GoKawiilPetition to Node.js TSC: No AI code in Node.js Core
We, the undersigned, petition the Node.js Technical Steering Committee (TSC) to vote NO on "Is AI-assisted development allowed?" and not accept LLM assisted rewrites of core internals.
Node.js is a critical infrastructure running on millions of servers online and supporting engineers through command-line utilities that they use daily. We believe that diluting the core hand-written with care and diligence over the years is against the mission and values of the project and should not be allowed. Accepting LLM changes to Node.js core would break the reputational bedrock of public contributions that have brought Node.js to its current public standing and societal value.
Submitted generated code should be reproducible by reviewers without having to go through the paywall of subscription based LLM tooling.
Background
A 19k lines-of-code Pull Request was opened in January, 2026. The author is a well known and long time contributor to Node.js core, but the Pull Request description has listed this sentence as a disclaimer:
I've used a significant amount of Claude Code tokens to create this PR. I've reviewed all changes myself.
The blog post that surfaced on Hacker News that started a debate over whether a change like that even satisfies the requirements of Developer's Certificate of Origin (DCO):
By making a contribution to this project, I certify that: (a) The contribution was created in whole or in part by me and I have the right to submit it under the open source license indicated in the file; or (b) The contribution is based upon previous work that, to the best of my knowledge, is covered under an appropriate open source license and I have the right under that license to submit that work with modifications, whether created in whole or in part by me, under the same open source license (unless I am permitted to submit under a different license), as indicated in the file; or (c) The contribution was provided directly to me by some other person who certified (a), (b) or (c) and I have not modified it. (d) I understand and agree that this project and the contribution are public and that a record of the contribution (including all personal information I submit with it, including my sign-off) is maintained indefinitely and may be redistributed consistent with this project or the open source license(s) involved.
and even though the legal opinion of OpenJS foundation is that LLM assisted changes are not in violation of DCO, we believe that this is only a small part of the issue with large LLM-written changes to the Node.js core.
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