System76 bars LLM-generated content from COSMIC pull requests

On September 30, System76’s COSMIC project merged a repository policy requiring pull-request contributors to declare that their submissions contain no content generated by a large language model, including code, comments and descriptions. The revised pull-request template says pull requests without a completed acknowledgement checkbox will be closed.

The change replaces earlier language that asked contributors to disclose AI-generated code and warned that fully or partly AI-authored pull requests could be closed. The merge commit instead establishes a categorical no-LLM condition, giving maintainers a yes-or-no contributor attestation.

COSMIC also added a GitHub Actions workflow that runs when a pull request is opened, edited or synchronized and requires the checklist to be completed. It enforces checklist completion; the repository record does not show it inspecting code or prose to determine whether an LLM produced it.

Contributors must also say they understand their changes and can respond to review comments, have accurately described and tested the contribution, and certify it under the Developer Certificate of Origin.

In a post explaining the decision, the policy’s author said the primary reason was the team’s review load. According to the post, COSMIC wanted to prioritize work from its own team and regular contributors after receiving more LLM-assisted changes from first-time contributors that were often unplanned and had a low acceptance rate.

The merge also added a rollout script that copies the template and checklist workflow into cosmic-epoch submodule repositories, then opens or updates policy pull requests for engineering and quality-assurance review. The script shows an intended rollout, not proof that every COSMIC repository has adopted the rule.