COSMIC updates contribution rules to exclude LLM-generated content

COSMIC tightens pull request rules

System76's COSMIC project has updated its contribution rules and will no longer accept pull requests containing LLM-generated content. The change is included in the COSMIC pull request template, where contributors must confirm that source code, comments and pull request descriptions contain no LLM-generated material. A pull request may be closed if that confirmation is missing.

Contributors must also confirm that they understand the changes they are submitting, can answer review feedback and have tested their work. They must certify their contributions under the Developer Certificate of Origin.

Review burden drives the change

Jeremy Soller from System76 said the main reason for the change is the extra review work faced by the COSMIC team. He explained that maintainers have seen more submissions from first-time contributors using LLMs, but many of these submissions were unplanned and rarely accepted.

Soller said the policy is not intended to oppose AI tools in general. Its purpose is to keep the review process manageable. AI-generated contributions still require careful review and often come from contributors who may not know the project well. COSMIC developers were already cautious with these contributions before the update.

From disclosure to a full prohibition

In August, contributor Jacob Gkau said most large LLM-written pull requests were already being rejected, particularly when they raised copyright or maintainability concerns. COSMIC previously required contributors to disclose AI-generated code and understand their submissions.

The updated policy goes further. Pull requests may no longer include any LLM-generated content, rather than only being required to disclose it. COSMIC contributors must write and understand their own code, comments and pull request descriptions.

Flatpak manifests follow a different policy

The policy is different for cosmic-flatpak, where upstream projects manage their own Flatpak manifests. The COSMIC team mainly checks these manifests for proper sandboxing before accepting them.

The COSMIC change comes as more open-source projects decide how to handle AI-assisted contributions.

Sources: Neowin