wsc

# Writing Style Checker [](https://github.com/theserverlessdev/wsc/actions/workflows/ci.yml) [](https://www.npmjs.com/package/wsc-mcp) [](LICENSE) A prose linter and AI-slop detector. WSC finds **AI tells** — words, phrases, and sentence structures overrepresented in AI-generated text, each flag backed by a published corpus study. It also catches classic writing issues: **weasel words**, **passive voice**, **duplicate words**, **long sentences**, **nominalizations**, **hedging**, and **filler adverbs**. Available as a web editor, HTTP API, MCP server, CLI, and GitHub Action. **[Live: wsc.theserverless.dev](https://wsc.theserverless.dev)**  ## Features - **Web Editor** - Real-time highlighting with inline fix buttons for all 8 detectors - **HTTP API** - POST text with optional config, retrieve structured JSON responses - **MCP Server (Remote)** - Connect AI assistants via Streamable HTTP transport - **MCP Server (Local)** - Stdio-based server via [`wsc-mcp`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/wsc-mcp) on npm - **CLI** - Check files from the command line via `wsc-lint` - **GitHub Action** - Run checks in CI with `::warning` annotations - **Configurable** - Customize detectors with `.wscrc.json` files --- ## What WSC is (and isn't) WSC flags patterns that research on AI-generated text finds overrepresented, and cites a source for every flag. It does not, and cannot, prove authorship. Classifier-based detectors carry a documented false-accusation risk: a Stanford study found that seven of them misflagged 61% of essays written by non-native English speakers. WSC avoids that trap by design — every flag is a specific, explainable edit that improves the text no matter who, or what, wrote it. --- ## Detection Rules | Detector | Items | Description | |----------|-------|-------------| | **Weasel Words** | 95 words/phrases | Vague terms like "very", "basically", "arguably", "numerous" | | **Passive Voice** | 260 irregular verbs | Auxiliary verbs + past participles (regular `-ed` + irregular) | | **Duplicate Words** | — | Adjacent repeated words across whitespace, case-insensitive | | **Long Sentences** | threshold: 30 words | Sentences exceeding a configurable word count | | **Nominalizations** | 245 word pairs | Nouns replaceable with verbs ("utilization" → "use") | | **Hedging** | 100 phrases | Phrases that weaken assertions ("I think", "it seems") | | **Filler Adverbs** | 139 words | Adverbs adding emphasis without substance ("totally", "utterly") | | **AI Tells** | 98 words (+111 inflected forms) + 83 phrases + 12 structural patterns | Words, phrases, and sentence constructions overrepresented in AI-generated text (`delve`, `rich tapestry`, `It's not just X — it's Y`) | Word lists sourced from [Matt Might's shell scripts](https://matt.might.net/articles/shell-scripts-for-passive-voice-weasel-words-duplicates/) and expanded with additional entries. AI tells draw on published corpus studies: Kobak et al. 2025 (Science Advances), Juzek & Ward 2025 (COLING), Liang et al. 2024 (Stanford), and Reinhart et al. 2025 (PNAS). Wikipedia's editor-maintained [Signs of AI writing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Signs_of_AI_writing) catalogue and AI-detection vendor reports round out the sources. --- ## Configuration Create a `.wscrc.json` to customize detectors. All tools (API, MCP, CLI) support it. ```json { "$schema": "https://wsc.theserverless.dev/schema.json", "detectors": { "weaselWords": { "enabled": true, "add": ["synergy", "leverage"], "remove": ["very"] }, "longSentences": { "maxWords": 25 }, "adverbs": { "enabled": false } } } ``` Every field is optional. Missing fields use defaults. JSON Schema provides autocompletion in VS Code. --- ## API Usage ### `POST /api/check` Analyze text for writing style issues. Accepts optional `config` object. ```bash curl -X POST https://wsc.theserverless.dev/api/check \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"text":"The code was written very quickly."}' ``` **Response:** ```json { "summary": { "total": 2, "weaselWords": 1, "passiveVoice": 1, "duplicateWords": 0, "longSentences": 0, "nominalizations": 0, "hedging": 0, "adverbs": 0 }, "issues": { "weaselWords": [{ "word": "very", "index": 21, "line": 1, "column": 22, "context": "..." }], "passiveVoice": [{ "phrase": "was written", "index": 9, "line": 1, "column": 10, "context": "..." }], "duplicateWords": [], "longSentences": [], "nominalizations": [], "hedging": [], "adverbs": [] }, "meta": { "characterCount": 34, "wordCount": 6, "sentenceCount": 1, "processingTimeMs": 2 } } ``` **With config:** ```bash curl -X POST https://wsc.theserverless.dev/api/check \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"text":"The code was written very quickly.", "config":{"detectors":{"weaselWords":{"enabled":false}}}}' ``` ### `GET /api/check` Returns API documentation as JSON. ### `GET /api/detectors` Returns the list of all 8 detectors with descriptions, configurability, and word counts. ### `GET /health` Runs a smoke test with known text and returns `{"status":"healthy"}` or `503`. **Limits:** Max 100,000 characters per request. CORS enabled for all origins. --- ## MCP Server The Writing Style Checker is available as an [MCP](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/) server, letting AI assistants check your writing directly. ### Tools | Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | `check_text` | Analyze text for all 8 writing style issues. Accepts optional `config`. | | `fix_duplicates` | Remove duplicate adjacent words and return cleaned text | | `list_word_lists` | Return info about all detector word lists | | `check_file` | *(Local only)* Read a file from disk and analyze it. Auto-discovers `.wscrc.json`. | ### Remote MCP Server Connect any MCP client to the hosted server - no installation required. ```json { "mcpServers": { "writing-style-checker": { "type": "url", "url": "https://wsc.theserverless.dev/mcp" } } } ``` ### Local MCP Server (stdio) Install via npm for local usage. Includes `check_file` for analyzing files on disk with auto-discovery of `.wscrc.json`. ```bash npx wsc-mcp ``` **Claude Desktop / Claude Code config:** ```json { "mcpServers": { "writing-style-checker": { "command": "npx", "args": ["wsc-mcp"] } } } ``` See the [`wsc-mcp` npm page](https://www.npmjs.com/package/wsc-mcp) for full documentation. --- ## CLI Check files from the command line. ```bash # Check all markdown files npx wsc-lint check "**/*.md" # Read from stdin echo "The code was written very quickly." | npx wsc-lint check --stdin # JSON output for scripting npx wsc-lint check "**/*.md" --format json # GitHub Actions annotations npx wsc-lint check "**/*.md" --format github # Create a config file npx wsc-lint init ``` See the [`wsc-lint` README](cli/README.md) for full documentation. --- ## GitHub Action ```yaml - uses: theserverlessdev/wsc/action@master with: files: '**/*.md' max-warnings: 20 ``` | Input | Default | Description | |-------|---------|-------------| | `files` | `**/*.md` | Glob pattern for files to check | | `config` | — | Path to `.wscrc.json` config file | | `max-warnings` | unlimited | Max warnings before failing | | `only-changed` | `false` | Only check files changed in this PR | --- ## Privacy The web editor runs **in your browser** - we never send text to any server. The API and MCP endpoints only process text you explicitly send to them. --- ## Project Structure ``` . ├── src/ │ ├── core/ # Shared detection engine │ │ ├── detector.ts # 8 detection algorithms │ │ ├── words.ts # Word/phrase lists (800+ entries) │ │ ├── config.ts # Config types, merging, validation │ │ ├── config-node.ts # Node-only: file loading, discovery │ │ ├── analyzer.ts # Unified analyzeText() entry point │ │ └── index.ts # Public API exports │ ├── docs/ # Documentation content (Markdown files) │ ├── mcp/ │ │ └── handler.ts # MCP JSON-RPC 2.0 handler │ ├── lib/ │ │ ├── App.svelte # Main editor page component │ │ ├── stores/theme.ts # Theme store (light/dark/system) │ │ └── components/ # UI components (StatsBar, ConfigPanel, etc.) │ ├── routes/ │ │ ├── +layout.svelte # Shared layout (header, nav, footer) │ │ ├── api/check/+server.ts # HTTP API endpoint │ │ ├── mcp/+server.ts # MCP endpoint │ │ ├── health/+server.ts # Health check endpoint │ │ ├── docs/+page.svelte # Documentation page │ │ └── words/+page.svelte # Word library browser │ └── styles/ │ └── main.scss # Global styles (light + dark themes) ├── mcp-server/ # Standalone stdio MCP server (npm: wsc-mcp) ├── cli/ # CLI tool (npm: wsc-lint) ├── action/ # GitHub Action (composite) ├── tests/ # 341 tests across 18 files ├── static/ │ ├── schema.json # JSON Schema for .wscrc.json │ ├── llms.txt # AI/LLM discovery file │ └── llms-full.txt # Detailed LLM context ├── wrangler.toml # Cloudflare Workers config └── svelte.config.js # SvelteKit configuration ``` --- ## Local Development ```bash git clone https://github.com/theserverlessdev/wsc.git cd wsc npm install npm run dev ``` Visit `http://localhost:5173`. The API is at `/api/check`, MCP at `/mcp`, health at `/health`. ### Commands | Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | `npm run dev` | Start dev server | | `npm run build` | Build for production | | `npm run check` | Type check with svelte-check | | `npm test` | Run all 341 tests | | `npm run test:coverage` | Coverage report | ## Deployment Deployed as a Cloudflare Worker at `wsc.theserverless.dev`. ```bash npm run build npx wrangler deploy ``` --- ## Contributing See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for development setup, testing, and pull request guidelines. For substantial changes, please [open an issue](https://github.com/theserverlessdev/wsc/issues) first. ## Acknowledgements - [Matt Might](https://matt.might.net/) for the [original shell scripts](https://matt.might.net/articles/shell-scripts-for-passive-voice-weasel-words-duplicates/) - Built with [SvelteKit](https://svelte.dev/) and [Svelte 5](https://svelte.dev/blog/svelte-5-is-alive), deployed on [Cloudflare Workers](https://workers.cloudflare.com/) - Logo made with [DiffusionBee](https://diffusionbee.com/) ## License [MIT](LICENSE)