A deterministic A-F grade for a repo without running it, plus a verify loop: plan, fix, diff.
Runs on your machine from its package; the steps are below.
At most: only reads or looks up information.
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).
Run
uvx code-guardian-mcp
MCP client config
{
"mcpServers": {
"code-guardian": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"code-guardian-mcp"
]
}
}
}mcp-name: io.github.LuminariSoftwares/code-guardian
One command that tells you three things about any repo, without running it:
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:
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.
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
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.
| exit | meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 | nothing at or above --fail-on (default FAIL), and the scan is COMPLETE |
| 1 | findings at or above it |
| 2 | usage error, a missing PATH, or a bad goal file |
| 3 | incomplete 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.
code-guardian answers four questions about a change, so a developer or a coding agent can run it before and after every edit:
| question | command | MCP tool |
|---|---|---|
| Can I trust this scan? | every report's status: COMPLETE, PARTIAL (grade capped at B) or INVALID (no grade); exit 3 | scan |
| 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.
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.
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.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.
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):
| status | when | effect |
|---|---|---|
COMPLETE | everything ran | none |
PARTIAL | a check crashed or was skipped, a Python file did not parse, or a Python file or manifest was too large (over 2 MB) or unreadable | the grade is capped at B and the report says why; exit 3 unless a finding already gives exit 1 |
INVALID | PATH is unreadable, or there are no Python files and no manifests to judge | no 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, 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.
| code | what it looks for | level | weight |
|---|---|---|---|
secret.key | API-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 skipped | FAIL | 40 |
secret.key | a Stripe test-mode key (sk_test_) | INFO | 0 |
secret.history | opt-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 value | FAIL | 30 |
exec.dynamic | eval, exec, compile on non-literal input; __import__ with a variable | WARN | 10 |
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" | FAIL | 30 |
exec.shell | os.system, os.popen, subprocess.*(..., shell=True) | WARN | 10 |
exec.shell | …when the command is built from input(), os.environ, sys.argv or a network read | FAIL | 30 |
deser.unsafe | pickle.load(s), marshal.loads, yaml.load without SafeLoader, torch.load without weights_only=True | WARN | 10 |
net.egress | every URL and IP literal plus every urllib/requests/httpx/socket.connect call site: the egress inventory | INFO | 0 |
net.egress | a publicly routable IP, or plain http/ws/ftp to a public name or to a host chosen at runtime | WARN | 2 |
net.bind_all | binding 0.0.0.0 or :: | WARN | 5 |
tls.off | verify=False, ssl._create_unverified_context, CERT_NONE, check_hostname = False, hard-coded | FAIL | 25 |
tls.off | …only under an if on a function parameter: the caller opts out (how httpx implements verify=False) | WARN | 10 |
install.hook | setup.py cmdclass or install-command subclasses, package.json preinstall/install/postinstall, an in-tree build backend | WARN | 15 |
obfuscation | exec/eval of base64/zlib/marshal/hex-decoded data | FAIL | 40 |
obfuscation | base64 or hex blobs of 200+ characters, high-entropy string literals | WARN | 10 |
fs.outside | writes, deletes and moves aimed at absolute paths, ~, or .. escapes | WARN | 3 |
privacy.pii_log | a 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) | WARN | 5 |
privacy.pii_prompt | the same names flow into an LLM prompt: a messages= or prompt= argument, or a .chat(, .complete( or .generate( call | WARN | 5 |
deps.unpinned | dependencies with no pin or upper bound (pyproject.toml, setup.py, setup.cfg, requirements*.txt, package.json) | INFO | 0 |
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.
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.
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.
| code | what it looks for | level | weight |
|---|---|---|---|
supply.unknown_package | offline (default): a declared dependency or an unresolved import that is not in the bundled list of known packages; run with --online to check it exists | INFO | 0 |
supply.unknown_package | --online: PyPI has no such project (likely invented by an AI assistant; anyone could register the name) | FAIL | 40 |
supply.unknown_package | --online: the project's first release is under 90 days old, or it has only one release | WARN | 10 |
supply.lookalike | one 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 5 | WARN | 15 |
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.Will it work? Read from the parse and the manifests, never by importing or running anything.
| code | what it looks for | level | weight |
|---|---|---|---|
works.syntax | a .py file that ast.parse rejects (Python 2 code, a typo); it still gets the secret scan | FAIL | 30 |
works.syntax | …when the project's requires-python is newer than the Python running code-guardian (it cannot tell) | INFO | 0 |
works.import_unresolved | an absolute import that is not in the standard library, not a module or package in the repo, and not a declared dependency | WARN | 10 |
works.relative_missing | a relative import (from .x import y) that points at a module the repo does not have | FAIL | 25 |
works.tests_missing | no test files at all (tests/, test_*.py, *_test.py, tests.py, conftest.py) | WARN | 15 |
works.test_no_assert | test 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 count | WARN | 5 |
works.entry_missing | a [project.scripts] (or setup.cfg console script) target module:function whose module or function is not in the tree | FAIL | 30 |
orphan.dead | dead code from the hygiene section (below), folded in at a low weight, only when entry points exist | WARN | 3 |
works.todo_stub | a 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 overrides | WARN | 3 |
works.commented_code | 5+ consecutive comment lines that parse as Python (found with tokenize + ast.parse); once per file, with the count of blocks | INFO | 0 |
works.dead_flag | a module-level ALL_CAPS boolean (DEBUG = False) that no file reads, imports or names | INFO | 0 |
How works.import_unresolved decides:
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.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.docs/ are not checked (their dependencies are dev tools, and tests often
import modules they write at runtime).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.Does it have what it needs? File presence plus basic parsing.
| code | what it looks for | level | weight |
|---|---|---|---|
complete.license_missing | no LICENSE, LICENCE, COPYING or UNLICENSE file at the root | WARN | 20 |
complete.license_undeclared | packaging metadata ([project], Poetry, setup.cfg, setup()) declares no licence (license, license-files or a License :: classifier) | WARN | 5 |
complete.readme_missing | no README at the root | WARN | 20 |
complete.readme_short | the README is under 200 bytes | WARN | 10 |
complete.readme_sections | a README of 200+ bytes with no install heading (install, setup, getting started, quick start) or no usage heading (usage, examples, tutorial, run, CLI…) | WARN | 5 |
complete.ci_missing | no CI configuration (.github/workflows/, .gitlab-ci.yml, .circleci/, azure-pipelines.yml, .travis.yml, Jenkinsfile…) | WARN | 10 |
complete.metadata | pyproject.toml [project] without name, version (or dynamic) or requires-python | WARN | 10 |
complete.lockfile | an application with no lockfile (uv.lock, poetry.lock, Pipfile.lock, pdm.lock, pixi.lock, requirements.lock, or a fully pinned requirements.txt) | WARN | 10 |
complete.env_example | the code reads environment variables (os.environ, os.getenv, dotenv) and there is no .env.example (or .env.sample, .env.template, example.env) | WARN | 10 |
deps.declared_unused | a runtime dependency that nothing in the repo imports (runners, linters, types-* and pytest-* plugins are skipped) | INFO | 0 |
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.
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
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.--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).partialFingerprints["codeGuardian/v1"] and new in their properties.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.
| flag | prints |
|---|---|
| (none) | the text report shown above |
--json | the full report (shape above) |
--sarif | SARIF 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 |
--markdown | a 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:
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:
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
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:
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).| code | dimension | what it means | how to fix it | false positives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
check.crashed | Safe | One 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.unpinned | Safe | A 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.unsafe | Safe | pickle, 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.dynamic | Safe | eval, 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.shell | Safe | os.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.outside | Safe | A 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.hook | Safe | setup.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_all | Safe | A 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.egress | Safe | The 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. |
obfuscation | Safe | exec/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.history | Safe | With 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.key | Safe | An 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_log | Safe | A 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_prompt | Safe | The 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.lookalike | Safe | The 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_package | Safe | Offline: 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.off | Safe | verify=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.dead | Works | A 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_only | Works | Only 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.uncertain | Works | getattr/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_missing | Works | A [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_unresolved | Works | An 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_missing | Works | from .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_stub | Works | A 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_code | Works | A 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_flag | Works | A 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.syntax | Works | ast.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_assert | Works | Test 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_missing | Works | There 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_missing | Complete | No CI configuration was found. | Add a CI workflow that runs the tests on each change. | CI configured outside the repository. |
complete.env_example | Complete | The 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_missing | Complete | There is no LICENSE, LICENCE, COPYING or UNLICENSE file at the root. | Add a LICENSE file. | Licences kept only in a subfolder. |
complete.license_undeclared | Complete | Packaging metadata exists but declares no licence. | Add license = "..." (or license-files) to [project]. | Licences declared only by a build plugin. |
complete.lockfile | Complete | The 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.metadata | Complete | pyproject.toml [project] lacks name, version (or dynamic) or requires-python. | Add the missing keys to [project]. | None known. |
complete.readme_missing | Complete | There 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_sections | Complete | A 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_short | Complete | The 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_unused | Complete | A 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. |
code-guardian.goal.toml at the project root (optional) says what the project is for and where it starts:
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:
| code | meaning | level |
|---|---|---|
orphan.dead | nothing reachable uses it | WARN |
orphan.test_only | only tests reach it | INFO |
orphan.uncertain | getattr/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.
--explainCODE_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:
--explain equals the report without it, plus one block labelled
model explanation (not part of the score) and one note line.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.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:
| tool | does | openWorldHint |
|---|---|---|
scan | the full report for path (+ optional goal, fail_on, baseline; the reply carries exit_code) | false |
diff | before 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_code | false |
plan | the repair plan for path (+ optional top, default 10, and goal) | false |
orphans | the hygiene section for path | false |
explain | scan plus the model explanation | true |
A path argument is resolved and must exist. Claude Code:
claude mcp add code-guardian -- uvx code-guardian-mcp mcp
Any MCP client:
{
"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.
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.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".requires-python; when it is older, a parse failure is reported as works.syntax INFO, not FAIL.exec.shell FAIL is one function deep: assignments inside the same function, not calls between
functions..gitignore support is simple globs from the root file; negation (!) and nested .gitignore files are ignored.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.
MIT. See LICENSE.