Last updated: 13 November 2026

Free tool: runs in your browser

AI contribution policy note builderfor AI-assisted pull requests

TimeBinder adds a layer of protection against AI and human fraud and disputes. Choose your position and what you ask contributors to say. You get a section for CONTRIBUTING.md, a pull request checklist and a short reply.

Everything you type stays on this page. A note cannot tell whether a change was written with an AI tool, and this page does not check licences or say what contributors may lawfully submit. It is not legal advice.

Write your note and checklist

Choose your position, what you ask contributors to say, and what you do with bots. Nothing you type is sent to TimeBinder.

Everything you type stays on this page. Nothing is sent anywhere or tied to your name.

Write a short note on AI-assisted pull requests for your repository

Choose your position and what you ask contributors to say. You get a section for CONTRIBUTING.md, a pull request checklist and a short reply for pull requests that do not follow it. It cannot tell whether a change was written with AI.

How do I set a policy for AI-assisted contributions to my open source project? The short answer

Decide your position in one sentence: welcome with disclosure, welcome if the contributor understands and tests the change, limited to docs and tests, not accepted, or case by case. Then say what you ask of contributors (name the tool, link an issue first for big changes, say how it was tested, confirm the right to submit it under your licence) and what happens to automated agents and to pull requests that do not follow the note. Put it in CONTRIBUTING.md and in the pull request template, and apply it the same way to everyone.

A note cannot tell which changes used AI, so it relies on what contributors tell you. The licence status of AI-generated output is unsettled in many places. A TimeBind of the file you commit can show that exact text existed no later than a recorded time and still matches. It does not show who wrote it.

Why this came up in November 2026

Maintainers are working out how to handle AI-written code. Counts below were read on 13 November 2026 (Australia/Brisbane) unless the text says another date. The Next Token podcast’s episode 8, “Nobody’s Going to Write the Next React” with Armin Ronacher and Mario Zechner, uploaded on 9 November 2026, showed 26,907 views and 284 likes. It is only adjacent to this topic: it is about AI-written code, not about pull request policy. Just outside the 14-day window, SavvyNik’s “Linux & OSS Maintainers Are Drowning in AI Slop”, uploaded on 21 October 2026, showed 25,479 views. These are demand signals, and demand here is moderate. This page does not check the claims in either video.

The practical question is what to write down so that contributors and maintainers know what to expect. The tool drafts it.

Sources: Next Token and SavvyNik, both on YouTube. If you are changing a licence, see the open source licence change record checklist.

What this tool does and does not do

The honest job of this page is to put your expectations in writing. See also the glossary entries for existed no later than and SHA-256.

Limits of the AI contribution policy note builder
Part	What it does	What it does not do
CONTRIBUTING section	Writes a short section from your position and the things you ask contributors to say.	Tell which changes used AI, or make a rule enforceable.
Pull request checklist	Writes checklist lines that match your asks, ready for a template.	Check what contributors tick.
Reply template	Writes a short, polite reply for a pull request that does not follow the note.	Decide a case for you.
A TimeBind of a file you already hold	Records that an exact file existed no later than a recorded time and still matches, using a SHA-256 fingerprint made in your browser. The file stays on your device.	Show who wrote a change, or settle what contributors may lawfully submit.

If you want a dated copy of the policy

When you publish the note:

Commit the CONTRIBUTING.md and the pull request template, and note the commit.
Make a TimeBind of each exact file you already hold. The fingerprint is made in your browser and the file stays on your device. You can later download a Proof of Time Certificate.
Keep the files and the certificate together, so you can show what the policy said on a given date.

A TimeBind shows the exact file existed no later than the recorded time and still matches. It does not make the policy enforceable.

Make a TimeBind: first one free →

First Pooled TimeBind free, no card, then from US$5. An ASAP TimeBind is US$15.

What a TimeBind shows, and what it does not. It shows that an exact file existed no later than a recorded time and that a copy shown later still matches its fingerprint. It does not show who made the file, who owns it, that its contents are true, or whether AI was used to make or edit it. This is general information, not legal advice.

AI contribution policy note builder: FAQ

Can a policy keep AI-written pull requests out?

No. It sets an expectation and gives you something to point to. You cannot reliably tell whether a change was written with an AI tool.

Is it safe to ban AI-assisted contributions?

A ban is a choice you can make, but you cannot check it. Decide now what you will do if you suspect a contribution, and apply it evenly.

Does this tell me what contributors may lawfully submit?

No. The licence status of AI-generated output is unsettled in many places. Ask a qualified adviser if it matters for your project.

Does anything get sent to a repository?

No. Everything stays on the page until you copy it. You paste it into your own files.

Can a TimeBind date my policy?

A TimeBind of the file you commit shows that exact text existed no later than a recorded time. It cannot show the policy was followed.

Is anything I type or tick sent to TimeBinder?

No. This page runs in your browser. What you type stays on the page.

Related guides and tools

Your file’s fingerprint, anchored to a global network secured by real electricity and cryptography.

Editing a file—including with AI—changes its fingerprint, not its existing network record.

How this works

Your file’s SHA-256 fingerprint, a short code worked out from its exact contents, is made in your browser, and the file itself stays on your device. A cryptographic commitment to that fingerprint, which may be combined with others, is then anchored in a block on the Bitcoin blockchain. Bitcoin is secured by proof of work: computers around the world spend real electricity to add each block, and changing an earlier block would mean redoing that work faster than the rest of the network. Until that block is confirmed, your proof is pending. Once the Bitcoin anchoring is confirmed, you can verify the proof against that recorded commitment. The confirmed record can then be checked; Pooled TimeBinds are checked through TimeBinder, while ASAP TimeBinds can also be checked independently. If you check the file later and its fingerprint still matches, that shows the file existed no later than the recorded time. The record doesn’t show who made the file, whether AI was used, or that its contents are true.

Your filestays on your device
FingerprintSHA-256
Network timestampon Bitcoin

Date the exact files you already hold

Add a layer of protection against AI and human fraud and disputes: a dated, checkable record of the files in your repository.

Open the app and sign in with email or Google.
Add your files. They stay on your computer.
Seal them and download your Proof of Time certificates.

Open TimeBinder →

First Pooled TimeBind free, no card, then from US$5. See pricing.