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Contributing to BOINC with AI assistants

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David Anderson edited this page May 20, 2026 · 2 revisions

AI tools can help you write, review, summarize, and refactor code, but they do not change the normal BOINC contribution process.

If you use an AI assistant while working on a BOINC change, you are still the contributor of record and you are responsible for everything in the pull request: code correctness, licensing, security, testing, documentation, and follow-up review comments.

Follow the normal BOINC contribution process

Start with the usual BOINC contribution guidance:

In particular:

  1. Use or create a GitHub issue for the work.
  2. Comment on the issue with your plan before writing significant code.
  3. Wait for feedback on the design when the change is non-trivial.
  4. Implement the change in a separate branch.
  5. Review, validate, and ideally test the result before opening a PR.
  6. Submit a pull request and be prepared to revise it during review.

AI assistance is not a substitute for these steps.

Your responsibilities when using AI

Before opening a PR, you should:

  • read the diff carefully and make sure you understand every change;
  • verify that the code actually solves the issue you intended to address;
  • check for incorrect assumptions, missing edge cases, and unsafe suggestions from the AI tool;
  • test the code when possible, especially for behavior changes, bug fixes, build changes, and anything security-sensitive;
  • confirm that any documentation or comments added by the AI are accurate.

Do not submit code that you have not personally reviewed.

If an AI tool generated part or all of a patch, that does not shift responsibility to the tool vendor or model. The human contributor who opens the PR is responsible for the submitted code.

Licensing and copyright still apply

BOINC contribution rules still apply to AI-assisted work.

As described in Contributing code to BOINC, BOINC is distributed under the LGPL, version 3 or later, and contributions are assigned to The Regents of the University of California. If you submit AI-assisted code, you are still responsible for making sure that:

  • the contribution can legally be submitted under BOINC's licensing rules;
  • the code does not copy incompatible third-party material;
  • the copyright assignment terms for BOINC contributions are acceptable to you;
  • the final patch is appropriate for inclusion in BOINC.

If you cannot explain where the code came from and why it can be contributed to BOINC, do not submit it.

Add an Assisted-by trailer to commits that used AI

Following the project's guidance for coding assistants, BOINC contributors should disclose AI-assisted commits with an Assisted-by: trailer in the commit message whenever an AI tool was used to generate or substantially transform code or text for that commit.

Omitting this acknowledgment may impede acceptance; BOINC contributors should treat the trailer as part of normal commit hygiene for AI-assisted work.

Use this format:

Assisted-by: AGENT_NAME:MODEL_VERSION [TOOL1] [TOOL2]

Where:

  • AGENT_NAME is the AI tool or framework name;
  • MODEL_VERSION is the specific model/version used;
  • [TOOL1] [TOOL2] are optional specialized analysis tools that materially contributed to the result.

Basic tools such as git, compilers, editors, and build systems should not be listed.

Example:

Assisted-by: Copilot:gpt-5.4

If your workflow also includes Signed-off-by or other legal attestations, only add those yourself after you have reviewed the commit. An AI tool must not make legal certifications on your behalf.

Practical expectations for BOINC pull requests

For AI-assisted pull requests, reviewers should be able to see that you treated the result like any other BOINC contribution:

  • the issue and proposed approach are clear;
  • the code follows the Coding style;
  • the change is explained in the PR;
  • the patch has been reviewed by the contributor before submission;
  • testing has been done where practical;
  • each AI-assisted commit includes an Assisted-by: trailer.

If you want early feedback, consider opening a work-in-progress PR as described in Development Workflow.

Suggested pre-PR checklist

Before opening a PR for AI-assisted work, confirm the following:

  1. I read the full diff and understand it.
  2. I checked that the change matches the GitHub issue and agreed design.
  3. I reviewed the code for correctness, maintainability, and security.
  4. I tested the change, or I can clearly explain why testing was not practical.
  5. I verified that the code can be contributed under BOINC's licensing and copyright rules.
  6. I added an Assisted-by: trailer to each commit that used AI assistance.

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