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Show HN: Pyscn – Python code quality analyzer for vibe coders

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Re: Show HN: Pyscn – Python code quality analyzer for vibe coders

#31

Post by mogwire »

brynary wrote: post #28
scosman wrote: post #26

this should be a MCP server the agent can use and optimize on I have a MCP server that wraps developer tool CLIs (linting, tests, etc), but this would need a textual report instead of HTML. https://github.com/scosman/hooks_mcp

What benefits do you see from having the agent call a CLI like this via MCP as opposed to just executing the CLI as a shell command and taking action on the stdout?

This is one of the most important questions I see when people recommend an MCP server.

If cursor and Claude code can already run an executable why do I need to add an MCP server in front of it?

I feel like a lot of times it’s, “Because AI”

Re: Show HN: Pyscn – Python code quality analyzer for vibe coders

#32

Post by smoe »

xrd wrote: post #7

I absolutely love this. Tests and code coverage metrics are still important, but so easy to leave behind as you are running toward the vibe. This is a nice addition to the toolbox.

I’d argue that those kinds of automated tools are much more important much earlier in a project than they used to be.

Personally, I can deal with quite a lot of jank and a lack of tests or other quality control tools in the early stages, but LLMs get lost so quickly. It’s like onboarding someone new to the codebase every hour or so.

You want to put them into a feedback loop with something or someone that isn’t you.

Re: Show HN: Pyscn – Python code quality analyzer for vibe coders

#35

Post by ano-ther »

scosman wrote: post #26

this should be a MCP server the agent can use and optimize on I have a MCP server that wraps developer tool CLIs (linting, tests, etc), but this would need a textual report instead of HTML. https://github.com/scosman/hooks_mcp

It has a JSON option, would that work?

   pyscn analyze --json .                       # Generate JSON report

Re: Show HN: Pyscn – Python code quality analyzer for vibe coders

#36

Post by derekcheng08 »

d-yoda wrote: post #23
derekcheng08 wrote: post #14

This is pretty awesome! If it's built on tree-sitter, is it fair to assume it's generalizable across languages?

Yes! tree-sitter supports multiple languages and the core algorithms should transfer easily. I focused on Python first because I saw many people struggling with code quality issues in Python.

Just based on usage, I would assume js/ts would be very valuable as well. I see a lot of the same issues there and agree the core algos seem to apply generally. Very cool project!

Re: Show HN: Pyscn – Python code quality analyzer for vibe coders

#37

Post by daydreamer9000 »

scosman wrote: post #26

this should be a MCP server the agent can use and optimize on I have a MCP server that wraps developer tool CLIs (linting, tests, etc), but this would need a textual report instead of HTML. https://github.com/scosman/hooks_mcp

Coding agents usually have longer timeouts for bash commands than MCP server calls. So depending on how much time this tool takes, using a CLI by default could be more robust.

Re: Show HN: Pyscn – Python code quality analyzer for vibe coders

#38

Post by ryandrake »

scuff3d wrote: post #5

This is an interesting idea but you might be better off marketing it as a tool for software engineers, maybe to help with old code bases. Or even for someone stuck cleaning up vibe coded nonsense. Vibe coders don't care about quality and wouldn't understand why any of these things are a problem in the first place.

I agree with this. I've been pretty critical of AI coding, but at the urging of some other HN posters, I shelled out a few bucks and started giving Claude Code a chance. After about 2 months of using it for various personal Python and C++ projects, my current problem with it is 1. how much babysitting you need to do to keep it on track and writing code the way you'd like it written, and 2. how much effort you need to spend after it writes the code, to clean it up and fix it. This tool would probably help quite a bit with 2.

I find for every 5 minutes of Claude writing code, I need to spend about 55 minutes cleaning up the various messes. Removing dead code that Claude left there because it was confused and "trying things". Finding opportunities for code reuse, refactoring, reusing functions. Removing a LOT of scaffolding and unnecessary cruft (e.g. this class with no member variables and no state could have just been a local function). And trivial stylistic things that add up, like variable naming, lint errors, formatting.

It takes 5 minutes to make some ugly thing that works, but an hour to have an actual finished product that's sanded and polished. Would it have taken an hour just to write the code myself without assistance? Maybe? Probably? Jury is still out for me.

Re: Show HN: Pyscn – Python code quality analyzer for vibe coders

#39

Post by Wowfunhappy »

ryandrake wrote: post #38
scuff3d wrote: post #5

This is an interesting idea but you might be better off marketing it as a tool for software engineers, maybe to help with old code bases. Or even for someone stuck cleaning up vibe coded nonsense. Vibe coders don't care about quality and wouldn't understand why any of these things are a problem in the first place.

I agree with this. I've been pretty critical of AI coding, but at the urging of some other HN posters, I shelled out a few bucks and started giving Claude Code a chance. After about 2 months of using it for various personal Python and C++ projects, my current problem with it is 1. how much babysitting you need to do to keep it on track and writing code the way you'd like it written, and 2. how much effort you need to…

Have you experimented with using a Claude.md file that describes your preferred coding style, including a few examples of what not to do and the corrected version? I haven't had complete success with this but it does seem to help.

Re: Show HN: Pyscn – Python code quality analyzer for vibe coders

#40

Post by xkbarkar »

scuff3d wrote: post #24
CuriouslyC wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vibe coders do care about quality, at least the ones that try to ship and get burned by a mountain of tech debt. People aren't as stupid and one dimensional as you assume.

Given an entire industry is cropping up to fix the mess these people make, I think less of them care then you think.

Hard disagree. Vibe code has its downsides but is not nearly as terrible as threatened coders on the forums make it seem.
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