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Can You Send AI-Written Code to Open Source? What Projects Actually Say

A look at real contribution policies, and a checklist before you open that pull request.

Nishkarsh Gupta

10 min read12 hours ago

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Sometimes, and it depends on the project. Open source AI contribution policies run from outright bans, to allowed if you disclose it, to allowed if a human reviews every line and can answer for it. Read the project’s own policy before you open a pull request.

Picture this: an AI assistant helps you fix a bug and the tests pass. You want to send the patch to three repositories. One would decline it if it suspects AI help. One wants to know which tool you used. One only asks that you understand every line.

Dozens of projects now have written rules, and they disagree. I read RedMonk’s list of them, then opened the policy pages of seven projects myself.…