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AI Slop Code RIsk Monitor

zsh-users/zsh-syntax-highlighting

Fish shell like syntax highlighting for Zsh.

177.5 High pattern signal View on GitHub

Maintenance and Governance Review

This report summarizes scanner evidence for zsh-users/zsh-syntax-highlighting, a Shell project with 23,026 GitHub stars. SynthScan examined 17,637 lines of code across 325 source files, recording 1288 pattern matches distributed across 7 syntactic categories. The legacy adjusted pattern signal is 177.5 (High pattern signal); it is not an authorship estimate.

Use the findings to ask whether maintainers can explain intent, verify dependencies, simplify unnecessary scaffolding, and focus review effort. Risk Payload v1 adds ownership, supply-chain, over-engineering, and review-effort vectors when available. These are prompts for human verification, not probabilities, security findings, or measured maintenance costs.

177.5
Adjusted Signal
177.5
Raw Pattern Score
100%
Time Factor
2026-10-09
Last Push
23.0K
Stars
Shell
Language
17.6K
Lines of Code
325
Files
1.3K
Pattern Hits
2026-10-12
Scan Date
0.00
HC Hit Rate

Risk Review · v3

Use each vector to guide manual verification of the underlying findings.

Cognitive Ownership Risk 66.6/100 · HIGH

Can maintainers explain intent, assumptions, and trade-offs? 374 finding(s).

Hallucinated Dependency & Supply Chain Risk 1.6/100 · LOW

Are imports declared and package/API names verified? 4 finding(s).

Agent Over-Engineering Ratio 100.0/100 · CRITICAL

Are wrappers, guards, and repeated structures necessary? 910 finding(s).

PR Review Velocity Impact 100.0/100 · CRITICAL

Which changes need focused human review? 1288 finding(s).

What These Metrics Mean

Adjusted Signal
Legacy pattern score normalized per 1,000 scanned lines and multiplied by the repository-level time factor. It is not an estimate of AI authorship.
Raw Pattern Score
Sum of severity- and context-weighted pattern findings before applying the time factor.
Time Factor
A coarse multiplier based on repository last-push metadata. It does not identify when individual code was written.
Pattern Hits
Count of configured pattern findings. Review each location and surrounding code before acting.
HC Hit Rate
High- and critical-severity findings per scanned file. Severity is a configured detector weight, not proof of a vulnerability or authorship.
Lines / Files
Scan coverage denominators used by the legacy normalized score.

Pattern-Signal History

This chart tracks the legacy adjusted pattern score across scan runs. Changes can reflect source changes, scan coverage, or detector/scoring versions; they do not measure AI adoption or prove that a team refactored code. Compare runs only when their scoring versions are compatible. The dashed line tracks the raw pattern-hit count.

Severity Breakdown

Groups findings by configured severity weight. Severity is not a confidence estimate, security rating, or proof that a package is missing. Verify imports against the project's manifests and inspect each finding in its local design context.

CRITICAL 0HIGH 0MEDIUM 915LOW 373

Directory Score Breakdown

This horizontal bar chart shows where configured pattern scores accumulate across directories. Treat the bars as locations to inspect, not as evidence of authorship or code quality. Use the file-level findings to decide whether a directory needs a focused ownership, dependency, complexity, or review check.

Pattern Findings

The scanner identified 1288 distinct pattern matches across 7 syntactic categories. Each entry below represents a discrete location in the source code where the engine recorded a detector match to inspect in context. 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 configured finding weight (CRITICAL / HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW). The Context column identifies whether the match occurred inside executable code, an inline comment, or a string literal — legacy comment-context matches receive a ×1.5 score weight. The ⚡ bolt icon marks clustered matches: three or more patterns within a 10-line window, each receiving an additional ×1.5 density multiplier under the legacy scoring model.

Decorative Section Separators910 hits · 2739 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
MEDIUMzsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMzsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh25# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMzsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh28# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMzsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh98# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMzsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh100# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMzsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh339# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMzsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh341# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMzsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh381# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMzsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh383# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMzsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh543# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMzsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh545# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMtests/test-highlighting.zsh2# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMtests/test-highlighting.zsh26# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMtests/test-highlighting.zsh29# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMtests/test-perfs.zsh2# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMtests/test-perfs.zsh26# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMtests/test-perfs.zsh29# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMtests/generate.zsh2# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMtests/generate.zsh26# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMtests/generate.zsh29# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMtests/tap-colorizer.zsh2# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMtests/tap-colorizer.zsh26# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMtests/tap-colorizer.zsh29# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMtests/test-zprof.zsh2# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMtests/test-zprof.zsh26# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMtests/test-zprof.zsh29# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/regexp/regexp-highlighter.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/regexp/regexp-highlighter.zsh25# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/regexp/regexp-highlighter.zsh28# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/regexp/test-data/word-boundary.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/regexp/test-data/word-boundary.zsh25# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/regexp/test-data/word-boundary.zsh28# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/regexp/test-data/subexpression.zsh2# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/regexp/test-data/subexpression.zsh26# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/regexp/test-data/subexpression.zsh29# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/regexp/test-data/complex.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/regexp/test-data/complex.zsh25# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/regexp/test-data/complex.zsh28# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/cursor/cursor-highlighter.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/cursor/cursor-highlighter.zsh25# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/cursor/cursor-highlighter.zsh28# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/line/line-highlighter.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/line/line-highlighter.zsh25# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/line/line-highlighter.zsh28# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/root/root-highlighter.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/root/root-highlighter.zsh25# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/root/root-highlighter.zsh28# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/pattern/pattern-highlighter.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/pattern/pattern-highlighter.zsh25# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/pattern/pattern-highlighter.zsh28# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/pattern/test-data/rm-rf.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/pattern/test-data/rm-rf.zsh25# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/pattern/test-data/rm-rf.zsh28# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/brackets/brackets-highlighter.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/brackets/brackets-highlighter.zsh25# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/brackets/brackets-highlighter.zsh28# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/brackets/test-data/quoted-patentheses.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/brackets/test-data/quoted-patentheses.zsh25# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/brackets/test-data/quoted-patentheses.zsh28# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/brackets/test-data/only-error.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
850 more matches not shown…
Over-Commented Block365 hits · 365 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWzsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOWzsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh21# DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,COMMENT
LOWzsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh141 # zsh 5.9 or laterCOMMENT
LOWzsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh301# region, paste, isearch, or suffixCOMMENT
LOWzsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh381# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOWzsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh401# 2. If zsh has the memo= feature, which is required for interoperability reasons.COMMENT
LOWtests/test-highlighting.zsh1#!/usr/bin/env zshCOMMENT
LOWtests/test-perfs.zsh1#!/usr/bin/env zshCOMMENT
LOWtests/test-perfs.zsh21# CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIALCOMMENT
LOWtests/generate.zsh1#!/usr/bin/env zshCOMMENT
LOWtests/generate.zsh21# CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIALCOMMENT
LOWtests/tap-colorizer.zsh1#!/usr/bin/env zshCOMMENT
LOWtests/tap-colorizer.zsh21# CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIALCOMMENT
LOWtests/test-zprof.zsh1#!/usr/bin/env zshCOMMENT
LOWtests/test-zprof.zsh21# CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIALCOMMENT
LOWhighlighters/regexp/regexp-highlighter.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/regexp/regexp-highlighter.zsh21# DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/regexp/test-data/word-boundary.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/regexp/test-data/subexpression.zsh1#!/usr/bin/env zshCOMMENT
LOWhighlighters/regexp/test-data/subexpression.zsh21# CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIALCOMMENT
LOWhighlighters/regexp/test-data/complex.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/cursor/cursor-highlighter.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/cursor/cursor-highlighter.zsh21# DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/line/line-highlighter.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/line/line-highlighter.zsh21# DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/root/root-highlighter.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/root/root-highlighter.zsh21# DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/pattern/pattern-highlighter.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/pattern/pattern-highlighter.zsh21# DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/pattern/test-data/rm-rf.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/brackets/brackets-highlighter.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/brackets/test-data/quoted-patentheses.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/brackets/test-data/quoted-patentheses.zsh21# DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/brackets/test-data/only-error.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/brackets/test-data/only-error.zsh21# DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/brackets/test-data/loop-styles.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/brackets/test-data/nested-parentheses.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOW…lighters/brackets/test-data/cursor-matchingbracket.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOW…ghlighters/brackets/test-data/mismatch-patentheses.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/brackets/test-data/simple-parentheses.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOW…ghlighters/brackets/test-data/unclosed-patentheses.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOW…hlighters/brackets/test-data/unclosed-patentheses2.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/brackets/test-data/near-quotes.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOW…ckets/test-data/cursor-matchingbracket-line-finish.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/brackets/test-data/empty-styles.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/brackets/test-data/empty-styles.zsh21# DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/main/main-highlighter.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/main/main-highlighter.zsh201 # types.COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/main/main-highlighter.zsh321 typeset -a ZSH_HIGHLIGHT_TOKENS_CONTROL_FLOWCOMMENT
LOWhighlighters/main/main-highlighter.zsh501# $REPLY: $buf[REPLY] is the last character parsed.COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/main/main-highlighter.zsh521 # Pattern for parameter namesCOMMENT
LOWhighlighters/main/main-highlighter.zsh541 # Only valid when :start: is presentCOMMENT
LOWhighlighters/main/main-highlighter.zsh561 # will DTRT regardless of how many elements or repetitions $x has.COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/main/main-highlighter.zsh661 # The first, outer parenthesisCOMMENT
LOWhighlighters/main/test-data/noglob4.zsh1#!/usr/bin/env zshCOMMENT
LOWhighlighters/main/test-data/path_prefix2.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/main/test-data/vanilla-newline.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/main/test-data/backslash.zsh1# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/main/test-data/backslash.zsh21# DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,COMMENT
LOW…hlighters/main/test-data/arithmetic-multiplication.zsh1#!/usr/bin/env zshCOMMENT
305 more matches not shown…
AI Slop Vocabulary3 hits · 10 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
MEDIUMtests/test-highlighting.zsh154 : ${CURSOR=$#BUFFER} ${PENDING=0} ${WIDGET=z-sy-h-test-harness-test-widget}CODE
MEDIUMtests/test-highlighting.zsh251# Run a single test file. The exit status is 1 if the test harness hadCOMMENT
MEDIUM⚡highlighters/main/test-data/precommand-type1.zsh38# diagnose a message on stdout, and the harness will detect a failure.COMMENT
Self-Referential Comments2 hits · 6 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
MEDIUMzsh-syntax-highlighting.zsh117# This function is supposed to be called whenever the ZLE state changes.COMMENT
MEDIUMhighlighters/main/main-highlighter.zsh1453 # This function is currently never called for the command word, so $2 is hard-coded as 0.COMMENT
Fake / Example Data4 hits · 6 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWchangelog.md512- Command word after array assignment, `a=(lorem ipsum) pwd`.CODE
LOW⚡highlighters/main/test-data/assign-append.zsh30BUFFER='a+=(lorem ipsum)'CODE
LOW⚡highlighters/main/test-data/alias-assignment1.zsh32aliases[x=y]='lorem ipsum dolor sit amet'CODE
LOW⚡highlighters/main/test-data/alias-assignment1.zsh32aliases[x=y]='lorem ipsum dolor sit amet'CODE
Redundant / Tautological Comments3 hits · 4 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWhighlighters/main/main-highlighter.zsh1182# Check if $arg is variable assignmentCOMMENT
LOWhighlighters/main/main-highlighter.zsh1203# Check if $1 is a path.COMMENT
LOWhighlighters/main/main-highlighter.zsh1235 # Check if this is a blacklisted pathCOMMENT
Structural Annotation Overuse1 hit · 2 pts
SeverityFileLineSnippetContext
LOWtests/test-highlighting.zsh134 # WARNING: The remainder of this anonymous function will run with the test's options in effectCOMMENT