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This report presents the forensic synthetic code analysis of tailscale/tailscale, a Go project with 33,943 GitHub stars. SynthScan v2.0 examined 601,612 lines of code across 2517 source files, recording 1428 pattern matches distributed across 14 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).
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.
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.
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.
The scanner identified 1428 distinct pattern matches across 14 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.
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | .policy.yml | 1 | # Approval policy for this repository, enforced by policy-bot | COMMENT |
| LOW | build_docker.sh | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env sh | COMMENT |
| LOW | header.txt | 1 | // Copyright (c) Tailscale Inc & contributors | COMMENT |
| LOW | misc/git_hook/git-hook.go | 1 | // Copyright (c) Tailscale Inc & contributors | COMMENT |
| LOW | misc/git_hook/githook/launcher.sh | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env bash | COMMENT |
| LOW | prober/dns.go | 21 | // Networks is the list of networks to resolve; if non-empty, it should | COMMENT |
| LOW | prober/http.go | 21 | const maxHTTPBody = 4 << 20 // MiB | COMMENT |
| LOW | prober/derp.go | 881 | COMMENT | |
| LOW | cmd/cloner/cloner.go | 1 | // Copyright (c) Tailscale Inc & contributors | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/natc/natc.go | 261 | COMMENT | |
| LOW | cmd/vet/subtestnames/analyzer.go | 1 | // Copyright (c) Tailscale Inc & contributors | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/vet/jsontags/analyzer.go | 41 | var seenName, hasFormat bool | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/vet/jsontags/analyzer.go | 81 | // other than when the map or slice are empty. | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/vet/jsontags/report.go | 41 | } | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/gitops-pusher/cache.go | 1 | // Copyright (c) Tailscale Inc & contributors | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/k8s-nameserver/main.go | 41 | defaultDNSConfigDir = "/config" | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/k8s-nameserver/main.go | 361 | if err != nil { | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/derper/ace.go | 41 | // to the bidirectional ts2021 Noise protocol. | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/sync-containers/main.go | 1 | // Copyright (c) Tailscale Inc & contributors | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/containerboot/test_tailscale.sh | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env bash | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/containerboot/main.go | 1 | // Copyright (c) Tailscale Inc & contributors | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/containerboot/main.go | 21 | // Must be used together with TS_CLIENT_ID. If the value begins with "file:", it is | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/containerboot/main.go | 41 | // destination defined by an IP. | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/containerboot/main.go | 61 | // logged in. If false (the default, for backwards | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/containerboot/main.go | 81 | // - TS_EXPERIMENTAL_VERSIONED_CONFIG_DIR: if specified, a path to a | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/containerboot/main.go | 101 | // cluster using the same hostname (in this case, the MagicDNS name of the ingress proxy) | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/containerboot/main.go | 921 | } | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/jsonimports/format.go | 21 | // mustFormatFile formats a Go source file and adjust "json" imports. | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/jsonimports/jsonimports.go | 1 | // Copyright (c) Tailscale Inc & contributors | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/jsonimports/jsonimports.go | 21 | // and "encoding/json/jsontext" into the standard library | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/tsnet-proxy/tsnet-proxy.go | 1 | // Copyright (c) Tailscale Inc & contributors | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/fbstatus/fbstatus.go | 1 | // Copyright (c) Tailscale Inc & contributors | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/tl-longchain/tl-longchain.go | 1 | // Copyright (c) Tailscale Inc & contributors | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/proxy-to-grafana/proxy-to-grafana.go | 1 | // Copyright (c) Tailscale Inc & contributors | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/proxy-to-grafana/proxy-to-grafana.go | 21 | // whitelist = 127.0.0.1 | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/tsconnect/wasmbuild/wasmbuild.go | 41 | // excluded via its ts_omit_ build tag (computed by [Tags]). | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/tta/wgserver_linux.go | 41 | // - addr: CIDR for the WG interface (e.g. "10.64.0.1/24") | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/tailscale/generate.go | 1 | // Copyright (c) Tailscale Inc & contributors | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/tailscale/tsroutecheckjsonv0/tsroutecheck.go | 1 | // Copyright (c) Tailscale Inc & contributors | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/tailscale/cli/up.go | 261 | // Fields output when `tailscale up --json` is used. Two JSON blocks will be output. | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/tailscale/cli/up.go | 401 | warning = "netfilter=nodivert; add iptables calls to ts-* chains manually." | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/tailscale/cli/up.go | 981 | upArgs upArgsT | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/tailscale/cli/serve_legacy.go | 221 | // serve config types like proxy, path, and text. | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/tailscale/cli/file.go | 321 | COMMENT | |
| LOW | cmd/tailscale/cli/exitnode.go | 221 | // alphabetical order, by country, city and then by priority if | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/tailscale/cli/jsonoutput/dns.go | 41 | // --accept-dns=false. | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/tailscale/cli/jsonoutput/tailnet-lock-log.go | 181 | LastAUMHash string `json:"LastAUMHash,omitzero"` | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/tailscale/cli/jsonoutput/jsonoutput.go | 1 | // Copyright (c) Tailscale Inc & contributors | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/testwrapper/testwrapper.go | 1 | // Copyright (c) Tailscale Inc & contributors | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/testwrapper/testwrapper.go | 41 | // Per-test retry policy. See package doc comment. | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/netlogfmt/main.go | 1 | // Copyright (c) Tailscale Inc & contributors | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/tsshd/tsshd.go | 1 | // Copyright (c) Tailscale Inc & contributors | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/k8s-operator/proxygroup_specs.go | 261 | // | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/k8s-operator/operator.go | 301 | // runReconcilers starts the controller-runtime manager and registers the | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/k8s-operator/operator.go | 781 | log *zap.SugaredLogger | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/k8s-operator/operator.go | 801 | // TODO (irbekrm): this setting does not respect the default | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/k8s-operator/egress-pod-readiness.go | 41 | // every Pod has been recreated and is not yet added to endpoints. | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/k8s-operator/egress-pod-readiness.go | 61 | // EndpointSlices(egress-eps-reconciler), so the routing is not blocked on Pod's readiness. | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/k8s-operator/proxygroup.go | 221 | // Our custom logic for ensuring minimum downtime ProxyGroup update rollouts relies on the local health check | COMMENT |
| LOW | cmd/k8s-operator/egress-services.go | 81 | } | COMMENT |
| 1283 more matches not shown… | ||||
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRITICAL | cmd/k8s-operator/proxyclass.go | 186 | if errs := metavalidation.ValidateLabels(pc.Spec.Metrics.ServiceMonitor.Labels.Parse(), field.NewPath(".spec.metrics.s | CODE |
| CRITICAL | cmd/k8s-operator/sts_test.go | 189 | wantSS.Spec.Template.Labels = proxyClassAllOpts.Spec.StatefulSet.Pod.Labels.Parse() | CODE |
| CRITICAL | cmd/k8s-operator/sts_test.go | 223 | wantSS.Spec.Template.Labels = proxyClassJustLabels.Spec.StatefulSet.Pod.Labels.Parse() | CODE |
| CRITICAL | cmd/k8s-operator/sts_test.go | 235 | wantSS.Spec.Template.Labels = proxyClassAllOpts.Spec.StatefulSet.Pod.Labels.Parse() | CODE |
| CRITICAL | cmd/k8s-operator/sts_test.go | 262 | wantSS.Spec.Template.Labels = proxyClassJustLabels.Spec.StatefulSet.Pod.Labels.Parse() | CODE |
| CRITICAL | ipn/ipnlocal/peerapi.go | 445 | if hasCGNATInterface, err := h.ps.b.sys.NetMon.Get().HasCGNATInterface(); hasCGNATInterface { | CODE |
| CRITICAL | ipn/ipnlocal/peerapi_drive.go | 56 | fs, ok := h.ps.b.sys.DriveForRemote.GetOK() | CODE |
| CRITICAL | wgengine/magicsock/relaymanager.go | 111 | if !r.wlb.ep.c.debugLogging.Load() { | CODE |
| CRITICAL | wgengine/magicsock/relaymanager.go | 351 | if !r.wlb.ep.c.debugLogging.Load() { | CODE |
| CRITICAL | wgengine/magicsock/relaymanager.go | 415 | sharedKey: work.wlb.ep.c.discoAtomic.Private().Shared(work.se.ServerDisco), | CODE |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEDIUM | tailcfg/tailcfg.go | 175 | // - 126: 2025-09-17: Client uses seamless key renewal unless disabled by control (tailscale/corp#31479) | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | util/eventbus/debug.go | 33 | // deliberately withheld from bus clients to encourage more robust and | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | util/winutil/restartmgr_windows.go | 149 | // processes that utilize the binaries previously specified by calls to | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | util/winutil/authenticode/authenticode_windows.go | 403 | // 1. Subsequent API calls directly utilize the file's Win32 HANDLE; | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | tstest/largetailnet/delta_test.go | 106 | // are robust against interleaving (assuming no other test runs in | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | wgengine/magicsock/magicsock.go | 1255 | // should provide a mechanism for seamless rotation by supporting short term use | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | wgengine/magicsock/endpoint.go | 1919 | // Prefer IPv6 for being a bit more robust, as long as | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | …ature/buildfeatures/feature_listenrawdisco_disabled.go | 10 | // HasListenRawDisco is whether the binary was built with support for modular feature "Use raw sockets for more robust d | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | feature/buildfeatures/feature_listenrawdisco_enabled.go | 10 | // HasListenRawDisco is whether the binary was built with support for modular feature "Use raw sockets for more robust d | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | control/tsp/map_test.go | 90 | // the test robust if a server-side keepalive arrives mid-test. | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | cmd/tsconnect/build.go | 30 | if err := cleanDir(*distDir, "placeholder"); err != nil { | CODE |
| LOW | cmd/tailscale/cli/netcheck_test.go | 82 | cliAddress: "lorem ipsum", | CODE |
| LOW | cmd/tailscale/cli/netcheck_test.go | 84 | wantError: `invalid bind address: "lorem ipsum"`, | CODE |
| LOW | cmd/hello/helloserver/helloserver.go | 86 | LoginName string // "foo@bar.com" | CODE |
| LOW | cmd/k8s-operator/ingress-for-pg_test.go | 1012 | corev1.TLSPrivateKeyKey: []byte("fake-key"), | CODE |
| LOW | cmd/k8s-operator/egress-eps_test.go | 40 | ExternalName: "placeholder", | CODE |
| LOW | cmd/k8s-operator/egress-services_test.go | 78 | ExternalName: "placeholder", | CODE |
| LOW | cmd/k8s-operator/e2e/proxygrouppolicy_test.go | 51 | ExternalName: "placeholder", | CODE |
| LOW | ipn/ipnlocal/diskcache_test.go | 30 | LoginName: "user@example.com", | CODE |
| LOW | ipn/ipnlocal/profiles_test.go | 1208 | LoginName: "user@example.com", | CODE |
| LOW | ipn/store/kubestore/store_kube_test.go | 286 | testKey = "fake-key" | CODE |
| LOW | ipn/store/kubestore/store_kube_test.go | 465 | testKey = "fake-key" | CODE |
| LOW | ipn/store/kubestore/store_kube_test.go | 642 | testKey = "fake-key" | CODE |
| LOW | util/deephash/tailscale_types_test.go | 168 | {ID: 1, LoginName: "foo@bar.com"}, | CODE |
| LOW | util/dnsname/dnsname_test.go | 165 | {"email", "admin@example.com", "admin-example-com"}, | CODE |
| LOW | tempfork/acme/rfc8555_test.go | 287 | const email = "mailto:user@example.org" | CODE |
| LOW | tempfork/acme/rfc8555_test.go | 365 | const email = "mailto:user@example.org" | CODE |
| LOW | tempfork/acme/rfc8555_test.go | 513 | const email = "mailto:user@example.org" | CODE |
| LOW | tempfork/acme/rfc8555_test.go | 647 | const email = "mailto:user@example.org" | CODE |
| LOW | ssh/tailssh/tailssh_test.go | 207 | Principals: []*tailcfg.SSHPrincipal{{UserLogin: "foo@bar.com"}}, | CODE |
| LOW | ssh/tailssh/tailssh_test.go | 210 | ci: &sshConnInfo{uprof: tailcfg.UserProfile{LoginName: "foo@bar.com"}}, | CODE |
| LOW | ssh/tailssh/auditd_linux_test.go | 47 | message: `op=login hostname="test-host" exe="/usr/bin/tailscaled" ts_user="user@example.com" ts_node="node.tail-scal | CODE |
| LOW | k8s-operator/api-proxy/proxy_events_test.go | 73 | LoginName: "user@example.com", | CODE |
| LOW | k8s-operator/api-proxy/proxy_events_test.go | 86 | NodeUser: "user@example.com", | CODE |
| LOW | client/web/web_test.go | 532 | user := &tailcfg.UserProfile{LoginName: "user@example.com", ID: tailcfg.UserID(1)} | CODE |
| LOW | client/web/web_test.go | 853 | user := &tailcfg.UserProfile{LoginName: "user@example.com", ID: tailcfg.UserID(1)} | CODE |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEDIUM | .policy-tests.yml | 22 | # ------------------------------------------------------------------ | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | .policy-tests.yml | 25 | # ------------------------------------------------------------------ | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | .policy-tests.yml | 88 | # ------------------------------------------------------------------ | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | .policy-tests.yml | 92 | # ------------------------------------------------------------------ | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | .policy-tests.yml | 146 | # ------------------------------------------------------------------ | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | .policy-tests.yml | 148 | # ------------------------------------------------------------------ | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW⚡ | cmd/containerboot/settings.go | 410 | // Step 1: run 'tailscaled' | COMMENT |
| LOW⚡ | cmd/containerboot/settings.go | 420 | // Step 1: run 'tailscaled' | COMMENT |
| LOW | util/hashx/block512.go | 94 | // NOTE: This method is carefully written to be inlineable. | COMMENT |
| LOW | util/hashx/block512.go | 108 | // NOTE: This method is carefully written to be inlineable. | COMMENT |
| LOW | util/hashx/block512.go | 122 | // NOTE: This method is carefully written to be inlineable. | COMMENT |
| LOW | util/hashx/block512.go | 136 | // NOTE: This method is carefully written to be inlineable. | COMMENT |
| LOW | scripts/installer.sh | 23 | # Step 1: detect the current linux distro, version, and packaging system. | COMMENT |
| LOW | scripts/installer.sh | 422 | # Step 2: having detected an OS we support, is it one of the | COMMENT |
| LOW | scripts/installer.sh | 510 | # Step 3: work out if we can run privileged commands, and if so, | COMMENT |
| LOW | scripts/installer.sh | 532 | # Step 4: run the installation. | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HIGH | util/winutil/winutil.go | 106 | // the calling executable as requested via opts. This should be called by any | COMMENT |
| HIGH | feature/conn25/conn25.go | 585 | // OK indicates that the mapping was created as requested. | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW⚡ | cmd/containerboot/settings.go | 410 | // Step 1: run 'tailscaled' | COMMENT |
| LOW⚡ | cmd/containerboot/settings.go | 420 | // Step 1: run 'tailscaled' | COMMENT |
| LOW | ipn/ipnlocal/peerapi.go | 723 | // we need to check if they're allowed access to the internet. | COMMENT |
| LOW | scripts/installer.sh | 23 | # Step 1: detect the current linux distro, version, and packaging system. | COMMENT |
| LOW | scripts/installer.sh | 422 | # Step 2: having detected an OS we support, is it one of the | COMMENT |
| LOW | scripts/installer.sh | 510 | # Step 3: work out if we can run privileged commands, and if so, | COMMENT |
| LOW | scripts/installer.sh | 532 | # Step 4: run the installation. | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | cmd/netlogfmt/main.go | 9 | // Example usage: | COMMENT |
| LOW | safeweb/http.go | 47 | // # Example usage | COMMENT |
| LOW | util/must/must.go | 6 | // Example usage: | COMMENT |
| LOW | util/ctxkey/key.go | 6 | // Example usage: | COMMENT |
| LOW | util/ctxkey/key.go | 33 | // Example usage: | COMMENT |
| LOW | util/ctxkey/key.go | 53 | // Example usage: | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEDIUM | cmd/k8s-operator/deploy/manifests/proxy.yaml | 1 | # This file is not a complete manifest, it's a skeleton that the operator embeds | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | cmd/k8s-operator/deploy/manifests/userspace-proxy.yaml | 1 | # This file is not a complete manifest, it's a skeleton that the operator embeds | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | tstest/integration/vms/nixos_test.go | 65 | # Define the package (derivation) for Tailscale based on the binaries we | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEDIUM | tstest/tailmac/Swift/Common/TailMacConfigHelper.swift | 117 | print("Error binding virtual network client socket - \(String(cString: strerror(errno)))") | CODE |
| MEDIUM | tstest/tailmac/Swift/Common/TailMacConfigHelper.swift | 134 | print("Error connecting to server socket \(serverSocket) - \(String(cString: strerror(errno)))") | CODE |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEDIUM | build_docker.sh | 10 | # If you want to build local images for testing, you can use make, which provides few convenience wrappers around this s | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | cmd/tailscale/cli/dns.go | 31 | // TODO: implement `tailscale log` here | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | client/web/src/components/update-available.tsx | 10 | export function UpdateAvailableNotification({ | CODE |