anti-slop

Anti-Slop

Audits source code for AI-generated slop patterns and outputs a structured report.

Workflow

Step 1 — Resolve files

Parse the argument as file paths or glob patterns. Expand globs to a concrete file list.

# If argument is a glob like "src/**/*.ts", expand it
# If argument is a file path, use it directly
# If multiple paths/globs, expand all

Supported extensions: .ts, .tsx, .js, .jsx, .py, .go, .rs, .java, .rb, .php, .swift, .kt

Files larger than 1000 lines: audit only the first 500 lines and mark the file's report entry partial — first 500 of N lines; never present a partial audit as complete.

If no argument is provided, prompt the user:

"Which files should I audit? Pass file paths or glob patterns (e.g. src/**/*.ts)."

Step 2 — Read the pattern catalog

Read references/slop-code-patterns.md for the full detection rules and severity guide.

Step 3 — Audit each file

For each file:

1. Read the file contents

2. Scan for patterns across all 7 categories:

   • Cat 1: Unnecessary comments — restating code, obvious JSDoc, vague TODOs, section dividers, "removed" markers
   • Cat 2: Over-engineering — premature abstractions, unnecessary factories, config for hardcoded values, forwarding wrappers, one-off interfaces
   • Cat 3: Defensive over-coding — null checks on non-nullable types, try-catch on infallible ops, redundant else-after-return, verbose error messages, fallbacks hiding bugs
   • Cat 4: AI voice — "enhanced/optimized/improved" naming, "ensure/robust/graceful" comments, control-flow narration, apologetic comments
   • Cat 5: Dead code — unused imports, assigned-but-unread variables, unreachable code, backwards-compat re-exports
   • Cat 6: Type workarounds — as any, unexplained @ts-ignore, unnecessary assertions
   • Cat 7: Verbose patterns — ternary replaceable by ??, boolean verbosity, unnecessary async/await, pointless spread

3. For each issue found, record:

   • Line number(s)
   • Category (1-7)
   • Pattern (e.g., "1a: restating code")
   • Severity (high / medium / low)
   • The offending code (1-3 lines)
   • Suggested fix (brief — what to do, not the full rewrite)

Step 4 — Cross-file checks

After individual file audits, check for cross-file patterns:

• Functions called from only one file — may be premature abstractions (Cat 2a)
• Exported symbols not imported elsewhere — may be dead code (Cat 5d)
• Duplicated utility functions across files — AI often creates the same helper in multiple places

Only run these if auditing 3+ files. Use grep to search for function/export usage across the codebase.

Step 5 — Output the report

Format the report as follows:

## Anti-Slop Audit Report

**Files audited:** N
**Issues found:** N (H high, M medium, L low)

---

### `path/to/file.ts`

| Line | Severity | Category | Pattern | Issue |
|------|----------|----------|---------|-------|
| 12 | medium | Unnecessary comment | 1a: restating code | `// set the name` above `this.name = name` |
| 45-52 | medium | Over-engineering | 2a: premature abstraction | `formatDate()` called once, body is one line |
| 89 | high | Type workaround | 6a: `as any` | `response.data as any` — fix the response type |

**Suggested fixes:**
- L12: Delete the comment
- L45-52: Inline `formatDate()` at L78
- L89: Type `response.data` as `ApiResponse` based on the fetch call at L85

---

### `path/to/other-file.ts`
...

---

### Cross-File Issues

- `formatSlug()` defined in `utils.ts:34` is only imported by `page.ts:2` — consider inlining
- `UserDTO` exported from `types.ts:12` is not imported anywhere

---

### Summary by Category

| Category | Count |
|----------|-------|
| 1. Unnecessary comments | N |
| 2. Over-engineering | N |
| 3. Defensive over-coding | N |
| 4. AI voice | N |
| 5. Dead code | N |
| 6. Type workarounds | N |
| 7. Verbose patterns | N |

If zero issues are found, output:

## Anti-Slop Audit Report

**Files audited:** N
**Issues found:** 0

Clean. No slop detected.