kotiko

Projects that follow the best practices below can voluntarily self-certify and show that they've achieved an Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF) best practices badge.

There is no set of practices that can guarantee that software will never have defects or vulnerabilities; even formal methods can fail if the specifications or assumptions are wrong. Nor is there any set of practices that can guarantee that a project will sustain a healthy and well-functioning development community. However, following best practices can help improve the results of projects. For example, some practices enable multi-person review before release, which can both help find otherwise hard-to-find technical vulnerabilities and help build trust and a desire for repeated interaction among developers from different companies. To earn a badge, all MUST and MUST NOT criteria must be met, all SHOULD criteria must be met OR be unmet with justification, and all SUGGESTED criteria must be met OR unmet (we want them considered at least). If you want to enter justification text as a generic comment, instead of being a rationale that the situation is acceptable, start the text block with '//' followed by a space. Feedback is welcome via the GitHub site as issues or pull requests There is also a mailing list for general discussion.

We gladly provide the information in several locales, however, if there is any conflict or inconsistency between the translations, the English version is the authoritative version.
If this is your project, please show your badge status on your project page! The badge status looks like this: Badge level for project 15259 is silver Here is how to embed it:
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These are the Silver level criteria. You can also view the Passing or Gold level criteria.

Baseline Series: Baseline Level 1 Baseline Level 2 Baseline Level 3

        

 Basics 17/17 ●

  • General

    Note that other projects may use the same name.

    Learn languages while you browse: Kotiko swaps words on the pages you read for the words you're learning, in any language. Local-first browser extension with an optional self-hosted server.

    Please use SPDX license expression format; examples include "Apache-2.0", "BSD-2-Clause", "BSD-3-Clause", "GPL-2.0+", "LGPL-3.0+", "MIT", and "(BSD-2-Clause OR Ruby)". Do not include single quotes or double quotes.
    If there is more than one language, list them as comma-separated values (spaces optional) and sort them from most to least used. If there is a long list, please list at least the first three most common ones. If there is no language (e.g., this is a documentation-only or test-only project), use the single character "-". Please use a conventional capitalization for each language, e.g., "JavaScript".
    The Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) is a structured naming scheme for information technology systems, software, and packages. It is used in a number of systems and databases when reporting vulnerabilities.

  • Prerequisites


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST achieve a passing level badge. [achieve_passing]

  • Basic project website content


    Enough for a badge!

    The information on how to contribute MUST include the requirements for acceptable contributions (e.g., a reference to any required coding standard). (URL required) [contribution_requirements]

    CONTRIBUTING.md states what an acceptable contribution needs: the rules that protect users (text-only DOM, no runtime npm code in the extension, no user text or secrets in logs, no secrets in the repository, no network in tests), automated tests with every behaviour change and a regression test with every fix, Conventional Commits, SPDX headers, and the coding standards in docs/CODING_STANDARDS.md, which CI checks. https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md and https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/docs/CODING_STANDARDS.md


  • Project oversight


    Enough for a badge!

    The project SHOULD have a legal mechanism where all developers of non-trivial amounts of project software assert that they are legally authorized to make these contributions. The most common and easily-implemented approach for doing this is by using a Developer Certificate of Origin (DCO), where users add "signed-off-by" in their commits and the project links to the DCO website. However, this MAY be implemented as a Contributor License Agreement (CLA), or other legal mechanism. (URL required) [dco]
    The DCO is the recommended mechanism because it's easy to implement, tracked in the source code, and git directly supports a "signed-off" feature using "commit -s". To be most effective it is best if the project documentation explains what "signed-off" means for that project. A CLA is a legal agreement that defines the terms under which intellectual works have been licensed to an organization or project. A contributor assignment agreement (CAA) is a legal agreement that transfers rights in an intellectual work to another party; projects are not required to have CAAs, since having CAA increases the risk that potential contributors will not contribute, especially if the receiver is a for-profit organization. The Apache Software Foundation CLAs (the individual contributor license and the corporate CLA) are examples of CLAs, for projects which determine that the risks of these kinds of CLAs to the project are less than their benefits.

    Kotiko uses the Developer Certificate of Origin 1.1 (https://developercertificate.org/): every commit must carry a Signed-off-by line for its author, made with git commit -s, as CONTRIBUTING.md requires (https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#developer-certificate-of-origin). CI's required secrets job checks every commit of every pull request (scripts/check-dco.mjs); only bots and merge commits are exempt. Contributions are licensed under Apache-2.0 section 5 (inbound = outbound).


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST clearly define and document its project governance model (the way it makes decisions, including key roles). (URL required) [governance]
    There needs to be some well-established documented way to make decisions and resolve disputes. In small projects, this may be as simple as "the project owner and lead makes all final decisions". There are various governance models, including benevolent dictator and formal meritocracy; for more details, see Governance models. Both centralized (e.g., single-maintainer) and decentralized (e.g., group maintainers) approaches have been successfully used in projects. The governance information does not need to document the possibility of creating a project fork, since that is always possible for FLOSS projects.

    Kotiko is maintainer-led. Day-to-day decisions are made in issues and pull requests by lazy consensus (no unresolved maintainer objection after 7 days); the lead maintainer makes the final call on disagreements and records product decisions with who decided and why in slices/DECISIONS.md. Disputes unresolved after 14 days go to the lead maintainer. With three or more maintainers, contested decisions go to a simple majority. GOVERNANCE.md also says how maintainers join and step down and how the document itself changes. https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/GOVERNANCE.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST adopt a code of conduct and post it in a standard location. (URL required) [code_of_conduct]
    Projects may be able to improve the civility of their community and to set expectations about acceptable conduct by adopting a code of conduct. This can help avoid problems before they occur and make the project a more welcoming place to encourage contributions. This should focus only on behavior within the community/workplace of the project. Example codes of conduct are the Linux kernel code of conduct, the Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct, the Debian Code of Conduct, the Ubuntu Code of Conduct, the Fedora Code of Conduct, the GNOME Code Of Conduct, the KDE Community Code of Conduct, the Python Community Code of Conduct, The Ruby Community Conduct Guideline, and The Rust Code of Conduct.

    Contributor Covenant 2.1, in the standard location: https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md . Reports go to security@scriptkittyos.com; GitHub lists it in the repository's community profile.


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST clearly define and publicly document the key roles in the project and their responsibilities, including any tasks those roles must perform. It MUST be clear who has which role(s), though this might not be documented in the same way. (URL required) [roles_responsibilities]
    The documentation for governance and roles and responsibilities may be in one place.

    GOVERNANCE.md defines each role and the tasks it must perform: lead maintainer, maintainer (reviews and merges, weekly triage with a first response within 7 days, approves releases, enforces the code of conduct), release manager, security response lead, an optional steward, locale reviewer and contributor (https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/GOVERNANCE.md#roles). MAINTAINERS.md says who holds which role today: the lead maintainer, Ayla Croft (@HackTuah), holds the lead, release manager and security response roles, and @minitru is a maintainer; the maintainers are exactly the repository's collaborators with the Maintain role, and .github/CODEOWNERS names them (https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/MAINTAINERS.md).


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST be able to continue with minimal interruption if any one person dies, is incapacitated, or is otherwise unable or unwilling to continue support of the project. In particular, the project MUST be able to create and close issues, accept proposed changes, and release versions of software, within a week of confirmation of the loss of support from any one individual. This MAY be done by ensuring someone else has any necessary keys, passwords, and legal rights to continue the project. Individuals who run a FLOSS project MAY do this by providing keys in a lockbox and a will providing any needed legal rights (e.g., for DNS names). (URL required) [access_continuity]

    GOVERNANCE.md has a Continuity section: if any one maintainer becomes unavailable the other holds the access to triage and close issues, review and merge pull requests, and publish a release (a release tag signed with their own key); nothing in the ordinary workflow requires a specific individual. Kotiko has two maintainers, both repository collaborators, and the organization enforces two-factor authentication for everyone with access. The exceptions (organization administration, the domains, the security mailbox, the store publisher accounts) are named, and the continuity plan lists how each is handed over. https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/GOVERNANCE.md#continuity


    Barely enough for a badge.

    The project SHOULD have a "bus factor" of 2 or more. (URL required) [bus_factor]
    A "bus factor" (aka "truck factor") is the minimum number of project members that have to suddenly disappear from a project ("hit by a bus") before the project stalls due to lack of knowledgeable or competent personnel. The truck-factor tool can estimate this for projects on GitHub. For more information, see Assessing the Bus Factor of Git Repositories by Cosentino et al.

    Kotiko has two maintainers since 2026-10-06, but every commit so far was written by the lead maintainer, so the bus factor is still 1 in practice. We are working on it: the architecture, the assurance case and the coding standards are written down, every planned piece of work in slices/ is a buildable spec, and GOVERNANCE.md says how the maintainers continue without any one of them. https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/docs/governance/continuity.md#bus-factor


  • Documentation


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST have a documented roadmap that describes what the project intends to do and not do for at least the next year. (URL required) [documentation_roadmap]
    The project might not achieve the roadmap, and that's fine; the purpose of the roadmap is to help potential users and contributors understand the intended direction of the project. It need not be detailed.

    ROADMAP.md covers the year through October 2027: what comes now (the first public release, in four phases), in the six months after it, and later, plus what Kotiko will not do (no paid tier or hosted accounts, no bundled word packs, no telemetry, no bundler in the extension). The lead maintainer reviews it every quarter and at each minor release. https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/ROADMAP.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST include documentation of the architecture (aka high-level design) of the software produced by the project. If the project does not produce software, select "not applicable" (N/A). (URL required) [documentation_architecture]
    A software architecture explains a program's fundamental structures, i.e., the program's major components, the relationships among them, and the key properties of these components and relationships.

    docs/ARCHITECTURE.md describes the code on main: the two parts (the browser extension and the optional Elixir server) and their components, the shared spec, where data is kept, the main flows, trust boundaries and external dependencies. https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/docs/ARCHITECTURE.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST document what the user can and cannot expect in terms of security from the software produced by the project (its "security requirements"). (URL required) [documentation_security]
    These are the security requirements that the software is intended to meet.

    docs/security/requirements.md says what users can and cannot expect from Kotiko's security, for the server, the extension and both, and lists what is planned but not yet true. https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/docs/security/requirements.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST provide a "quick start" guide for new users to help them quickly do something with the software. (URL required) [documentation_quick_start]
    The idea is to show users how to get started and make the software do anything at all. This is critically important for potential users to get started.

    The Get started guide takes a new user from a fresh install to their first swapped word in about a minute, with or without an AI key: https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/site/src/content/docs/start.md ; installing, including from source before the store listings: https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/site/src/content/docs/install.mdx . These are the sources of the docs site pages kotiko.org/start/ and kotiko.org/install/.


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST make an effort to keep the documentation consistent with the current version of the project results (including software produced by the project). Any known documentation defects making it inconsistent MUST be fixed. If the documentation is generally current, but erroneously includes some older information that is no longer true, just treat that as a defect, then track and fix as usual. [documentation_current]
    The documentation MAY include information about differences or changes between versions of the software and/or link to older versions of the documentation. The intent of this criterion is that an effort is made to keep the documentation consistent, not that the documentation must be perfect.

    We keep documentation current by process: the pull request template has a docs box (including the security documents), each document carries a Last reviewed date, tests fail when a server route or setting is missing from the reference docs, CI fails when the bundled privacy policy or the shared story drifts from its source, and these answers are reviewed at every minor release. The full review on 2026-10-06 found stale statements (planned items that had landed, an example version, the repository's public status) and fixed them in the same pull request. https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/.github/pull_request_template.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The project repository front page and/or website MUST identify and hyperlink to any achievements, including this best practices badge, within 48 hours of public recognition that the achievement has been attained. (URL required) [documentation_achievements]
    An achievement is any set of external criteria that the project has specifically worked to meet, including some badges. This information does not need to be on the project website front page. A project using GitHub can put achievements on the repository front page by adding them to the README file.

    The README's front page shows and links the OpenSSF Best Practices badge (https://www.bestpractices.dev/projects/15259), which displays the level reached live, so a new level appears there the moment it is awarded. It is the only achievement so far. https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/README.md


  • Accessibility and internationalization


    Enough for a badge!

    The project (both project sites and project results) SHOULD follow accessibility best practices so that persons with disabilities can still participate in the project and use the project results where it is reasonable to do so. [accessibility_best_practices]
    For web applications, see the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) and its supporting document Understanding WCAG 2.0; see also W3C accessibility information. For GUI applications, consider using the environment-specific accessibility guidelines (such as Gnome, KDE, XFCE, Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows). Some TUI applications (e.g. `ncurses` programs) can do certain things to make themselves more accessible (such as `alpine`'s `force-arrow-cursor` setting). Most command-line applications are fairly accessible as-is. This criterion is often N/A, e.g., for program libraries. Here are some examples of actions to take or issues to consider:
    • Provide text alternatives for any non-text content so that it can be changed into other forms people need, such as large print, braille, speech, symbols or simpler language ( WCAG 2.0 guideline 1.1)
    • Color is not used as the only visual means of conveying information, indicating an action, prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual element. ( WCAG 2.0 guideline 1.4.1)
    • The visual presentation of text and images of text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1, except for large text, incidental text, and logotypes ( WCAG 2.0 guideline 1.4.3)
    • Make all functionality available from a keyboard (WCAG guideline 2.1)
    • A GUI or web-based project SHOULD test with at least one screen-reader on the target platform(s) (e.g. NVDA, Jaws, or WindowEyes on Windows; VoiceOver on Mac & iOS; Orca on Linux/BSD; TalkBack on Android). TUI programs MAY work to reduce overdraw to prevent redundant reading by screen-readers.

    Every Kotiko surface (popup, dashboard, welcome tab, privacy policy, and the word card on web pages) targets WCAG 2.2 AA. CI runs axe-core with the WCAG 2.0, 2.1 and 2.2 A and AA rules on every surface and state in light and dark, plus a keyboard walk, focus visibility, 24 px target size, text spacing, reflow at 320 px, reduced motion, screen-reader output and a contrast check of every colour pair; a manual pass is done before each release. On other sites a swapped word keeps the page's font and colour, and focus never moves unless the user asks. https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/docs/accessibility.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The software produced by the project SHOULD be internationalized to enable easy localization for the target audience's culture, region, or language. If internationalization (i18n) does not apply (e.g., the software doesn't generate text intended for end-users and doesn't sort human-readable text), select "not applicable" (N/A). [internationalization]
    Localization "refers to the adaptation of a product, application or document content to meet the language, cultural and other requirements of a specific target market (a locale)." Internationalization is the "design and development of a product, application or document content that enables easy localization for target audiences that vary in culture, region, or language." (See W3C's "Localization vs. Internationalization".) Software meets this criterion simply by being internationalized. No localization for another specific language is required, since once software has been internationalized it's possible for others to work on localization.

    Every user-facing string in the extension goes through the t() helper and lives in extension/_locales (English and Spanish today), and a unit test checks the catalogs. Layouts use logical CSS properties so right-to-left text works, language names come from Intl, and code may not assume English or spaces between words. The server's error messages are localized from server/priv/locales following Accept-Language. Anyone can add a locale.


  • Other


    Enough for a badge!

    If the project sites (website, repository, and download URLs) store passwords for authentication of external users, the passwords MUST be stored as iterated hashes with a per-user salt by using a key stretching (iterated) algorithm (e.g., Argon2id, Bcrypt, Scrypt, or PBKDF2). If the project sites do not store passwords for this purpose, select "not applicable" (N/A). [sites_password_security]
    Note that the use of GitHub meets this criterion. This criterion only applies to passwords used for authentication of external users into the project sites (aka inbound authentication). If the project sites must log in to other sites (aka outbound authentication), they may need to store authorization tokens for that purpose differently (since storing a hash would be useless). This applies criterion crypto_password_storage to the project sites, similar to sites_https.

    The project's sites store no passwords for external users. The repository, issues, pull requests and release downloads are on GitHub, which handles sign-in. The docs site kotiko.org is static, with no accounts or sign-in. Store listings are on the Chrome Web Store and Firefox Add-ons.


 Change Control 1/1 ●

  • Previous versions


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST maintain the most often used older versions of the product or provide an upgrade path to newer versions. If the upgrade path is difficult, the project MUST document how to perform the upgrade (e.g., the interfaces that have changed and detailed suggested steps to help upgrade). [maintenance_or_update]

    Only the latest minor release gets fixes (SECURITY.md), and there is an upgrade path to it: the server updates with git pull and a restart, migrates its database itself after backing it up, and keeps the five newest backups for going back; the extension, loaded from source, is reloaded in place and keeps its settings (from the stores it updates automatically). Breaking changes are marked in commits and release notes, and before 1.0 an old HTTP API route keeps working for one more minor version. The upgrade guide, including the documented move from the project's earlier name: https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/site/src/content/docs/server/updates.md


 Reporting 3/3 ●

  • Bug-reporting process


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST use an issue tracker for tracking individual issues. [report_tracker]

    GitHub Issues, with forms for bugs, ideas, broken sites and wrong words: https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/issues


  • Vulnerability report process


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST give credit to the reporter(s) of all vulnerability reports resolved in the last 12 months, except for the reporter(s) who request anonymity. If there have been no vulnerabilities resolved in the last 12 months, select "not applicable" (N/A). (URL required) [vulnerability_report_credit]

    No vulnerability report from anyone outside the project has been resolved in the last 12 months, and no security advisory has been published. The one security fix so far (0.2.0, 2026-10-01, an authentication bypass through encoded paths) came from the project's own review and is named in the release notes. SECURITY.md promises reporters credit in the release notes unless they ask otherwise: https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/SECURITY.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST have a documented process for responding to vulnerability reports. (URL required) [vulnerability_response_process]
    This is strongly related to vulnerability_report_process, which requires that there be a documented way to report vulnerabilities. It also related to vulnerability_report_response, which requires response to vulnerability reports within a certain time frame.

    SECURITY.md documents what happens after a report: acknowledgement within 7 days, triage with a CVSS v4.0 rating, a private fix in a GitHub draft security advisory, fix targets by severity (critical 7 days, high 30, medium 60), a CVE for medium and above, a patch release with a Security section, disclosure with the release or after 90 days, then a regression test and an assurance-case update. The security response lead named in MAINTAINERS.md runs it. https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/SECURITY.md#what-happens-after-you-report


 Quality 19/19 ●

  • Coding standards


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST identify the specific coding style guides for the primary languages it uses, and require that contributions generally comply with it. (URL required) [coding_standards]
    In most cases this is done by referring to some existing style guide(s), possibly listing differences. These style guides can include ways to improve readability and ways to reduce the likelihood of defects (including vulnerabilities). Many programming languages have one or more widely-used style guides. Examples of style guides include Google's style guides and SEI CERT Coding Standards.

    docs/CODING_STANDARDS.md names the style guide for each language: Elixir follows mix format and Credo, then the community Elixir Style Guide; JavaScript follows ESLint and the project's own style section; shell follows ShellCheck and the Google Shell Style Guide; HTML and CSS use the design tokens with no inline scripts. CONTRIBUTING.md requires contributions to follow it. https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/docs/CODING_STANDARDS.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST automatically enforce its selected coding style(s) if there is at least one FLOSS tool that can do so in the selected language(s). [coding_standards_enforced]
    This MAY be implemented using static analysis tool(s) and/or by forcing the code through code reformatters. In many cases the tool configuration is included in the project's repository (since different projects may choose different configurations). Projects MAY allow style exceptions (and typically will); where exceptions occur, they MUST be rare and documented in the code at their locations, so that these exceptions can be reviewed and so that tools can automatically handle them in the future. Examples of such tools include ESLint (JavaScript), Rubocop (Ruby), and devtools check (R).

    CI enforces the coding standards on every pull request: mix format --check-formatted and Credo in strict mode for Elixir; for JavaScript, ESLint with @stylistic/eslint-plugin layout rules that match the code as written (indentation, quotes, semicolons, trailing commas, spacing) plus the stricter rules; ShellCheck for shell scripts. npm run lint:fix and mix format apply the layout. Prettier was measured and rejected because reformatting would push the extension popup past its size budget; the numbers are in the standards document. https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/docs/CODING_STANDARDS.md


  • Working build system


    Enough for a badge!

    Build systems for native binaries MUST honor the relevant compiler and linker (environment) variables passed in to them (e.g., CC, CFLAGS, CXX, CXXFLAGS, and LDFLAGS) and pass them to compiler and linker invocations. A build system MAY extend them with additional flags; it MUST NOT simply replace provided values with its own. If no native binaries are being generated, select "not applicable" (N/A). [build_standard_variables]
    It should be easy to enable special build features like Address Sanitizer (ASAN), or to comply with distribution hardening best practices (e.g., by easily turning on compiler flags to do so).

    The project builds no native binaries. The server is Elixir compiled to BEAM bytecode by Mix, and the extension is JavaScript packed into a zip as is. The only native code (SQLite, in the exqlite dependency) is built by that dependency, not by the project.


    Enough for a badge!

    The build and installation system SHOULD preserve debugging information if they are requested in the relevant flags (e.g., "install -s" is not used). If there is no build or installation system (e.g., typical JavaScript libraries), select "not applicable" (N/A). [build_preserve_debug]
    E.G., setting CFLAGS (C) or CXXFLAGS (C++) should create the relevant debugging information if those languages are used, and they should not be stripped during installation. Debugging information is needed for support and analysis, and also useful for measuring the presence of hardening features in the compiled binaries.

    Mix compiles the server with debug information (Elixir's default) and nothing strips it. The extension is shipped as source: the build copies the files unchanged into the zip, with no minification or bundling.


    Enough for a badge!

    The build system for the software produced by the project MUST NOT recursively build subdirectories if there are cross-dependencies in the subdirectories. If there is no build or installation system (e.g., typical JavaScript libraries), select "not applicable" (N/A). [build_non_recursive]
    The project build system's internal dependency information needs to be accurate, otherwise, changes to the project may not build correctly. Incorrect builds can lead to defects (including vulnerabilities). A common mistake in large build systems is to use a "recursive build" or "recursive make", that is, a hierarchy of subdirectories containing source files, where each subdirectory is independently built. Unless each subdirectory is fully independent, this is a mistake, because the dependency information is incorrect.

    One Mix project builds the server (server/mix.exs) and one script packs the extension (scripts/build-extension.mjs); neither recurses into subdirectories with cross-dependencies.


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST be able to repeat the process of generating information from source files and get exactly the same bit-for-bit result. If no building occurs (e.g., scripting languages where the source code is used directly instead of being compiled), select "not applicable" (N/A). [build_repeatable]
    GCC and clang users may find the -frandom-seed option useful; in some cases, this can be resolved by forcing some sort order. More suggestions can be found at the reproducible build site.

    Yes. scripts/build-extension.mjs builds both extension zips from the commit with entries sorted by path, the commit's timestamp, fixed permissions and a pinned pure-JavaScript deflate, so the bytes don't depend on the machine or time zone. The release workflow builds twice and fails if the zips differ, and building twice on 2026-10-06 gave identical SHA-256 hashes. How to check it yourself: https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/docs/reproducible-builds.md


  • Installation system


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST provide a way to easily install and uninstall the software produced by the project using a commonly-used convention. [installation_common]
    Examples include using a package manager (at the system or language level), "make install/uninstall" (supporting DESTDIR), a container in a standard format, or a virtual machine image in a standard format. The installation and uninstallation process (e.g., its packaging) MAY be implemented by a third party as long as it is FLOSS.

    The server installs and uninstalls with one script: server/install-service.sh sets it up as a systemd user service and install-service.sh --uninstall removes exactly what it added, keeping the learner's words unless --delete-data is given. The extension is installed and removed through the browser's own extension manager (from source with Load unpacked today; from the Chrome Web Store and Firefox Add-ons from v1.0.0). https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/site/src/content/docs/server/service.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The installation system for end-users MUST honor standard conventions for selecting the location where built artifacts are written to at installation time. For example, if it installs files on a POSIX system it MUST honor the DESTDIR environment variable. If there is no installation system or no standard convention, select "not applicable" (N/A). [installation_standard_variables]

    The server follows the XDG Base Directory convention: its default data folder is $XDG_DATA_HOME/kotiko (falling back to ~/.local/share/kotiko, and keeping an existing folder there), and install-service.sh writes its systemd user unit to $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/systemd/user. It installs nothing to system locations, so DESTDIR and PREFIX don't apply, as the script says. The extension is installed by the browser. https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/docs/reference/configuration.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST provide a way for potential developers to quickly install all the project results and support environment necessary to make changes, including the tests and test environment. This MUST be performed with a commonly-used convention. [installation_development_quick]
    This MAY be implemented using a generated container and/or installation script(s). External dependencies would typically be installed by invoking system and/or language package manager(s), per external_dependencies.

    CONTRIBUTING.md Setup installs everything needed to change and test Kotiko with each ecosystem's standard tools: mix deps.get and mix test for the server, npm ci and npm test for the extension, and npx playwright install chromium for the end-to-end tests. https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#setup


  • Externally-maintained components


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST list external dependencies in a computer-processable way. (URL required) [external_dependencies]
    Typically this is done using the conventions of package manager and/or build system. Note that this helps implement installation_development_quick.

    Dependencies are declared and locked in each ecosystem's standard files: server/mix.exs with server/mix.lock (Hex), package.json with package-lock.json (npm, development tools only; the extension ships no npm code), and site/package.json with its lock file for the docs site. External services are listed in docs/ARCHITECTURE.md section 6, and the release workflow attaches a CycloneDX SBOM of the server to each release. https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/server/mix.exs


    Enough for a badge!

    Projects MUST monitor or periodically check their external dependencies (including convenience copies) to detect known vulnerabilities, and fix exploitable vulnerabilities or verify them as unexploitable. [dependency_monitoring]
    This can be done using an origin analyzer / dependency checking tool / software composition analysis tool such as OWASP's Dependency-Check, Sonatype's Nexus Auditor, Synopsys' Black Duck Software Composition Analysis, and Bundler-audit (for Ruby). Some package managers include mechanisms to do this. It is acceptable if the components' vulnerability cannot be exploited, but this analysis is difficult and it is sometimes easier to simply update or fix the part.

    Dependabot alerts and security updates are on, with weekly version updates for Mix, npm and GitHub Actions, and CI runs mix hex.audit and mix deps.audit on every pull request. The open alerts on 2026-10-06 are all in development-only npm tools, never shipped: shell-quote and postcss-selector-parser have fixes in an open pull request, and node-forge (pulled in by web-ext's Android debugging library, no patched version yet) is reached only when web-ext debugs on Android over adb, which Kotiko's scripts never do (they run web-ext lint and sign), so it is not exploitable here.


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST either:
    1. make it easy to identify and update reused externally-maintained components; or
    2. use the standard components provided by the system or programming language.
    Then, if a vulnerability is found in a reused component, it will be easy to update that component. [updateable_reused_components]
    A typical way to meet this criterion is to use system and programming language package management systems. Many FLOSS programs are distributed with "convenience libraries" that are local copies of standard libraries (possibly forked). By itself, that's fine. However, if the program *must* use these local (forked) copies, then updating the "standard" libraries as a security update will leave these additional copies still vulnerable. This is especially an issue for cloud-based systems; if the cloud provider updates their "standard" libraries but the program won't use them, then the updates don't actually help. See, e.g., "Chromium: Why it isn't in Fedora yet as a proper package" by Tom Callaway.

    All third-party code comes through Hex and npm with lock files and is updated through Dependabot; nothing is vendored or forked into what ships (the extension zips contain only the project's own files and license texts). Data derived from CLDR and stopword lists is regenerated from pinned npm packages, and CI checks the copies match.


    Enough for a badge!

    The project SHOULD avoid using deprecated or obsolete functions and APIs where FLOSS alternatives are available in the set of technology it uses (its "technology stack") and to a supermajority of the users the project supports (so that users have ready access to the alternative). [interfaces_current]

    The extension uses Manifest V3 and current WebExtension APIs, and web-ext lint reports no deprecated API. The server runs on current Elixir and Erlang/OTP (CI tests the oldest supported, Elixir 1.15 on OTP 26, and the newest, 1.19 on OTP 28) and compiles with warnings as errors, so a deprecation warning fails the build.


  • Automated test suite


    Enough for a badge!

    An automated test suite MUST be applied on each check-in to a shared repository for at least one branch. This test suite MUST produce a report on test success or failure. [automated_integration_testing]
    This requirement can be viewed as a subset of test_continuous_integration, but focused on just testing, without requiring continuous integration.

    GitHub Actions runs on every push to main and every pull request: the server tests on the oldest and newest supported Elixir, the extension's unit, DOM and background suites, the shared-spec checks, and Playwright end-to-end tests against the real server. Each job reports pass or fail on the pull request, and main accepts only pull requests whose 8 required checks pass. https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/actions/workflows/ci.yml


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST add regression tests to an automated test suite for at least 50% of the bugs fixed within the last six months. [regression_tests_added50]

    Measured with scripts/regression-audit.mjs on 2026-10-06: 11 of the 15 fix commits on main in the last six months changed a test in the same commit (73 %). CONTRIBUTING.md requires a regression test that fails without the fix with every bug fix.


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST have FLOSS automated test suite(s) that provide at least 80% statement coverage if there is at least one FLOSS tool that can measure this criterion in the selected language. [test_statement_coverage80]
    Many FLOSS tools are available to measure test coverage, including gcov/lcov, Blanket.js, Istanbul, JCov, and covr (R). Note that meeting this criterion is not a guarantee that the test suite is thorough, instead, failing to meet this criterion is a strong indicator of a poor test suite.

    Statement coverage is above 80 % and enforced by FLOSS tools on every pull request and before every release: the server's ExUnit suite covers 91.6 % of lines (mix test --cover with a 90 % threshold in mix.exs, Erlang's cover tool), and the extension's Node test suites cover 93.9 % of lines (node --test coverage with a 90 % line threshold). https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#tests


  • New functionality testing


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST have a formal written policy that as major new functionality is added, tests for the new functionality MUST be added to an automated test suite. [test_policy_mandated]

    CONTRIBUTING.md, Tests: every pull request that adds or changes behaviour adds or updates automated tests in the same pull request, and major new functionality is not merged without tests. https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#tests


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST include, in its documented instructions for change proposals, the policy that tests are to be added for major new functionality. [tests_documented_added]
    However, even an informal rule is acceptable as long as the tests are being added in practice.

    The instructions for change proposals say it: CONTRIBUTING.md, Tests (https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#tests), requires tests with every behaviour change and says major new functionality is not merged without them, and the pull request template's checklist asks for them.


  • Warning flags


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    Projects MUST be maximally strict with warnings in the software produced by the project, where practical. [warnings_strict]
    Some warnings cannot be effectively enabled on some projects. What is needed is evidence that the project is striving to enable warning flags where it can, so that errors are detected early.

    Warnings are as strict as practical, and any warning fails CI on every pull request: the server compiles and runs its tests with --warnings-as-errors; Credo runs in strict mode (server/.credo.exs sets strict: true, so a plain mix credo reports the same); ESLint adds about 60 rules beyond its recommended set (among them eqeqeq, no-shadow, no-unused-vars for every argument, no-param-reassign, no-implicit-coercion, no-loop-func, prefer-const, no-var, no-eval) and treats unused disable directives as errors; web-ext lint, ShellCheck and Sobelow fail on findings too. The few rules not enabled, and why, are written down. https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/docs/CODING_STANDARDS.md


 Security 13/13 ●

  • Secure development knowledge


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST implement secure design principles (from "know_secure_design"), where applicable. If the project is not producing software, select "not applicable" (N/A). [implement_secure_design]
    For example, the project results should have fail-safe defaults (access decisions should deny by default, and projects' installation should be secure by default). They should also have complete mediation (every access that might be limited must be checked for authority and be non-bypassable). Note that in some cases principles will conflict, in which case a choice must be made (e.g., many mechanisms can make things more complex, contravening "economy of mechanism" / keep it simple).

    The assurance case shows how each Saltzer and Schroeder principle is applied, with code and tests: deny by default (one authorization plug before routing, only /health open, constant-time token comparison), loopback bind by default, a Host allowlist against DNS rebinding, complete mediation tested over encoded paths and through a real socket, one message router in the extension that checks every sender, secrets kept where content scripts can't read them, and a small attack surface. Where a principle is applied only weakly (one token grants everything on the server), it says so. https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/docs/security/assurance-case.md#4-secure-design-principles


  • Use basic good cryptographic practices

    Note that some software does not need to use cryptographic mechanisms. If your project produces software that (1) includes, activates, or enables encryption functionality, and (2) might be released from the United States (US) to outside the US or to a non-US-citizen, you may be legally required to take a few extra steps. Typically this just involves sending an email. For more information, see the encryption section of Understanding Open Source Technology & US Export Controls.

    Enough for a badge!

    The default security mechanisms within the software produced by the project MUST NOT depend on cryptographic algorithms or modes with known serious weaknesses (e.g., the SHA-1 cryptographic hash algorithm or the CBC mode in SSH). [crypto_weaknesses]
    Concerns about CBC mode in SSH are discussed in CERT: SSH CBC vulnerability.

    No default security mechanism depends on a weak algorithm or mode: there is no SHA-1, MD4, MD5, RC4, DES, ECB or disabled certificate check in Kotiko's code. SHA-256 is used where a hash is needed (lookup cache keys, the PKCE challenge), and TLS is left to Erlang/OTP and the browser.


    Enough for a badge!

    The project SHOULD support multiple cryptographic algorithms, so users can quickly switch if one is broken. Common symmetric key algorithms include AES, Twofish, and Serpent. Common cryptographic hash algorithm alternatives include SHA-2 (including SHA-224, SHA-256, SHA-384 AND SHA-512) and SHA-3. [crypto_algorithm_agility]

    Kotiko fixes no cipher itself: TLS versions and cipher suites are negotiated by Erlang/OTP and the browser, which support several (AES-GCM, ChaCha20-Poly1305) and change with their updates. The only algorithm Kotiko names is SHA-256, for internal cache keys and for the PKCE S256 method that the OAuth standard defines.


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST support storing authentication credentials (such as passwords and dynamic tokens) and private cryptographic keys in files that are separate from other information (such as configuration files, databases, and logs), and permit users to update and replace them without code recompilation. If the project never processes authentication credentials and private cryptographic keys, select "not applicable" (N/A). [crypto_credential_agility]

    Credentials are kept apart from the code and the other settings, and each can be replaced without changing either: every server secret (API_TOKEN, LLM_API_KEY, TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN, TRANSCRIBE_API_KEY) can be given as NAME_FILE=/path, the Docker secrets and systemd credentials convention, so a key is replaced by replacing a file and restarting. The API token can also be rotated with mix kotiko.token --rotate. Documented at https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/docs/reference/configuration.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The software produced by the project SHOULD support secure protocols for all of its network communications, such as SSHv2 or later, TLS1.2 or later (HTTPS), IPsec, SFTP, and SNMPv3. Insecure protocols such as FTP, HTTP, telnet, SSLv3 or earlier, and SSHv1 SHOULD be disabled by default, and only enabled if the user specifically configures it. If the software produced by the project does not support network communications, select "not applicable" (N/A). [crypto_used_network]

    Kotiko's own outbound traffic uses HTTPS by default: model providers, OpenRouter, Telegram and Wiktionary. The server listens on 127.0.0.1 by default, so its plain-HTTP API doesn't leave the computer unless the owner sets BIND to another address; then the server logs a warning at start (daily for a public address), and the extension warns under the address field when the token would cross a network unencrypted. A plain-HTTP model endpoint (such as a local Ollama) is used only when the user enters one.


    Enough for a badge!

    The software produced by the project SHOULD, if it supports or uses TLS, support at least TLS version 1.2. Note that the predecessor of TLS was called SSL. If the software does not use TLS, select "not applicable" (N/A). [crypto_tls12]

    TLS comes from Erlang/OTP (26 and newer, which offer TLS 1.2 and 1.3 by default) for the server's outbound requests and from the browser for the extension. Kotiko never sets or lowers the TLS version.


    Enough for a badge!

    The software produced by the project MUST, if it supports TLS, perform TLS certificate verification by default when using TLS, including on subresources. If the software does not use TLS, select "not applicable" (N/A). [crypto_certificate_verification]
    Note that incorrect TLS certificate verification is a common mistake. For more information, see "The Most Dangerous Code in the World: Validating SSL Certificates in Non-Browser Software" by Martin Georgiev et al. and "Do you trust this application?" by Michael Catanzaro.

    The server makes HTTPS requests with Req (Mint over Erlang/OTP ssl), which verifies the certificate chain and host name by default; Kotiko's code sets no verify option anywhere. The extension's requests go through the browser, which always verifies certificates.


    Enough for a badge!

    The software produced by the project MUST, if it supports TLS, perform certificate verification before sending HTTP headers with private information (such as secure cookies). If the software does not use TLS, select "not applicable" (N/A). [crypto_verification_private]

    Certificate verification happens in the TLS handshake, before any HTTP request is sent, so the Authorization header and API keys are sent only after the certificate is verified. Kotiko uses no cookies.


  • Secure release


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST cryptographically sign releases of the project results intended for widespread use, and there MUST be a documented process explaining to users how they can obtain the public signing keys and verify the signature(s). The private key for these signature(s) MUST NOT be on site(s) used to directly distribute the software to the public. If releases are not intended for widespread use, select "not applicable" (N/A). [signed_releases]
    The project results include both source code and any generated deliverables where applicable (e.g., executables, packages, and containers). Generated deliverables MAY be signed separately from source code. These MAY be implemented as signed git tags (using cryptographic digital signatures). Projects MAY provide generated results separately from tools like git, but in those cases, the separate results MUST be separately signed.

    No release has been published yet, so there is nothing to sign today. The pipeline for the first one (v1.0.0) is in place and signs everything it publishes: the release manager signs the tag with their own SSH or GPG key; the workflow refuses a tag not signed by a key listed in .github/allowed_signers on main, builds the zips reproducibly, and publishes them with SHA256SUMS, a CycloneDX SBOM and Sigstore build-provenance attestations (keyless, so no signing key is stored on GitHub). How users verify: https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/docs/verify.md


    Barely enough for a badge.

    It is SUGGESTED that in the version control system, each important version tag (a tag that is part of a major release, minor release, or fixes publicly noted vulnerabilities) be cryptographically signed and verifiable as described in signed_releases. [version_tags_signed]

    No version tag exists yet. From v1.0.0 on, every release tag is signed by the release manager and verified by the release workflow against .github/allowed_signers before anything is built.


  • Other security issues


    Enough for a badge!

    The project results MUST check all inputs from potentially untrusted sources to ensure they are valid (an *allowlist*), and reject invalid inputs, if there are any restrictions on the data at all. [input_validation]
    Note that comparing input against a list of "bad formats" (aka a *denylist*) is normally not enough, because attackers can often work around a denylist. In particular, numbers are converted into internal formats and then checked if they are between their minimum and maximum (inclusive), and text strings are checked to ensure that they are valid text patterns (e.g., valid UTF-8, length, syntax, etc.). Some data may need to be "anything at all" (e.g., a file uploader), but these would typically be rare.

    Every input from an untrusted source is checked against what is allowed, and refused otherwise: HTTP requests (Host allowlist, exactly one Bearer token, JSON only within size caps, then per-field rules such as text length, canonical language tags, UUID request ids, statuses from a fixed list and limits in range); model answers (the shared word spec: required fields, canonical tags, a script check, length and count caps); server answers in the extension; backup files (format, version, every word re-checked); the server address the user types; and every setting at start. The full table: https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/docs/security/assurance-case.md#6-inputs-and-how-each-is-validated


    Enough for a badge!

    Hardening mechanisms SHOULD be used in the software produced by the project so that software defects are less likely to result in security vulnerabilities. [hardening]
    Hardening mechanisms may include HTTP headers like Content Security Policy (CSP), compiler flags to mitigate attacks (such as -fstack-protector), or compiler flags to eliminate undefined behavior. For our purposes least privilege is not considered a hardening mechanism (least privilege is important, but separate).

    Extension pages run under an explicit content security policy (script-src 'self'; object-src 'self') with no inline scripts, and ESLint forbids HTML string sinks (innerHTML, outerHTML, insertAdjacentHTML) so a bug can't turn word data into markup. The server checks the Host header against an allowlist before anything else (against DNS rebinding), caps request bodies, sends no CORS headers, marks answers no-store, binds to loopback by default, compares tokens in constant time, and filters secrets out of logs. Planned: X-Content-Type-Options and similar headers on server responses, and a sandboxed systemd unit. Evidence: https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/extension/manifest.json and https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/docs/security/assurance-case.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST provide an assurance case that justifies why its security requirements are met. The assurance case MUST include: a description of the threat model, clear identification of trust boundaries, an argument that secure design principles have been applied, and an argument that common implementation security weaknesses have been countered. (URL required) [assurance_case]
    An assurance case is "a documented body of evidence that provides a convincing and valid argument that a specified set of critical claims regarding a system’s properties are adequately justified for a given application in a given environment" ("Software Assurance Using Structured Assurance Case Models", Thomas Rhodes et al, NIST Interagency Report 7608). Trust boundaries are boundaries where data or execution changes its level of trust, e.g., a server's boundaries in a typical web application. It's common to list secure design principles (such as Saltzer and Schroeer) and common implementation security weaknesses (such as the OWASP top 10 or CWE/SANS top 25), and show how each are countered. The BadgeApp assurance case may be a useful example. This is related to documentation_security, documentation_architecture, and implement_secure_design.

    docs/security/assurance-case.md: the top claim and its sub-claims mapped to arguments and evidence, the threat model (assets, attackers and what each can reach), the trust boundaries (diagram and table), how each secure design principle is applied, the CWE Top 25 and OWASP Top 10 weaknesses that apply and how each is countered, every input and how it is validated, and the residual risks. https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/docs/security/assurance-case.md


 Analysis 2/2 ●

  • Static code analysis


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST use at least one static analysis tool with rules or approaches to look for common vulnerabilities in the analyzed language or environment, if there is at least one FLOSS tool that can implement this criterion in the selected language. [static_analysis_common_vulnerabilities]
    Static analysis tools that are specifically designed to look for common vulnerabilities are more likely to find them. That said, using any static tools will typically help find some problems, so we are suggesting but not requiring this for the 'passing' level badge.

    Two security analysers look for common vulnerabilities on every pull request and push to main, and a finding fails the build: Sobelow for the Elixir server (injection, traversal, unsafe deserialization, atom exhaustion; every finding fails, false positives are skipped per function with a written reason) and CodeQL with the security-extended queries for JavaScript and the GitHub Actions workflows (a required check). For the extension, eslint-plugin-no-unsanitized and a ban on HTML string sinks cover DOM cross-site scripting. The policy says what blocks a merge or a release: https://github.com/ScriptKittyOS/kotiko/blob/main/docs/security/dependency-and-static-analysis-policy.md


  • Dynamic code analysis


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    If the software produced by the project includes software written using a memory-unsafe language (e.g., C or C++), then at least one dynamic tool (e.g., a fuzzer or web application scanner) MUST be routinely used in combination with a mechanism to detect memory safety problems such as buffer overwrites. If the project does not produce software written in a memory-unsafe language, choose "not applicable" (N/A). [dynamic_analysis_unsafe]
    Examples of mechanisms to detect memory safety problems include Address Sanitizer (ASAN) (available in GCC and LLVM), Memory Sanitizer, and valgrind. Other potentially-used tools include thread sanitizer and undefined behavior sanitizer. Widespread assertions would also work.

    Kotiko's code is Elixir and JavaScript, both memory-safe. The only memory-unsafe code is SQLite inside a dependency (exqlite), which the project does not write or build itself.



You can use tools and AI systems to propose changes via a simple URL, such as https://www.bestpractices.dev/en/projects/15259/choose/edit?osps_ac_01_01_status=Met&osps_ac_01_01_justification=GitHub+enforced. See our automation proposals system for how to do that. This data is available under the Community Data License Agreement – Permissive, Version 2.0 (CDLA-Permissive-2.0). This means that a Data Recipient may share the Data, with or without modifications, so long as the Data Recipient makes available the text of this agreement with the shared Data. Please credit Ayla Croft and the OpenSSF Best Practices badge contributors.

Project badge entry owned by: Ayla Croft.
Entry created on 2026-10-06 18:38:00 UTC, last updated on 2026-10-06 22:13:39 UTC. Last achieved passing badge on 2026-10-06 19:36:22 UTC.