Stop playing hide-and-seek with AI in your commits.
A dual-language validation framework that makes AI attribution non-negotiable.
Installation • Quick Start • Required Commit Footers • Documentation
RAI Lint enforces Responsible AI (RAI) attribution in every commit. No more "who wrote this?" moments. No more mystery code. Just honest, trackable AI contributions.
Read the full story: Did AI Erase Attribution? Your Git History Is Missing a Co-Author
%%{init: {'theme':'dark'}}%%
flowchart LR
A[Developer Commits] --> B{Has AI Footer?}
B -->|Yes| C[Commit Accepted ✅]
B -->|No| D[Commit Rejected ❌]
C --> E[Clear AI Attribution]
D --> F[Add Footer & Retry]
Because transparency matters. When AI writes code, everyone should know. This isn't about fear or compliance theater—it's about building trust and maintaining clear audit trails.
|
Blocks commits without valid AI attribution footers. No exceptions. Native plugins for both JavaScript/TypeScript ( |
From human-only to AI-generated, track exactly who did what. Works out-of-the-box with sensible defaults. Customize when ready. |
Every commit must include:
- One AI attribution footer (pick the one that fits)
- Signed-off-by footer (your human accountability stamp —
git commit -s)
💡 Complete audit trail: AI attribution plus human accountability.
gitlint-raienforces both out of the box; for commitlint, enable the plugin'srai-signed-off-byrule alongsiderai-footer-exists.
Pick one of these based on AI involvement:
| Footer Format | When to Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
Authored-by |
Human-only work, zero AI involvement | Authored-by: Jane Doe <jane@example.com> |
Commit-generated-by |
Trivial AI help (docs, messages, reviews) | Commit-generated-by: ChatGPT <chatgpt@openai.com> |
Assisted-by |
AI helped, but human did primary work | Assisted-by: GitHub Copilot <copilot@github.com> |
Co-authored-by |
Roughly 50/50 AI and human split | Co-authored-by: Verdent AI <verdent@verdent.ai> |
Generated-by |
Majority AI-generated code | Generated-by: GitHub Copilot <copilot@github.com> |
Human accountability. This is YOUR stamp confirming you reviewed and take responsibility for the AI attribution above.
Format: Signed-off-by: Your Name <your.email@example.com>
Automate it: git commit -s (or --signoff)
Note
All patterns are case-insensitive and follow the Git trailer format. Email addresses must use angle brackets (Name <email@example.com>) — this is stricter than Git's spec but matches Git's own convention and ensures consistency.
Both plugins ship a rai-signed-off-by rule that enforces this footer. gitlint-rai enables it by default (rule id UC2; opt out with ignore=rai-signed-off-by in .gitlint). For commitlint, add 'rai-signed-off-by': [2, 'always'] to your rules.
npm install --save-dev commitlint-plugin-raiConfigure in commitlint.config.js:
export default {
extends: ['@commitlint/config-conventional'],
plugins: ['commitlint-plugin-rai'],
rules: {
'rai-footer-exists': [2, 'always'],
'rai-signed-off-by': [2, 'always'],
},
};uv add gitlint-raiRun the bundled gitlint-rai CLI (recommended) — it loads the RAI rules automatically and accepts all gitlint arguments:
gitlint-rai --msg-filename .git/COMMIT_EDITMSGOr point plain gitlint at the installed package in .gitlint:
[general]
extra-path=/path/to/site-packages/gitlint_raiGet that path with:
python -c "import gitlint_rai, pathlib; print(pathlib.Path(gitlint_rai.__file__).parent)"Lefthook
commit-msg:
commands:
commitlint:
run: npx --no-install commitlint --edit {1}Husky
npx husky add .husky/commit-msg 'npx --no-install commitlint --edit $1'pre-commit
repos:
- repo: local
hooks:
- id: gitlint
name: gitlint
entry: gitlint-rai
args: [--msg-filename]
language: python
additional_dependencies: ['gitlint-rai']
stages: [commit-msg]rai-lint/
├── packages/
│ ├── node-commitlint/ # Node.js/ESM plugin
│ │ ├── src/
│ │ │ ├── rules/
│ │ │ │ ├── rai-footer-exists.ts
│ │ │ │ └── rai-signed-off-by.ts
│ │ │ └── index.ts
│ │ |── package.json
│ │ ├── tests/
│ │
│ └── python-gitlint/ # Python plugin
│ ├── gitlint_rai/
│ │ ├── __init__.py
│ │ └── rules.py
│ ├── tests/
│ └── pyproject.toml
│
├── docs/ # Documentation
Contributions welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
Look, I'm not gonna hide behind a wall of legalese here.
This runs on the PolyForm Shield License 1.0.0. That's not open source — but before you rage-quit, hear me out.
What this means in actual English (this is a plain-language summary — the LICENSE is what actually controls):
Use it. Break it. Fix it. Ship it in your CI pipeline at work. Bake it into a product your company sells, as long as the linter itself isn't the thing being sold. Use it to enforce commit messages on your team and become the office villain. I'm cool with all of that.
What I'm not cool with? Someone spinning this up as "AI Lint Pro" with a $99/month subscription and a fancy landing page. The license already covers this: anything that's a practical substitute for this tool — a resale, a rebrand, a hosted version (paid or free) — counts as competing, and competing is the one thing Shield forbids. If you want to sell something that's basically this project, we need to have a conversation first: anchildress1@gmail.com.
One housekeeping note: if you redistribute this, keep the license (or its URL) and any Required Notice: lines intact. That's the entire attribution ask.
The vibe: This is a tool to solve a real problem — AI attribution in commits is messy, and someone needed to standardize it. If you're using it for that purpose, internal or otherwise, you're good. If you're thinking about selling it... let's chat.
Sound fair? Cool. Now go lint some commits. 🚀
If you find this project useful or want to support its development, consider starring the repo or connecting with me!
Stop guessing. Start tracking.
Co-authored-by: Claude, Codex, Verdent AI & GitHub Copilot