Open source project contains hidden instruction for "AI" agents: delete my code
An open source project, jqwik, has included a hidden instruction in its code that directs AI agents to delete its tests and code. This move highlights the ongoing conflict within the open source community regarding the use of AI technologies. The project's developer, Johannes Link, expressed his willingness to discuss the issue but also defended his decision to include the instruction as a form of resistance against AI misuse.
- ▪The jqwik library contains a hidden instruction that tells AI agents to delete all jqwik tests and code.
- ▪This instruction is concealed using a specific escape sequence, making it invisible to human readers in terminal emulators.
- ▪Johannes Link, the sole developer of jqwik, has faced backlash from AI proponents but remains firm in his stance against AI integration.
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Home > General Development > Open source project contains hidden instruction for “AI” agents: delete my codeOpen source project contains hidden instruction for “AI” agents: delete my code Thom Holwerda 2026-05-28 General Development 32 CommentsIt’s no secret there’s a war going on inside the open source community, with people adopting “AI” on one side, and those that want nothing to do with it on the other. While the former are, by nature, using destructive tactics like mass website scraping, license washing, taking people’s creative works without permission, taking all the RAM and GPUs, and oh, destroying the planet, the latter have mostly stuck to fairly benign things like policies banning “AI” use, “AI” bot blockers, and the occasional honey pot mazes to trap “AI” crawlers.No more.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Osnews.