Is it even a project?

Before analysing anything, LocalAlibiScan decides what kind of folder it was given. las check shows only that verdict and its evidence:

las check ~/Downloads

Verdict	Symbol	When	What happens
project	✓	.git or a known manifest in the folder itself	analysed
folder of projects	▦	not a project, but 2+ subfolders (up to 2 levels down) are	lists them and suggests las dashboard
subfolder of a project	↑	not a project, but a parent (up to 5 levels up, never above your home folder) is	shows the root and suggests las scan <root>
probable project	≈	no .git nor manifest, but 3+ code files or notebooks	analysed, with a warning at the top
not a project	✗	none of the above	stops, showing the manifest count, .git and the share of code files

Known manifests: package.json, requirements.txt, pyproject.toml, go.mod, Cargo.toml, composer.json, plus setup.py, Pipfile, Gemfile, pom.xml, build.gradle, Package.swift, pubspec.yaml, mix.exs, deno.json.

✗ not a software project  ~/holiday-photos
  └ .  0 known manifests
  └ .  no .git folder
  └ .  0 of 6 files (0%) are code or notebooks

las scan refuses the last three verdicts (exit code 2); add --force to analyse anyway — the profile then says "Forced analysis" at the top.

A folder of loose scripts (no git, no manifest) is a probable project: it is analysed, its type is "≈ Scripts Python", and the dashboard marks it with ≈.

The thresholds (3 files, 2 subprojects, 5 levels up, 2 levels down) live in config.py; the dashboard depth can be changed in the configuration.