LLM Artifacts Review
Detect common artifacts left behind by LLM coding agents: over-abstraction, dead code, DRY violations in tests, verbose comments, and defensive overkill.
Hard gates (sequence)
Advance only when each pass condition is objectively true (prevents “review complete” without artifacts):
| Gate | Pass condition |
|---|---|
| G1 — Scope | File list is non-empty or you exit with exactly the Step 1 message; scope is set to all or changed. |
| G2 — Four categories | Tests, dead code, abstraction, and style are each reviewed (four parallel subagent runs when supported, or four sequential passes covering the same categories). Stop if any category did not complete; do not write JSON or a summary that implies a full pass. |
| G3 — JSON before summary | .beagle/llm-artifacts-review.json exists and is valid JSON before Step 6 markdown. |
| G4 — Integrity | Step 7 checks pass before treating the run as complete. |
Arguments
Parse $ARGUMENTS for flags and optional path:
| Flag | Effect |
|---|---|
| (default) | Changed-files scope — only files changed since git merge-base HEAD main (PR-style scope) |
--all | Full project scan — all matching source files under the target path |
--parallel | Force parallel execution where subagents are supported (default when 4+ files in scope) |
| Path | Root directory to scan (default: current working directory) |
Step 1: Determine Scope
A. Changed files only (default):
Resolve the base ref explicitly and fail loudly if none exists — do not wrap the git merge-base call in || true, which would silently swallow a missing main/master ref and report "no files to scan" on repos that only have origin/main or use master. If no base ref is found, suggest the user pass --all instead of silently falling back.
bashBASE=$(for ref in main origin/main master origin/master; do git rev-parse --verify "$ref" >/dev/null 2>&1 && { echo "$ref"; break; } done) if [ -z "$BASE" ]; then echo "error: no main/master ref found (checked main, origin/main, master, origin/master). Pass --all for a full-project scan." >&2 exit 1 fi MERGE_BASE=$(git merge-base HEAD "$BASE") || { echo "error: git merge-base HEAD $BASE failed." >&2 exit 1 } git diff --name-only "$MERGE_BASE..HEAD" | grep -E '\.(py|ts|tsx|js|jsx|go|rs|java|rb|swift|kt)$' || true
(The trailing || true on the grep is intentional — zero source-file matches is a legitimate empty-scope result, distinct from a failed base-ref resolution.)
B. Full project (--all):
From TARGET (default .), list source files and prune excluded dependency/build trees so find never descends into them. ! -path "*/foo/*" only filters the output; find still walks the tree (minutes of wasted I/O on large node_modules, target, etc.). Use -prune instead:
bashfind "$TARGET" \ \( -type d \( \ -name node_modules -o -name .git -o -name vendor -o -name __pycache__ \ -o -name .venv -o -name venv -o -name dist -o -name build \ -o -name target -o -name .next -o -name coverage -o -name .turbo \ \) -prune \) -o \ \( -type f \( \ -name "*.py" -o -name "*.ts" -o -name "*.tsx" -o -name "*.js" -o -name "*.jsx" \ -o -name "*.go" -o -name "*.rs" -o -name "*.java" -o -name "*.rb" \ -o -name "*.swift" -o -name "*.kt" \ \) -print \)
Large repos: The --all path can produce huge file lists. If file count exceeds 400, warn and suggest narrowing: pass a subdirectory as TARGET, or drop --all to fall back to the default changed-files scope. Still proceed unless the user explicitly cancels. (This warning does not fire on the default changed-files scope, which is already bounded by the PR diff.)
If no files are found, exit with:
No files to scan. Check the path, branch, or pass --all for a full-project scan.
Set scope in the report: "all" for --all, "changed" for the default changed-files scope.
Step 2: Detect Languages
Extract unique file extensions from the file list:
bashecho "$FILES" | sed 's/.*\.//' | sort -u
Map extensions to language names for the report:
.py-> Python.ts,.tsx-> TypeScript.js,.jsx-> JavaScript.go-> Go.rs-> Rust.java-> Java.rb-> Ruby.swift-> Swift.kt-> Kotlin
Step 3: Review the Four Categories
Cover all four categories below. If the agent supports subagents and file count >= 4 (or --parallel is set), dispatch one subagent per category in parallel. Otherwise, run the four category reviews sequentially yourself, producing the same findings. Either way:
- Load the llm-artifacts-detection skill
- Review each category (one per subagent when parallel, one pass at a time when sequential)
- Collect findings in the structured format below
Category 1: Tests
Focus: Testing anti-patterns from LLM generation
- DRY violations (repeated setup code, duplicate assertions)
- Testing library/framework code instead of application logic
- Wrong mock boundaries (mocking too much or too little)
- Overly verbose test names that describe implementation
- Tests that just mirror the implementation
Category 2: Dead Code
Focus: Unused or obsolete code
- Unused imports, variables, functions, classes
- TODO/FIXME comments that should have been resolved
- Backwards compatibility code for removed features
- Orphaned test files for deleted code
- Commented-out code blocks
- Feature flags that are always on/off
Category 3: Abstraction
Focus: Over-engineering patterns
- Unnecessary abstraction layers (interfaces for single implementations)
- Copy-paste drift (similar code that diverged slightly)
- Over-configuration (configurable things that never change)
- Premature generalization
- Factory/Builder patterns for simple object creation
- Deep inheritance hierarchies
Category 4: Style
Focus: Verbose or defensive patterns
- Verbose comments explaining obvious code
- Defensive overkill (null checks on non-nullable values)
- Unnecessary type hints (dynamic languages with obvious types)
- Overly explicit error messages
- Redundant logging
- Self-documenting code with documentation
Step 4: Consolidate Findings
Prerequisite: G2 satisfied (all four category reviews finished successfully).
Once all four category reviews have completed (parallel subagents or sequential passes), then:
- Merge all findings into a single list
- Assign unique IDs (1, 2, 3...)
- Group by category for display
Echo before write (anti-confabulation): Every finding written to JSON MUST come from a category review's [FILE:LINE] ISSUE_TITLE output, not from the branch name, directory, or your own inference. After assigning ids, echo the consolidated table — id | category | file:line | description — and confirm each row traces to a specific category result. Do not add findings that no category review reported.
ID lock: Ids are contiguous 1..N with no gaps or duplicates. This 1..N set is the locked id set that downstream skills (verify-llm-artifacts, fix-llm-artifacts) bind to 1:1. summary.total MUST equal N, and summary.by_category counts MUST sum to N. State the id set before writing JSON.
Step 5: Write JSON Report
Create .beagle directory if it doesn't exist:
bashmkdir -p .beagle
Write findings to .beagle/llm-artifacts-review.json:
json{ "version": "1.0.0", "created_at": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z", "git_head": "abc1234", "scope": "all" | "changed", "target": ".", "files_scanned": 42, "languages": ["Python", "TypeScript", "Go"], "findings": [ { "id": 1, "category": "tests" | "dead_code" | "abstraction" | "style", "type": "dry_violation" | "unused_import" | "over_abstraction" | "verbose_comment" | "...", "file": "src/utils/helper.py", "line": 42, "description": "Repeated setup code in 5 test functions", "suggestion": "Extract to a pytest fixture", "risk": "Low" | "Medium" | "High", "fix_safety": "Safe" | "Needs review", "fix_action": "refactor" | "delete" | "simplify" | "extract" } ], "summary": { "total": 15, "by_category": { "tests": 4, "dead_code": 5, "abstraction": 3, "style": 3 }, "by_risk": { "High": 2, "Medium": 8, "Low": 5 }, "by_fix_safety": { "Safe": 10, "Needs review": 5 } } }
Step 6: Display Summary
Prerequisite: G3 satisfied (JSON on disk and parseable).
markdown## LLM Artifacts Review **Scope:** Changed files since merge-base with main | Entire project under `<path>` (when `--all`) **Files scanned:** 42 **Languages:** Python, TypeScript, Go ### Findings by Category ... ### Summary Table ... ### Next Steps - Run the [verify-llm-artifacts](../verify-llm-artifacts/SKILL.md) skill to confirm findings and drop false positives before fixing. - Run the [fix-llm-artifacts](../fix-llm-artifacts/SKILL.md) skill after verification (or to preview safe-only fixes). - Review the JSON report at `.beagle/llm-artifacts-review.json`
Step 7: Verification (report integrity)
Before completing, verify the review executed correctly:
- JSON validity: Confirm
.beagle/llm-artifacts-review.jsonexists and is parseable - Category coverage: All 4 category reviews completed without errors (parallel subagents or sequential passes)
- Git HEAD captured: The
git_headfield is non-empty in the report - Staleness check: If a previous report exists, compare stored
git_headto current HEAD and warn if different - ID + count integrity: Finding ids are contiguous
1..N;summary.total == N;summary.by_categorysums toN. A mismatch means a finding was added, dropped, or duplicated — fix before completing.
bashpython3 -c "import json; json.load(open('.beagle/llm-artifacts-review.json'))" 2>/dev/null && echo "✓ Valid JSON" || echo "✗ Invalid JSON" python3 - <<'PY' import json r = json.load(open('.beagle/llm-artifacts-review.json')) ids = [x['id'] for x in r['findings']] n = len(ids) ok = ids == list(range(1, n + 1)) and r['summary']['total'] == n \ and sum(r['summary']['by_category'].values()) == n print("✓ ids 1..N and counts consistent" if ok else f"✗ id/count mismatch: ids={ids} total={r['summary']['total']}") PY STORED_HEAD=$(jq -r '.git_head' .beagle/llm-artifacts-review.json 2>/dev/null) CURRENT_HEAD=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD) if [ "$STORED_HEAD" != "$CURRENT_HEAD" ]; then echo "⚠️ Report was generated on $STORED_HEAD, current HEAD is $CURRENT_HEAD" fi
If any verification fails, report the error and do not proceed.
Finding-level verification (precision, not JSON syntax) is a separate skill: verify-llm-artifacts — run it before mass deletes or --fix on risky items.
Output Format for Each Finding
text[FILE:LINE] **ISSUE_TYPE** (Risk, Fix Safety) - Description - Suggestion: Specific fix recommendation
Rules
- Follow Hard gates order; do not skip G3 (JSON before Step 6).
- Anti-confabulation: every finding must trace to a category review's
[FILE:LINE]output (Step 4 echo); never invent findings from the branch name, directory, or inference. See the review-verification-protocol skill → Anti-confabulation (gate 0). - Always load the llm-artifacts-detection skill first
- Use parallel subagents (when the agent supports them) for the four category reviews when >= 4 files; otherwise run them sequentially
- Every finding MUST have file:line reference
- Categorize risk honestly (don't inflate or deflate)
- Mark fix safety as "Safe" only if change is mechanical and reversible
- Create
.beagledirectory if needed - Write JSON report before displaying summary
- Default scope is changed files since merge-base with main; pass
--allfor a full-project scan

