/ai-smell-scan [path]

Read-only scan for AI-generated code patterns. Reports findings without making changes.

No arguments? Describe this skill and stop. Do not execute.

The AI Smell Index

Each smell type has a severity weight. The AI Smell Index is the weighted sum.

Index interpretation:

• •0-5: Clean — human-like code
• •6-15: Minor — a few AI fingerprints
• •16-30: Moderate — noticeable AI patterns
• •31-50: Heavy — needs cleanup
• •51+: Severe — AI slop, run /ai-smell-review

The AI Smell Checklist

Over-Abstraction (weight: 3)

• •Factories/wrappers used exactly once
• •Abstract base class with one implementation
• •Unnecessary indirection layers
• •Single-use helper functions

Defensive Paranoia (weight: 3)

• •Null checks where null is impossible (typed params)
• •Try/catch around infallible code
• •Validating internal function arguments
• •Empty catch blocks

Comment Spam (weight: 1)

• •Comments that repeat the code
• •// increment counter above counter++
• •JSDoc restating the function name
• •Obvious comments on obvious code

Speculative Features (weight: 3)

• •Config options nobody uses
• •Parameters with only one value ever passed
• •Dead feature flags
• •Options objects with single caller

Enterprise Patterns in Simple Code (weight: 3)

• •Repository pattern for one entity
• •Strategy pattern with one strategy
• •Builder pattern for simple objects
• •Factory for single product

Generic Wrapper Abuse (weight: 2)

• •Result<T, E> when you just throw
• •Custom types that add no value over primitives
• •Wrapper class with one method

Verbose Naming (weight: 1)

• •Names longer than 25 characters
• •Redundant prefixes/suffixes (userUserData)

Excessive Structure (weight: 2)

• •Single-method classes
• •Deep folder nesting (4+ levels)
• •Index file re-export chains
• •Files with 5+ functions under 5 lines each

Output Format

## AI Smell Scan: [target]

SMELLS_FOUND:
- [file:line] [smell type]: [description]
- [file:line] [smell type]: [description]

SUMMARY:
| Smell Type | Count | Weight | Score |
|------------|-------|--------|-------|
| Over-abstraction | N | 3 | N×3 |
| Defensive paranoia | N | 3 | N×3 |
| Comment spam | N | 1 | N×1 |
| Speculative features | N | 3 | N×3 |
| Enterprise patterns | N | 3 | N×3 |
| Generic wrappers | N | 2 | N×2 |
| Verbose naming | N | 1 | N×1 |
| Excessive structure | N | 2 | N×2 |

TOTAL_SMELLS: N
AI_SMELL_INDEX: N (interpretation)

RECOMMENDATION: Run /ai-smell-review to clean up

Tracking Over Time

Use the AI_SMELL_INDEX to compare before/after:

# Before changes
/ai-smell-scan src/  → AI_SMELL_INDEX: 12

# After implementing with full base brain
/ai-smell-scan src/  → AI_SMELL_INDEX: 18

# Delta: +6 (got worse)

Track index after each /build or /improve run to detect skill configuration impact.

No Changes Made

This is a read-only scan. Use /ai-smell-review to fix issues.