Report · marked 25 Aug 2026

ethereum/go-ethereum

Solid foundations, held back in a few specific places.

Go · 51,317 stars · 2,388 files · branch master

84 /100 A-

Instructions 27/27Whether the repo tells an agent how to behave before it starts guessing. Full marks.Setup 16/20Whether an agent can install the project and get it running without a human. Losing marks on environment config.Verification loop 22/25Whether an agent can check its own work. This is the category that most decides whether agent output is trustworthy. Losing marks on static type checking.Context economy 11/20Whether the repo fits in a context window, or fights it. Losing marks on file sizes fit in context and repository weight.Navigability 10/10How quickly anything new can orient itself. Full marks.

Higher is better. Accent marks what is costing you most.

Fix these first

File sizes fit in context

A single file that fills the context window forces an agent to work from fragments, and it will confidently edit code it never saw. Splitting the worst offenders pays for itself immediately.

Environment config

Add a .env.example listing every variable with a safe placeholder value. It's the cheapest possible fix and it unblocks the whole first run.

Static type checking

A type checker gives an agent an error message instead of a runtime surprise. It's the second-fastest feedback loop after the compiler.

The full marking

Every deduction below names the file or setting it came from.

Instructions 27/27 A+

Whether the repo tells an agent how to behave before it starts guessing.

✓Agent instruction file 12/12

AGENTS.md is present, which is the format the most tools read.

✓Instruction quality 12/12

Specific enough that an agent can act on it.

2,924 characters, a workable length

names the actual commands to run

uses headings, so an agent can skim it

includes copyable code blocks

✓README as an entry point 3/3

README has a clear getting-started section.

Setup 16/20 A-

Whether an agent can install the project and get it running without a human.

✓Deterministic install 6/6

go.sum pins the dependency tree.

Found go.sum

✓Discoverable commands 6/6

Commands are declared where an agent will look for them.

Makefile

✗Environment config 0/4

Nothing documents the environment this needs. An agent will get a runtime error it can't diagnose.

Add a .env.example listing every variable with a safe placeholder value. It's the cheapest possible fix and it unblocks the whole first run.

✓Pinned runtime version 2/2

The language runtime version is pinned.

go.mod declares a Go version

✓Reproducible environment 2/2

dockerfile gives a known-good environment.

Verification loop 22/25 A

Whether an agent can check its own work. This is the category that most decides whether agent output is trustworthy.

✓Tests exist 8/8

617 test files against 1587 source files.

e.g. accounts/abi/abi_test.go, accounts/abi/abifuzzer_test.go, accounts/abi/abigen/bind_test.go

✓Test command is discoverable 7/7

An agent can find and run `make test`.

✓Continuous integration 4/4

3 GitHub Actions workflows define what "passing" means.

✓Lint and format rules 3/3

.golangci.yml encodes the house style.

✗Static type checking 0/3

No static type checking.

A type checker gives an agent an error message instead of a runtime surprise. It's the second-fastest feedback loop after the compiler.

Context economy 11/20 B-

Whether the repo fits in a context window, or fights it.

✓No committed build output 6/6

No generated directories committed.

✓.gitignore hygiene 3/3

.gitignore covers 37 patterns.

✗File sizes fit in context 0/6

15 source files are over 100KB.

A single file that fills the context window forces an agent to work from fragments, and it will confidently edit code it never saw. Splitting the worst offenders pays for itself immediately.

crypto/secp256k1/libsecp256k1/src/precomputed_ecmult.c — 2353KB

core/genesis_alloc.go — 883KB

internal/jsre/deps/web3.js — 385KB

✗Repository weight 2/5

About 239MB checked out. Large enough that cloning and searching are both slow.

Large binaries and vendored trees slow every operation an agent performs. Git LFS or a separate assets repo keeps the working tree navigable.

Here is your AGENTS.md

Drafted from what is actually in this repository: the install command from your lockfile, the commands you already declare, your real directory layout. Anything marked TODO needs a person. Save it at the root as AGENTS.md.

AGENTS.md — drafted for ethereum/go-ethereum

# AGENTS.md

Go implementation of the Ethereum protocol

## Setup

```
go mod download
```

## Commands

```
make geth
make evm
make test    # run the test suite, must pass before any commit
make lint    # lint
make fmt
make clean
```

## Layout

- `core/`     311 source files
- `crypto/`   204 source files
- `eth/`      173 source files
- `cmd/`      118 source files
- `p2p/`      94 source files
- `accounts/` 88 source files

## Conventions

- Tests live alongside the code they cover, following `accounts/abi/abi_test.go`.
- CI defines what passing means. See `.github/workflows/freebsd.yml`, and keep it green.
- TODO: add the two or three conventions a newcomer always gets wrong here.

## Gotchas

- Generated output is committed (`build/`). Search will return the compiled copy, so edit the source, not that.
- `crypto/secp256k1/libsecp256k1/src/precomputed_ecmult.c` is 2353KB. It will not fit comfortably in context, so read it in parts.

---

Drafted by agentreadme.com from what is in this repository. Everything marked TODO
needs a human. Check it in as AGENTS.md at the root.

Open the raw markdown or curl -o AGENTS.md agentreadme.com/draft/ethereum/go-ethereum.md

Show the mark

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[![agent ready](https://agentreadme.com/badge/ethereum/go-ethereum.svg)](https://agentreadme.com/ethereum/go-ethereum)

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All Go repositories

Think this mark is wrong?

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