test_derive_seed_zero_floor():CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common_test.py94def test_draw_systematic_workload_contract():CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common_test.py113def test_draw_systematic_workload_coverage():CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common_test.py722def test_windows_inferior_pid():CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common_test.py1121def test_watchdog_should_kill():CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common_test.py1250def test_watch_for_progress_timeout_hook():CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common_test.py1352def test_capture_direct_flat_timeout():CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common_test.py1367def test_lldb_timeout_capture_integration():CODE
LOW…st/rt-stress/generative/orchestrate_systematic_test.py36def test_resolve_config_golden():CODE
LOW…st/rt-stress/generative/orchestrate_systematic_test.py64def test_resolve_config_cyclic_golden():CODE
LOW…st/rt-stress/generative/orchestrate_systematic_test.py95def test_resolve_config_backpressure_golden():CODE
LOW…st/rt-stress/generative/orchestrate_systematic_test.py123def test_resolve_config_actorref_golden():CODE
LOW…st/rt-stress/generative/orchestrate_systematic_test.py146def test_resolve_config_deterministic_and_bounded():CODE
LOW…st/rt-stress/generative/orchestrate_systematic_test.py205def test_resolve_config_swarm_omission():CODE
16 more matches not shown…
AI Slop Vocabulary7 hits · 26 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
MEDIUMtest/rt-stress/tcp-swarm/orchestrate_tcp.py219# fraction of seeds. This mirrors the generative harness's clamp_ttl (big chains forceCOMMENT
MEDIUMtest/rt-stress/tcp-swarm/orchestrate_tcp.py419 # it -- unlike the generative harness, which never opens a socket.COMMENT
MEDIUMtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common_test.py646 # POSIX passes SIGUSR2 through without stopping, mirroring the test harness'sCOMMENT
MEDIUM.github/workflows/test-rt-stress.yml3# The Python that drives the runtime stress harness under test/rt-stress/. BothCOMMENT
MEDIUM.github/workflows/test-rt-stress.yml6# the harness gets a thread backtrace out of a hung process. Without an lldb onCOMMENT
MEDIUM.github/workflows/test-rt-stress.yml8# is what keeps the harness's debugger code covered at all.COMMENT
MEDIUM.github/workflows/pr.yml23 # (stress-test-*, ponyc-weekly-checks). The stress harness's Python isCOMMENT
Deep Nesting18 hits · 16 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOW.ci-scripts/libs-cache/registry.py441CODE
LOW.ci-scripts/bsd/dfly_configure_vm.py59CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/tcp-swarm/orchestrate_tcp.py293CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/tcp-swarm/orchestrate_tcp.py513CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/tcp-swarm/orchestrate_tcp.py528CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common_test.py113CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common_test.py305CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common_test.py362CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/orchestrate_normal.py57CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common.py527CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common.py567CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common.py883CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common.py1059CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common.py1235CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common.py1467CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/orchestrate_normal_test.py229CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/orchestrate_normal_test.py424CODE
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/orchestrate_normal_test.py488CODE
Verbosity Indicators4 hits · 6 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWsrc/libponyc/pass/typealias_recursion.c1411 // Step 1: enumerate all alias definitions.COMMENT
LOWsrc/libponyc/pass/typealias_recursion.c1459 // Step 2: compute reference-graph edges, classifying each by whetherCOMMENT
LOWsrc/libponyc/pass/typealias_recursion.c1485 // Step 3: Tarjan's SCC over the reference graph.COMMENT
LOWsrc/libponyc/pass/typealias_recursion.c1510 // Step 4: per-SCC base-case check.COMMENT
Structural Annotation Overuse4 hits · 6 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWsrc/libponyc/pass/typealias_recursion.c1411 // Step 1: enumerate all alias definitions.COMMENT
LOWsrc/libponyc/pass/typealias_recursion.c1459 // Step 2: compute reference-graph edges, classifying each by whetherCOMMENT
LOWsrc/libponyc/pass/typealias_recursion.c1485 // Step 3: Tarjan's SCC over the reference graph.COMMENT
LOWsrc/libponyc/pass/typealias_recursion.c1510 // Step 4: per-SCC base-case check.COMMENT
Cross-Language Confusion1 hit · 5 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
HIGH.ci-scripts/bsd/dfly_configure_vm.py191 serial_cmd(serial, 'mkdir -p /root/.ssh && chmod 700 /root/.ssh')CODE
Self-Referential Comments1 hit · 3 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
MEDIUM.github/workflows/release.yml31 # Create the GitHub Release now with an empty body so each platform jobCOMMENT
Excessive Try-Catch Wrapping1 hit · 1 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWtest/rt-stress/generative/stress_common.py974 except Exception as reason:CODE