MCP server: One MCP server.

Code Guardian

@luminarisoftwaresRun by its publisher: served from their own domain, namespace checked by the registry.MCP server · External

A deterministic A-F grade for a repo without running it, plus a verify loop: plan, fix, diff.

Version controlv0.3.1MITPython
Freeno charge per call

Runs on your machine from its package; the steps are below.

What it does

  1. Reads
  2. Writes
  3. High impact

At most: only reads or looks up information.

What it costs

Free

Odel charges nothing per call. The publisher may charge for its own service.

Runs locally over stdio

This server isn't hosted — your MCP client launches it from a package registry. Use one of the commands below, or drop the config into your client (e.g. Claude Desktop).

PyPIcode-guardian-mcpv0.3.1

Run

uvx code-guardian-mcp

MCP client config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "code-guardian": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "code-guardian-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}
README40 min read

ci privacy

mcp-name: io.github.LuminariSoftwares/code-guardian

One command that tells you three things about any repo, without running it:

  • Safe: is it safe to run?
  • Works: will it work?
  • Complete: does it have what it needs?

Each is a score out of 100 (higher is better), combined into an Overall score and an A–F grade. Scores come only from deterministic checks with fixed weights: same repo, same version, same output, every time. On top of that:

  • Orphan code: functions, classes and modules nothing reachable from the project's entry points uses, judged against a small goal contract.
  • An optional plain-English explanation from a local model, which never adds, removes or rescores a finding.
  • A verify loop for AI-assisted changes: run it before and after every change to learn what the change fixed, what it broke, what to fix next, and whether the scan itself can be trusted (see The verify loop).

It parses the code (ast for Python; json, tomllib and configparser for manifests; regular expressions for secrets) and never executes, imports or installs it. A scan makes no network calls. Python 3.11+, standard library only. Status: 0.3.1 is the current release. The fourth guardian, next to stack-guardian, context-guardian and tool-guardian.

Install

pip install code-guardian-mcp

The distribution is code-guardian-mcp (code-guardian on PyPI is someone else's project); the commands are code-guardian and code-guardian-mcp. To run the MCP server without installing anything: uvx code-guardian-mcp mcp.

From a clone (for the tests):

git clone https://github.com/LuminariSoftwares/code-guardian.git
cd code-guardian
python -m venv .venv
.venv\Scripts\activate          # Windows;  macOS/Linux: source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e . pytest
python -m pytest -q

30-second example

tests/fixtures/risky_repo is a small project that trips every scanner. Its key-shaped strings are never stored in the repository; tests/make_risky.py adds them to a copy at test time:

python tests/make_risky.py risky_repo
code-guardian scan risky_repo

Real output:

code-guardian 0.3.1  scan of risky
files: 7 Python, 3 manifests, 2 other (0 skipped, 0 excluded by the goal file)
status: COMPLETE

  Safe       0/100  is it safe to run?           -237
  Works     85/100  will it work?                -15
  Complete  35/100  does it have what it needs?  -65
  Overall   33/100  grade F  (a Safe check is FAIL (exec.shell, obfuscation, secret.key, tls.off): the grade is at most D)

biggest deductions:
  -60  Safe     secret.key FAIL          x3   at deploy/id_rsa:1, risky/settings.py:1, risky/settings.py:2
  -40  Safe     obfuscation FAIL         x1   at risky/loader.py:7
  -30  Safe     exec.shell FAIL          x1   at risky/runner.py:7
  -25  Safe     tls.off FAIL             x1   at risky/network.py:11
  -23  Safe     install.hook WARN        x3   at package.json:5, setup.py:5, setup.py:14

findings (6 FAIL, 19 WARN, 7 INFO; egress listed below):
  Safe:
    FAIL  secret.key    deploy/id_rsa:1  private-key block in the source; value redacted
    WARN  install.hook  package.json:5  npm postinstall script runs on install
    INFO  deps.unpinned package.json:8  dependency left-pad has no pin or upper bound
    INFO  deps.unpinned pyproject.toml:4  dependency flask has no pin or upper bound
    WARN  obfuscation   risky/loader.py:3  base64-like blob of 340 characters
    WARN  exec.dynamic  risky/loader.py:7  exec() runs code built at runtime
    FAIL  obfuscation   risky/loader.py:7  exec() runs decoded or decompressed data
    FAIL  tls.off       risky/network.py:11  TLS certificate checking is switched off (verify=False)
    WARN  net.bind_all  risky/network.py:16  binds to all interfaces (0.0.0.0)
    FAIL  exec.shell    risky/runner.py:7  os.system runs a shell command built from input, env or network
    WARN  exec.shell    risky/runner.py:11  subprocess.run(shell=True) runs a command through the shell
    WARN  exec.dynamic  risky/runner.py:15  eval() runs code built at runtime
    FAIL  secret.key    risky/settings.py:1  sk- key shape (privacy pattern 5) in the source; value redacted
    FAIL  secret.key    risky/settings.py:2  password-like literal assigned to 'password' in the source; value redacted
    WARN  obfuscation   risky/settings.py:3  high-entropy literal of 48 characters
    WARN  deser.unsafe  risky/storage.py:8  pickle.load can run code hidden in the data
    WARN  deser.unsafe  risky/storage.py:12  yaml.load without SafeLoader can build arbitrary Python objects
    WARN  fs.outside    risky/storage.py:16  writes outside the project: /tmp/risky-report.txt (absolute path)
    WARN  install.hook  setup.py:5  class PostInstall overrides the install command
    INFO  deps.unpinned setup.py:13  dependency requests has no pin or upper bound
    WARN  install.hook  setup.py:14  setup() cmdclass overrides build/install commands
  Works:
    WARN  works.tests_missing .  no test files: nothing checks that the code works
  Complete:
    WARN  complete.ci_missing .  no CI configuration: nothing runs the tests on each change
    WARN  complete.license_missing .  no licence file: nobody may legally reuse this code
    WARN  complete.readme_missing .  no README: nobody can tell what this is or how to run it
    WARN  complete.license_undeclared pyproject.toml:1  the package metadata declares no licence
    WARN  complete.metadata pyproject.toml:1  pyproject.toml [project] is missing: requires-python
    INFO  deps.declared_unused pyproject.toml:4  dependency flask is declared but never imported

egress inventory (4):
  WARN  risky/network.py:5  url   http://{host}:8080/upload
  INFO  risky/network.py:6  url   https://example.com/docs
  INFO  risky/network.py:7  ip    100.64.0.5
  INFO  risky/network.py:11  call  requests.post

hygiene (inferred (library public API) entry points: 1): 0 dead, 0 test-only, 0 uncertain

notes:
  - code-guardian analyses Python only: 1 file(s) in other languages (.js 1) got the secret scan only

weights used (each check (code + level) deducts its weight once, plus a quarter of the weight per extra occurrence (rounded up), at most 2x the weight; INFO is never scored):
  Safe     deps.unpinned INFO 0 · deser.unsafe WARN 10 · exec.dynamic FAIL 30 · exec.dynamic WARN 10 ·
           exec.shell FAIL 30 · exec.shell WARN 10 · fs.outside WARN 3 · install.hook WARN 15 ·
           net.bind_all WARN 5 · net.egress INFO 0 · net.egress WARN 2 · obfuscation FAIL 40 ·
           obfuscation WARN 10 · privacy.pii_log WARN 5 · privacy.pii_prompt WARN 5 · secret.history FAIL 30 ·
           secret.key FAIL 40 · secret.key INFO 0 · supply.lookalike WARN 15 · supply.unknown_package FAIL 40 ·
           supply.unknown_package INFO 0 · supply.unknown_package WARN 10 · tls.off FAIL 25 · tls.off WARN 10
  Works    orphan.dead WARN 3 · works.commented_code INFO 0 · works.dead_flag INFO 0 ·
           works.entry_missing FAIL 30 · works.import_unresolved WARN 10 · works.relative_missing FAIL 25 ·
           works.syntax FAIL 30 · works.syntax INFO 0 · works.test_no_assert WARN 5 ·
           works.tests_missing WARN 15 · works.todo_stub WARN 3
  Complete complete.ci_missing WARN 10 · complete.env_example WARN 10 · complete.license_missing WARN 20 ·
           complete.license_undeclared WARN 5 · complete.lockfile WARN 10 · complete.metadata WARN 10 ·
           complete.readme_missing WARN 20 · complete.readme_sections WARN 5 · complete.readme_short WARN 10 ·
           deps.declared_unused INFO 0

static analysis: every finding is LIKELY; the scores come from fixed weights, never from a model

Exit code 1: there are FAIL findings. --json prints the same report as JSON (shape below); --fail-on WARN (or INFO) lowers the bar for CI.

exitmeaning
0nothing at or above --fail-on (default FAIL), and the scan is COMPLETE
1findings at or above it
2usage error, a missing PATH, or a bad goal file
3incomplete scan: the status is PARTIAL or INVALID (see Scan status) and nothing is at or above --fail-on

scan gates on every scored finding (Safe, Works and Complete); code-guardian orphans PATH gates on the hygiene findings.

The verify loop

code-guardian answers four questions about a change, so a developer or a coding agent can run it before and after every edit:

questioncommandMCP tool
Can I trust this scan?every report's status: COMPLETE, PARTIAL (grade capped at B) or INVALID (no grade); exit 3scan
What should be fixed next?code-guardian plan PATH (each check row's estimated gain if fixed, best first)plan
What did the change fix, and what did it break?code-guardian diff BEFORE.json AFTER.json (exit 1 when anything regressed)diff
Is this finding new?code-guardian baseline PATH, then scan --baseline FILE (gate on new findings only)scan with baseline

An agent's loop, from the shell:

code-guardian scan . --json > before.json      # 1. scan: is the scan COMPLETE? what is the grade?
code-guardian plan . --top 5                   # 2. plan: the five fixes worth the most points, with locations
#                                                3. fix the top item (the plan never edits code)
code-guardian scan . --json > after.json       # 4. scan again
code-guardian diff before.json after.json      # 5. diff: verdict improved / regressed / mixed / unchanged
verdict: improved (1 fixed, 0 new, 31 unchanged)

            before  after  delta
  Safe           0      0     +0
  Works         85     85     +0
  Complete      35     55    +20
  Overall       33     37     +4
  grade          F      F
  status    COMPLETE -> COMPLETE

fixed (1):
  WARN  complete.license_missing .  no licence file: nobody may legally reuse this code

new (0):
  none

matched by fingerprint (code, level, file and the evidence line; line numbers ignored); INFO findings never decide the verdict

The same loop over MCP is scan → plan → edit → scan → diff(before, after), where before and after are the two scan replies (JSON text) or paths to scan --json files. Findings are matched by fingerprint (code, level, file and the evidence line, never the line number), so moving code does not count as a change. Everything in the loop is deterministic, offline and read-only.

How the scores work

Every check is a small pure function with its own tests. Every finding has the guardian family's shape (code, severity, level, node = file:line, summary of at most 120 characters, evidence, try) and confidence LIKELY: a parse proves the code is there, not that it runs. Each check code belongs to one dimension: Safe, Works or Complete.

  • Per check, not per occurrence. A check (one row of the tables below: a code at a level) deducts its weight once, plus a quarter of the weight for each extra occurrence (rounded up), at most twice the weight. Fifty copies of one minor issue cannot zero a score.
  • Dimension score = max(0, 100 − its deductions). Safe is 100 minus the v0.1 threat score; its weights are the v0.1 weights, unchanged.
  • Overall = 0.5 × Safe + 0.3 × Works + 0.2 × Complete, rounded half up.
  • Grade: A ≥ 90 · B ≥ 75 · C ≥ 60 · D ≥ 40 · F below 40.
  • FAIL cap: any Safe finding at FAIL caps the grade at D, whatever the average. One leaked key never hides behind a good README.
  • INFO findings are never scored. Every report prints the weight table it used.
  • Every deduction cites its evidence. Each check row lists every distinct file:line it was counted at (sorted, at most 20, plus more: how many were left out); the text report shows up to three per row.
  • Nothing secret is printed. Every output (JSON, text, Markdown, SARIF, MCP) goes through one redact(): API-key shapes and email addresses are masked as <redacted key> / <redacted email> wherever they appear (a URL literal, a path), and the evidence of secret.* and privacy.* findings is also stripped of any long token-like value.

The weight tables live in code_guardian/score.py (TABLES); tests/test_readme_sync.py fails if the tables in this README drift from them.

Scan status

Can I trust this scan? Every report carries a status, the reasons for it, and the outcome of every scanner, check and the file walk (ran, skipped with a reason, or crashed with the error):

statuswheneffect
COMPLETEeverything rannone
PARTIALa check crashed or was skipped, a Python file did not parse, or a Python file or manifest was too large (over 2 MB) or unreadablethe grade is capped at B and the report says why; exit 3 unless a finding already gives exit 1
INVALIDPATH is unreadable, or there are no Python files and no manifests to judgeno grade (scores.grade is null); exit 3

Binary files, symlinks and large non-source files (images, design files) are only ever secret-scanned; skipping them is listed in the notes but does not make a scan PARTIAL.

JSON shape (--json, and the MCP scan tool)

{
  "tool", "version", "schema_version": 2, "path", "goal_file",
  "status": "COMPLETE" | "PARTIAL" | "INVALID", "status_reasons": [...],
  "outcomes": [{"check", "outcome": "ran" | "skipped" | "crashed", "reason"}],
  "files": {"python", "manifests", "other", "skipped", "ignored", "excluded", "unparsed"},
  "other_languages": {".js": 1, ...},
  "anchor": "pyproject.toml",                (the file repo-level findings are attached to in SARIF)
  "scores": {"safe", "works", "complete", "overall", "grade", "grade_uncapped", "capped", "cap_reason"},
  "dimensions": {"safe" | "works" | "complete": {"score", "deducted",
                 "checks": [{"code", "level", "count", "weight", "deduction", "first",
                             "locations": [every distinct file:line, sorted, at most 20], "more": N}]}},
  "top": [the five biggest deductions, each a check row plus "dimension"],
  "weights": {"safe" | "works" | "complete": {"code LEVEL": weight}},
  "weights_rule": "...",
  "findings": [{"code", "severity", "level", "node", "summary", "evidence", "try", "confidence", "fix",
                "fingerprint", "new" (only with --baseline)}],
  "baseline": {"file", "version", "new", "known"}   (only with --baseline)
  "egress": [{"node", "level", "kind", "target"}],
  "hygiene": {"source", "goal", "entry_points", "keep", "findings", "counts", "notes"},
  "notes": [...],
  "explanation": {"label", "text"}          (only with --explain and a model that answered)
}

The MCP scan reply adds exit_code. Nothing in the report depends on the clock. schema_version 2 only adds keys to the v0.2 shape (which had no schema_version); every v0.2 key keeps its meaning. scores.grade (and grade_uncapped) is null for an INVALID scan; capped and cap_reason also cover the PARTIAL cap. SARIF carries status and status_reasons in the run properties; the text and Markdown reports print them under the scores.

Safe checks

codewhat it looks forlevelweight
secret.keyAPI-key shapes (the privacy workflow's built-in list: sk- (which covers Anthropic's sk-ant-), sk-or-, tvly-, ghp_, github_pat_, nvapi-, gsk_, AIza; plus AWS access key IDs AKIA/ASIA + 16, Stripe sk_live_/rk_live_, Slack xox[abprs]-, Hugging Face hf_ + 30 letters), a 40-character AWS secret key assigned to a name containing aws and secret, private-key blocks, password = "<literal>" (also api_key, secret, access_token…), and any *_KEY / *_TOKEN name holding a long, high-entropy literal. One finding per line. Values are never printed; values that call themselves fake (mock, dummy, example…) are skippedFAIL40
secret.keya Stripe test-mode key (sk_test_)INFO0
secret.historyopt-in, scan --history: a key shape (the secret.key API-key shapes, AWS secret keys, private-key blocks) that a commit added and the file no longer has; it may still be valid. Names the short sha and the path, never the valueFAIL30
exec.dynamiceval, exec, compile on non-literal input; __import__ with a variableWARN10
exec.dynamic…when eval or exec runs text from input(), sys.argv, request data, os.environ or a network read (the exec.shell taint rule, one function deep; exec(compile(...)) counts at the exec): "runs code typed by the user"FAIL30
exec.shellos.system, os.popen, subprocess.*(..., shell=True)WARN10
exec.shell…when the command is built from input(), os.environ, sys.argv or a network readFAIL30
deser.unsafepickle.load(s), marshal.loads, yaml.load without SafeLoader, torch.load without weights_only=TrueWARN10
net.egressevery URL and IP literal plus every urllib/requests/httpx/socket.connect call site: the egress inventoryINFO0
net.egressa publicly routable IP, or plain http/ws/ftp to a public name or to a host chosen at runtimeWARN2
net.bind_allbinding 0.0.0.0 or ::WARN5
tls.offverify=False, ssl._create_unverified_context, CERT_NONE, check_hostname = False, hard-codedFAIL25
tls.off…only under an if on a function parameter: the caller opts out (how httpx implements verify=False)WARN10
install.hooksetup.py cmdclass or install-command subclasses, package.json preinstall/install/postinstall, an in-tree build backendWARN15
obfuscationexec/eval of base64/zlib/marshal/hex-decoded dataFAIL40
obfuscationbase64 or hex blobs of 200+ characters, high-entropy string literalsWARN10
fs.outsidewrites, deletes and moves aimed at absolute paths, ~, or .. escapesWARN3
privacy.pii_loga personal-data name (email, phone, ssn, dob/birth, a person's address, passport, credit_card/card_number, iban, ip_address; whole words, so emails_sent and server_address do not count) flows into logging.*, a logger method or print (the exec.shell taint rule, one function deep)WARN5
privacy.pii_promptthe same names flow into an LLM prompt: a messages= or prompt= argument, or a .chat(, .complete( or .generate( callWARN5
deps.unpinneddependencies with no pin or upper bound (pyproject.toml, setup.py, setup.cfg, requirements*.txt, package.json)INFO0

net.egress targets that stay in the inventory at INFO: https to a named host, loopback, the local network (non-global addresses such as 10/8, 192.168/16 and 100.64/10, single-label names like gpu-box, .local, .lan, .internal, .home.arpa) and reserved documentation names (example.com, .test, .invalid).

The walk skips .git, venv/.venv, node_modules, __pycache__, dist, build and the tool caches, anything the root .gitignore matches (simple globs; ! negation is ignored), binary files, files over 2 MB and symlinks.

Secrets in the git history (opt-in)

code-guardian scan . --history [--history-depth 500]

A key deleted from a file is still in every clone's history. --history runs one read-only git command (an argument list, never a shell): git log -p --no-color --no-ext-diff --no-textconv --relative --format=%H --max-count=N -- . with the scanned repo's fsmonitor and signature-checking config switched off, so the repo cannot make the scan run a program. It checks only the lines commits added, with the secret.key key-shape rules, reads at most the last N commits (default 500) and at most 64 MB of log, and never modifies the repository. A key still present in the current file is left to secret.key; the oldest commit that added a value is the one reported. Without git, or when PATH is not a repository, the history check is skipped with a note (and the scan is PARTIAL, since what was asked did not run). The scan itself stays offline.

Invented and lookalike packages (Safe)

AI coding assistants sometimes suggest a package that does not exist. Anyone can register that name on PyPI and put anything in it, and attackers do exactly that with the names assistants invent. A package existing is not proof it is safe: these checks flag names worth a second look; they do not vouch for any package.

codewhat it looks forlevelweight
supply.unknown_packageoffline (default): a declared dependency or an unresolved import that is not in the bundled list of known packages; run with --online to check it existsINFO0
supply.unknown_package--online: PyPI has no such project (likely invented by an AI assistant; anyone could register the name)FAIL40
supply.unknown_package--online: the project's first release is under 90 days old, or it has only one releaseWARN10
supply.lookalikeone or two edits (insert, delete, change, swap) away from a known package without being it; two edits only for names of 8+ characters, none under 5WARN15
  • Offline is the default and makes no network call. The bundled list, code_guardian/data/known_packages.txt.gz, holds about 960 widely used PyPI projects. It is hand-built (tools/known_packages.txt, written for this project and not derived from any download dataset) and verified to exist on PyPI by python tools/build_known_packages.py --verify. The brief asked for the top ~15,000 projects by downloads; the usual source (hugovk/top-pypi-packages) carries no licence we could confirm, so a smaller hand-built list ships instead. A name missing from it is not suspicious by itself, which is why offline misses are INFO.
  • --online asks https://pypi.org/pypi/<name>/json (override with CODE_GUARDIAN_PYPI_URL, timeout CODE_GUARDIAN_PYPI_TIMEOUT, default 10 s) once per name per run. A timeout or error becomes a note; it never fails the scan. Online answers depend on PyPI and on today's date, so --online output is not reproducible run to run; offline output is.

Works checks

Will it work? Read from the parse and the manifests, never by importing or running anything.

codewhat it looks forlevelweight
works.syntaxa .py file that ast.parse rejects (Python 2 code, a typo); it still gets the secret scanFAIL30
works.syntax…when the project's requires-python is newer than the Python running code-guardian (it cannot tell)INFO0
works.import_unresolvedan absolute import that is not in the standard library, not a module or package in the repo, and not a declared dependencyWARN10
works.relative_missinga relative import (from .x import y) that points at a module the repo does not haveFAIL25
works.tests_missingno test files at all (tests/, test_*.py, *_test.py, tests.py, conftest.py)WARN15
works.test_no_asserttest functions with no assert, no pytest.raises/warns, no self.assert* and no call to a local helper that asserts; once per file, with the countWARN5
works.entry_missinga [project.scripts] (or setup.cfg console script) target module:function whose module or function is not in the treeFAIL30
orphan.deaddead code from the hygiene section (below), folded in at a low weight, only when entry points existWARN3
works.todo_stuba function whose body is only pass, ... or raise NotImplementedError (a docstring allowed) and an entry point reaches it; not abstract methods, Protocol classes, @overload or a method a subclass in the repo overridesWARN3
works.commented_code5+ consecutive comment lines that parse as Python (found with tokenize + ast.parse); once per file, with the count of blocksINFO0
works.dead_flaga module-level ALL_CAPS boolean (DEBUG = False) that no file reads, imports or namesINFO0

How works.import_unresolved decides:

  • Standard library: sys.stdlib_module_names plus the modules removed after 3.11 (distutils, imp, cgi…) and added since (annotationlib, compression), so the answer does not depend on which Python runs the scan.
  • In the repo: any directory name or module stem in the tree (a script's sibling module counts).
  • Declared: every dependency in pyproject.toml ([project], optional dependencies, dependency-groups, build-system.requires, Poetry, PDM, uv), setup.py (parsed, never run), setup.cfg, requirements*.txt, requirements/*.txt and Pipfile. Import names map to distributions through a bundled table of known mismatches (yaml→PyYAML, PIL→Pillow, cv2→opencv-python, sklearn→scikit-learn, bs4→beautifulsoup4, dateutil→python-dateutil…) plus the normalised name, python-X/pyX/X-python forms and namespace packages (google→google-cloud-*). It never reads the scanner's own installed packages: they describe this machine, not the repo.
  • Product code only: test files and docs/ are not checked (their dependencies are dev tools, and tests often import modules they write at runtime).
  • Not reported: imports inside either branch of try: … except ImportError, under if TYPE_CHECKING:, or under an if on a flag such a try sets (if has_simplejson:); setuptools and friends in setup.py.
  • A dependency that is only installed because another one pulls it in still counts as undeclared: it works by accident. Undeclared dependencies have one owner, this check; Complete does not report them again.

Complete checks

Does it have what it needs? File presence plus basic parsing.

codewhat it looks forlevelweight
complete.license_missingno LICENSE, LICENCE, COPYING or UNLICENSE file at the rootWARN20
complete.license_undeclaredpackaging metadata ([project], Poetry, setup.cfg, setup()) declares no licence (license, license-files or a License :: classifier)WARN5
complete.readme_missingno README at the rootWARN20
complete.readme_shortthe README is under 200 bytesWARN10
complete.readme_sectionsa README of 200+ bytes with no install heading (install, setup, getting started, quick start) or no usage heading (usage, examples, tutorial, run, CLI…)WARN5
complete.ci_missingno CI configuration (.github/workflows/, .gitlab-ci.yml, .circleci/, azure-pipelines.yml, .travis.yml, Jenkinsfile…)WARN10
complete.metadatapyproject.toml [project] without name, version (or dynamic) or requires-pythonWARN10
complete.lockfilean application with no lockfile (uv.lock, poetry.lock, Pipfile.lock, pdm.lock, pixi.lock, requirements.lock, or a fully pinned requirements.txt)WARN10
complete.env_examplethe code reads environment variables (os.environ, os.getenv, dotenv) and there is no .env.example (or .env.sample, .env.template, example.env)WARN10
deps.declared_unuseda runtime dependency that nothing in the repo imports (runners, linters, types-* and pytest-* plugins are skipped)INFO0

Lockfiles count only for applications. A repo is an application when it has any of these markers: a Dockerfile/Containerfile; a __main__.py while the project declares no [project.scripts]; or a module-level web app object (Flask(…), FastAPI(…), Starlette(…), Quart(…), Sanic(…), Django's get_wsgi_application()/get_asgi_application()). Markers under examples/, docs/, tests/ and similar folders do not count. A library (it has [project] and none of these markers) is not penalised for having no lockfile.

.env.example is required only for applications that read environment variables (the same markers as the lockfile rule), outside tests and examples. Libraries read optional variables such as NO_COLOR all the time and do not ship .env files; calibration showed every clean library tripping the check otherwise. A read through a variable that merely holds os.environ is not followed.

Undeclared dependencies are owned by works.import_unresolved; Complete reports only the opposite case, declared but unused. A repo with no Python source and no manifest has nothing for Works or Complete to check: it scores 100 there, and the report says so.

Baseline: gate on new findings only

An existing project rarely starts clean. Write a baseline once, commit it, and the gate then fails only on findings that are new since:

code-guardian baseline .                                   # writes ./code-guardian.baseline.json; commit it
code-guardian scan . --baseline code-guardian.baseline.json --fail-on WARN
  • Each finding gets a fingerprint: sha256 of code | level | path | evidence line, where the evidence line is the source line the finding points at, stripped, whitespace collapsed and redacted. Line numbers are left out, so moving code up or down does not make a finding new; editing the line does. The baseline file holds the sorted fingerprints and the version that wrote them, nothing else.
  • With --baseline, every finding carries new: true|false, the report says N new, M known, and --fail-on counts new findings only. A finding fixed since the baseline simply disappears; scan never rewrites the baseline file (run code-guardian baseline again to accept the current state).
  • A baseline never hides the real grade. The scores, the grade and every finding are computed and shown exactly as without one; only the exit code changes.
  • Same line twice counts twice: a third copy of a known line is new.
  • SARIF results carry the fingerprint as partialFingerprints["codeGuardian/v1"] and new in their properties.

Diff and repair plan

code-guardian scan . --json > before.json
code-guardian plan .                         # what to fix next: Markdown (--json for JSON), --top N rows (default 10)
# ...edit...
code-guardian scan . --json > after.json
code-guardian diff before.json after.json    # what the change fixed and broke; exit 1 when anything regressed

diff BEFORE.json AFTER.json compares two scan --json reports (0.3 or newer) by fingerprint: fixed, new and unchanged findings, per-dimension score deltas, and a one-line verdict: improved, regressed, mixed or unchanged. A new WARN/FAIL finding, or a status that got worse (COMPLETE → PARTIAL → INVALID), is a regression; INFO findings are listed but never decide the verdict. Exit 1 when anything regressed (regressed or mixed), 2 when a report cannot be read.

plan PATH is the repair plan. For each check row it re-runs the scoring on the finding list without that row: the exact Overall points the row is worth, labelled estimated gain if fixed (the plan never touches the code, so fixing more or less than the whole row changes the real gain). Rows are ranked by that gain, ties by the fewest locations, and each comes with the catalogue's "how to fix it" and every location. When a dimension is floored at 0 (more than 100 points deducted), no single fix in it moves Overall yet: its rows show +0 and the plan says how many points must go first.

Outputs, GitHub Action and pre-commit

flagprints
(none)the text report shown above
--jsonthe full report (shape above)
--sarifSARIF 2.1.0 for GitHub code scanning: one rule per check code (title, meaning, fix and false-positive notes from the catalogue below; Safe rules carry security-severity), one result per finding. Repo-level findings (no file) are attached to the root manifest or README, because code scanning needs a file for every result. Validated in CI against the official schema
--markdowna Markdown report for a pull-request comment or a job summary

Every format is deterministic: no timestamps, no absolute paths. --fail-on works the same with each. The MCP scan tool keeps returning JSON.

GitHub Action (action.yml in this repo, a composite action). It installs code-guardian from the action's own checkout, writes code-guardian.sarif, adds the Markdown report to the job summary, uploads the SARIF to code scanning, and then fails the job when a finding is at or above fail-on:

yaml
name: code-guardian
on: [push, pull_request]
permissions:
  contents: read
  security-events: write   # for the SARIF upload
jobs:
  scan:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: LuminariSoftwares/code-guardian@v0.3.1
        with:
          path: .
          fail-on: FAIL        # or WARN
          online: "false"      # "true" asks PyPI about unknown dependency names

Inputs: path, fail-on, online, baseline (a committed baseline file: gate on new findings only), sarif-file (default code-guardian.sarif), upload-sarif (default true), python-version (default 3.11). Outputs: overall, grade, exit-code. Inputs reach the shell only through environment variables, never by text substitution.

pre-commit (.pre-commit-hooks.yaml). It scans the whole repository, not just the staged files:

yaml
repos:
  - repo: https://github.com/LuminariSoftwares/code-guardian
    rev: v0.3.1
    hooks:
      - id: code-guardian
        # args: [--fail-on, WARN]
      # or, with a committed baseline, fail only on new findings:
      # - id: code-guardian-new

Check catalogue

Every finding code: what it means, how to fix it, and when it can be wrong. Weights are in the dimension tables above. Two rules apply across Safe:

  • Test code and documentation are reported at INFO. Safe findings in tests (tests/, test_*.py, conftest.py, fixture and test-data folders) and in documentation (docs/, .md, .rst, .txt) keep their place in the report but do not score: users run the product, not its tests or its doc samples. Two exceptions keep their level: API-key shapes (a real key is leaked wherever it sits) and exec of decoded data (a payload in conftest.py runs on every pytest).
  • Calibration. Each false-positive note below comes from scanning five well-known clean projects and the four guardian repositories; see calibration.md.
codedimensionwhat it meanshow to fix itfalse positives
check.crashedSafeOne of code-guardian's own checks raised on this file; the rest of the scan ran.Report it at github.com/LuminariSoftwares/code-guardian/issues with the file if you can share it.It is a code-guardian bug, never a finding about your code.
deps.unpinnedSafeA dependency with no pin and no upper bound.Pin it (==) or cap it (< next major).Libraries often prefer open ranges on purpose; INFO, never scored.
deser.unsafeSafepickle, marshal, yaml.load without SafeLoader, or torch.load without weights_only=True can run code hidden in the data.Load only files you created, or use a data-only format (json, safetensors, yaml.safe_load).Caches the program writes and reads itself are lower risk.
exec.dynamicSafeeval, exec or compile runs a non-literal string, or import loads a module named at runtime; FAIL when eval or exec runs text from input(), sys.argv, request data, the environment or the network.Use a parser, a lookup table or ast.literal_eval; import modules by name; never run input as code.Plugin loaders and REPL-style tools use these on purpose.
exec.shellSafeos.system, os.popen or subprocess with shell=True; FAIL when the command text comes from input, the environment or the network.Pass an argument list without shell=True; validate any outside value against an allow-list.Fixed command strings in build scripts are WARN, not FAIL; taint is tracked one function deep.
fs.outsideSafeA write, delete or move aimed at an absolute path, the home directory or a .. escape.Write under the project or under a path the user passes in.Tools whose job is to write to /tmp or a user config folder.
install.hookSafesetup.py cmdclass or install-command subclasses, package.json preinstall/install/postinstall, or an in-tree build backend.Read what the hook runs before installing; prefer packages without install-time code.Projects that compile extensions legitimately customise build commands.
net.bind_allSafeA server binds 0.0.0.0 or ::, so other machines can reach it.Bind to 127.0.0.1 unless other machines must connect.Containers usually must bind 0.0.0.0; a test that asserts the bind is refused still matches.
net.egressSafeThe egress inventory: every URL and IP literal and every network call site. WARN for a public IP, or plain http/ws/ftp to a public name or to a host set at runtime.Use https, and confirm each destination is expected.Local-network and documentation hosts stay INFO; a URL in a help string is still inventoried.
obfuscationSafeexec/eval of base64, zlib, marshal or hex-decoded data (FAIL); long encoded blobs or high-entropy literals (WARN).Decode the payload offline and read what it does before running anything.Embedded icons, test vectors and hashes can look like blobs.
secret.historySafeWith scan --history: a key shape (the secret.key API-key shapes, AWS secret keys, private-key blocks) was added by a commit and is no longer in that file. Anyone with a clone can still read it, and it may still be valid. The finding names the short sha and the path, never the value.Rotate the key now; deleting it does not remove it from history. Then consider git filter-repo.Keys that were revoked long ago, and test keys committed on purpose; a key still in the file is secret.key.
secret.keySafeAn API-key shape (OpenAI-style sk-, GitHub, Google, AWS, Stripe live, Slack, Hugging Face and others), an AWS secret key, a private-key block, a password-like literal or a high-entropy literal in a name ending _KEY or _TOKEN is written into a file (a Stripe test key is INFO).Move it to an environment variable or a secret store, and rotate it: it is in the history.Test fixtures and documentation samples; values that call themselves fake (mock, dummy, example) are skipped.
privacy.pii_logSafeA name for personal data (email, phone, ssn, dob/birth, a person's address, passport, credit card or card number, iban, ip address) flows into logging.*, a logger method or print, directly or through a variable in the same function.Log an id or a masked value instead; logs are copied and kept far longer than the data.Names that only look personal (a count of emails is named emails_n, not email); taint is one function deep.
privacy.pii_promptSafeThe same personal-data names flow into an LLM prompt: a messages= or prompt= argument, or a .chat(, .complete( or .generate( call.Send an id or a redacted value; check the provider's data terms before sending personal data.A .complete( or .generate( method that is not a model call; a prompt built in another function is missed.
supply.lookalikeSafeThe name is one or two edits away from a known package without being it: the typosquatting pattern.Check you meant the well-known package.Real packages with names close to a popular one.
supply.unknown_packageSafeOffline: the name is not in the bundled list of known packages (INFO). Online: PyPI has no such project (FAIL), or it is new or has a single release (WARN).Check the name is the one you meant; remove names an assistant invented; run with --online.Offline misses are common for less-known real packages, which is why they are INFO. Existing is not safe.
tls.offSafeverify=False, ssl._create_unverified_context, CERT_NONE or check_hostname = False.Remove it; point at a CA bundle if the certificate is private.Rare: code that deliberately probes broken servers.
orphan.deadWorksA function, class or module nothing reachable from the entry points uses.Delete it, or list it in keep if something loads it by name.Code loaded by name (plugins, entry points of other tools); add those to keep.
orphan.test_onlyWorksOnly tests reach this code; the product never does.Delete it with its tests, or call it from the product.Test helpers kept in the package on purpose.
orphan.uncertainWorksgetattr/globals/importlib with a computed name, or a string registry, could reach it.List it in keep if it is loaded by name; otherwise delete it.It is reported as uncertain precisely because the parse cannot tell.
works.entry_missingWorksA [project.scripts] (or setup.cfg console script) target module:function is not in the tree.Point the script at an existing module:function.Modules generated at build time.
works.import_unresolvedWorksAn absolute import that is not in the standard library, not in the repo and not a declared dependency.Declare the distribution that provides it, or guard an optional import with try/except ImportError.Packages pulled in only by another dependency (they work by accident); import names the mapping table misses.
works.relative_missingWorksfrom .x import y points at a module (or a package name) the repo does not have.Fix the module path or add the missing module.Modules generated at build time.
works.todo_stubWorksA function whose body is only pass, ..., or raise NotImplementedError (a docstring allowed), and the entry points reach it: it will be called and do nothing. Abstract methods, Protocol classes, @overload and methods a subclass overrides do not count.Implement it, or delete it and its callers; mark it @abc.abstractmethod if subclasses must implement it.Hook methods meant to be overridden by users of a library; no-op callbacks kept on purpose.
works.commented_codeWorksA run of 5 or more consecutive comment lines that parse as Python (once per file, with the count of blocks).Delete it: version control keeps the old code.Code samples in comments that explain an API; INFO, never scored.
works.dead_flagWorksA module-level ALL_CAPS boolean constant (DEBUG = False) that no file reads, imports or names.Delete it, or wire it to the code it was meant to switch.Flags read only by another tool or by string name; INFO, never scored.
works.syntaxWorksast.parse rejects the file, so it cannot be imported or run (INFO when the project needs a newer Python than the one scanning).Fix the syntax error; port Python 2 code to Python 3.Files kept on purpose for another interpreter, or templates with a .py name.
works.test_no_assertWorksTest functions with no assert, no pytest.raises/warns, no self.assert* and no call to an asserting helper.Assert on the result; use pytest.raises for expected errors.Smoke tests that only check nothing raises; helpers defined in another file.
works.tests_missingWorksThere are no test files at all.Add a tests/ folder with at least one test per entry point.Tests kept in another repository.
complete.ci_missingCompleteNo CI configuration was found.Add a CI workflow that runs the tests on each change.CI configured outside the repository.
complete.env_exampleCompleteThe code reads environment variables but there is no .env.example listing them.Add a .env.example with every variable and a safe placeholder.Libraries that read only optional, well-known variables (NO_COLOR, TERM).
complete.license_missingCompleteThere is no LICENSE, LICENCE, COPYING or UNLICENSE file at the root.Add a LICENSE file.Licences kept only in a subfolder.
complete.license_undeclaredCompletePackaging metadata exists but declares no licence.Add license = "..." (or license-files) to [project].Licences declared only by a build plugin.
complete.lockfileCompleteThe repo is an application (a Dockerfile, a main.py without scripts, or a web app object) and has no lockfile.Commit a lockfile (uv lock, poetry lock or pip-compile).Libraries are never asked for one; an example app outside examples/ can make a library look like an app.
complete.metadataCompletepyproject.toml [project] lacks name, version (or dynamic) or requires-python.Add the missing keys to [project].None known.
complete.readme_missingCompleteThere is no README at the root.Add a README.md that says what it is, how to install it and how to use it.README kept under docs/ only.
complete.readme_sectionsCompleteA README of 200+ bytes with no install heading or no usage heading.Add an Install heading and a Usage heading.Headings worded differently from the words the check knows.
complete.readme_shortCompleteThe README is under 200 bytes.Describe what it does, how to install it and how to use it.A README that only links to full documentation.
deps.declared_unusedCompleteA runtime dependency nothing in the repo imports.Remove it, or note why it is needed (a plugin or a runner).Plugins and runners loaded by other tools; INFO, never scored.

Goal contract

code-guardian.goal.toml at the project root (optional) says what the project is for and where it starts:

toml
goal = "One sentence: what this project is for."
entry_points = ["pkg.cli:main", "pkg.server:app"]   # module:function, or module:__main__ for its main block
keep = ["pkg.plugins.*"]                             # loaded dynamically; never reported
exclude = ["tests/fixtures/*"]                       # path globs the scan skips (the report counts them)
code-guardian init            # writes a starter file with the inferred entry points; --force replaces one
code-guardian orphans .       # hygiene only

Without a contract, entry points are inferred from [project.scripts] (and setup.cfg console scripts), if __name__ == "__main__": blocks, __main__.py files and __all__ of top-level packages, and the report says "inferred". With no entry points at all, nothing is reported.

The call graph is built with ast from imports, from x import y, attribute use on imported modules and method calls. Anything not reachable from an entry point is an orphan:

codemeaninglevel
orphan.deadnothing reachable uses itWARN
orphan.test_onlyonly tests reach itINFO
orphan.uncertaingetattr/globals()/importlib with a computed name could reach it, or its name is a string in reachable code (a registry)INFO

A method counts as used when its class is used and its name is read as an attribute anywhere reachable; a class with a base outside the project (a framework) keeps all its methods. A def wrapped in a registering decorator (@app.get, @click.command, @pytest.fixture) and a module-level __getattr__ are reached with their module, because the decorator or the interpreter calls them. For a library (inferred entry points, packaging metadata and no application marker), the public API counts as entry points: every public module, its public functions and classes, their public methods, and everything a public module re-exports (from ._client import Client, from ._transports import *); the hygiene source then reads "inferred (library public API)". Orphans go into the hygiene section and never touch the Safe score.

--explain

CODE_GUARDIAN_LLM_URL=http://127.0.0.1:11434/api/chat CODE_GUARDIAN_LLM_MODEL=qwen3:8b code-guardian scan . --explain

CODE_GUARDIAN_LLM_URL is an Ollama /api/chat URL or any OpenAI-compatible /v1/chat/completions URL, detected by path (a bare host means Ollama, a .../v1 base means OpenAI-compatible). Optional: CODE_GUARDIAN_LLM_KEY (bearer token), CODE_GUARDIAN_LLM_TIMEOUT (seconds, default 60).

Guarantees, each covered by a test against a stub model on loopback:

  • It never changes a score. The report with --explain equals the report without it, plus one block labelled model explanation (not part of the score) and one note line.
  • It sends findings only: code, level, file:line and the ≤120-character summary, plus the scores, grade and hygiene counts. No source code, no evidence lines, no secret values.
  • It talks to one URL: the one you configured, directly (no proxy). The scan itself never touches the network.
  • It fails soft: with the URL unset or unreachable, the report is unchanged and one note line says why.

MCP server

code-guardian-mcp (or code-guardian mcp) speaks MCP over stdio with five read-only tools, each with a title and readOnlyHint: true, destructiveHint: false, idempotentHint: true:

tooldoesopenWorldHint
scanthe full report for path (+ optional goal, fail_on, baseline; the reply carries exit_code)false
diffbefore and after (each a scan report as JSON text, or a path to a scan --json file): fixed, new, unchanged, score deltas, verdict and exit_codefalse
planthe repair plan for path (+ optional top, default 10, and goal)false
orphansthe hygiene section for pathfalse
explainscan plus the model explanationtrue

A path argument is resolved and must exist. Claude Code:

claude mcp add code-guardian -- uvx code-guardian-mcp mcp

Any MCP client:

json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "code-guardian": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["code-guardian-mcp", "mcp"],
      "env": {"CODE_GUARDIAN_LLM_URL": "http://127.0.0.1:11434/api/chat", "CODE_GUARDIAN_LLM_MODEL": "qwen3:8b"}
    }
  }
}

The env block is only needed for explain.

Limitations

  • Only Python is analysed. Manifests (package.json, setup.py, setup.cfg, pyproject.toml, requirements*.txt) are read for install hooks and pins; every other language gets the secret scan only, and the report says which files.
  • Static analysis cannot see runtime behaviour. A finding means the code is there, not that it runs; code that builds its behaviour at runtime (downloaded plugins, exec of fetched text) is flagged where the parse can see it and invisible where it cannot. A grade A is "nothing the scanners recognise", not "proven safe".
  • Python files are parsed by the interpreter running code-guardian. Run it with a Python at least as new as the project's requires-python; when it is older, a parse failure is reported as works.syntax INFO, not FAIL.
  • Taint tracking for exec.shell FAIL is one function deep: assignments inside the same function, not calls between functions.
  • The orphan graph over-approximates "used" (a method name read anywhere keeps every reached class's method of that name), so it reports less dead code rather than wrong dead code.
  • .gitignore support is simple globs from the root file; negation (!) and nested .gitignore files are ignored.

Every module tests itself

python -m code_guardian.scanners --selftest
scanners selftest: 27 checks, 27 passed, 0 failed

Each of finding, walk, scanners, manifests, score, goal, orphans, works, complete, supply, explain, report, cli, mcp_server, baseline, verify, history and leftovers has one; tests/test_selftests.py runs them all.

License

MIT. See LICENSE.

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