eslint-plugin-deslop

ESLint plugin to detect and remove AI-generated code slop.

What is "slop"?

AI-generated code often includes patterns that human developers wouldn't write:

• Excessive or obvious comments that restate what the code does

This plugin focuses on unique AI-slop patterns not covered by other ESLint plugins.

Features

• 🎯 2 working rules that catch common AI-generated patterns
• 🔧 Auto-fixable - Use eslint --fix to automatically remove slop
• ⚙️ Configurable - Customize thresholds and patterns to match your needs
• ⚡ Zero dependencies - Pure ESLint plugin
• 🎨 Recommended config - Get started quickly with sensible defaults

Installation

npm install --save-dev eslint-plugin-deslop

Usage

Add to your ESLint config:

// eslint.config.js (Flat Config)
import deslop from "eslint-plugin-deslop";

export default [
  {
    plugins: {
      deslop,
    },
    rules: {
      "deslop/no-excessive-comments": "warn",
      "deslop/no-obvious-comments": "warn",
    },
  },
];

Or use the recommended config:

// eslint.config.js (Flat Config)
import deslop from "eslint-plugin-deslop";

export default [
  ...deslop.configs.recommended,
];

The recommended config enables both rules with sensible defaults:

• deslop/no-excessive-comments: warn (30% max density)
• deslop/no-obvious-comments: warn

Rules

✅ no-excessive-comments

Detects and removes excessive comment density inside function bodies (>30% by default).

Fixable: Yes (with --fix)

// ❌ Bad (flagged by this rule - high comment density)
function processUser(user) {
  // Get user name
  const name = user.name;
  // Return the name
  return name;
}

// ✅ Good (low comment density)
function processUser(user) {
  const name = user.name;
  return name;
}

Options:

{
  "deslop/no-excessive-comments": ["warn", {
    "maxDensity": 0.3  // Default: 0.3 (30%)
  }]
}

• maxDensity (number, 0-1): Maximum allowed comment-to-code ratio. Default is 0.3 (30%).

Examples:

// Set to 20% for stricter checking
"deslop/no-excessive-comments": ["warn", { "maxDensity": 0.2 }]

// Set to 50% for more lenient checking
"deslop/no-excessive-comments": ["warn", { "maxDensity": 0.5 }]

✅ no-obvious-comments

Detects comments that obviously restate what the code does.

Fixable: Yes (with --fix)

// ❌ Bad (flagged by this rule)
// Initialize counter
let counter = 0;

// Returns the user name
function getUserName() {}

/**
 * Gets the user name
 * @param user - The user object
 * @returns The user name
 */
function getUserName(user) {}

// ✅ Good (no obvious comments)
let counter = 0;
function getUserName() {}

Options:

{
  "deslop/no-obvious-comments": ["warn", {
    "customPatterns": [],      // Default: []
    "checkVariableNames": true // Default: true
  }]
}

• customPatterns (array of strings): Additional regex patterns to flag as obvious comments.
• checkVariableNames (boolean): Whether to flag comments that contain the variable name they're describing. Default is true.

Examples:

// Add custom patterns to detect
"deslop/no-obvious-comments": ["warn", {
  "customPatterns": [
    "^perform\\s+action",  // Flags "Perform action on data"
    "^execute\\s+(the|a)"  // Flags "Execute the task"
  ]
}]

// Disable variable name checking
"deslop/no-obvious-comments": ["warn", {
  "checkVariableNames": false
}]

Built-in patterns detected:

• Basic actions: initialize, create, set, get, return, check, validate, update, delete
• Function descriptions: this function, this method, this will
• Accessors: constructor for, getter for, setter for
• Verb phrases: returns the/a/an, checks if, sets the, gets the
• Explanatory filler: note that, it's important to, please note, the following code, this is a helper function to, we use this to
• Step markers: step 1, first,, then,, finally,, 1. do something
• Loop/iteration: loop through, iterate over, for each element
• Conditionals: if condition is met, check condition, handle error, catch exception
• JSDoc/TSDoc slop: Trivial doc comments like /** Gets the user name */
• Redundant block comments: Short block comments that restate code

License

MIT