QGIS bans LLM, AI and agent-assisted code in its main repository

The QGIS project has banned code contributions made with LLMs, AI tools or agents in its main repository, qgis/qgis. Nyall Dawson proposed the change in QGIS Enhancement Proposals pull request #387 (opens in a new tab) on September 24, 2026, and declared it approved on October 7, 2026. The new rule replaces an earlier policy that allowed AI tools as long as a human stayed in the loop.

What the new QGIS AI policy says

The policy now fits in two sentences. Version 2.0 of QEP 408, the QGIS AI tool use policy (opens in a new tab), says no LLM, AI or agent assisted code contributions are allowed in the qgis/qgis repository. A contributor later found to have used an AI, LLM or agent-based workflow faces code reversion and "contributor rights sanctioning". The policy does not define that sanction.

Pull request #387 carries the title QEP428, but it rewrote the QEP 408 file in place. The new version lists "the QGIS project contributors" as author. Dawson's pull request description calls the change a move to a strict "NOT ALLOWED" policy.

What changed from the first QEP 408

The first QEP 408 was dated January 31, 2026 and written by Even Rouault. It took a different line. Contributors could use any tools, but they had to review all LLM output, be able to answer questions about it and label substantial tool-generated content. One suggested label was an Assisted-by commit trailer.

That text was adapted from LLVM's AI Tool Use Policy. It also told maintainers to apply an extractive label when an issue or pull request was off-track. Pull request #387 deleted all of it.

In the review thread, Dawson wrote that the earlier policy had not worked and that the project had lost at least one high-value contributor. He described the new rule as a closed door. Later proposals could open it case by case, for uses such as IDE autocomplete or translation.

How the QGIS vote went

Tim Sutton posted on the qgis-developer mailing list (opens in a new tab) on September 23, sharing what he called the PSC member perspective. He wrote that the steering committee was fine with a ban on AI and LLM use in qgis/qgis. He also asked for the rule to go through the QEP process.

Pull request #387 moved to voting on October 5. Dawson declared it approved on October 7 with votes from rouault-on-strike (Even Rouault), alexbruy, signedav and elpaso. Other participants posted +1 in the thread, and 3nids posted +0.

What QGIS contributors see now

The rule already shows up in the qgis/QGIS repository. Its pull request template asks contributors to tick a box certifying that no AI tools, LLMs or agent based workflows were used for the change. The template repeats the QEP 408 wording in bold.

The repository also has an AGENTS.md file (opens in a new tab), first added by Dawson on September 21 in qgis/QGIS pull request #67509. That file tells any agent asked to do QGIS development to tell the user it is prohibited and not to proceed. AGENTS.md extends the ban to issues, comments and reviews on the QGIS repository. It warns of immediate bans from the project's repositories.

Who the QGIS ban affects

Developers who use coding agents such as Claude Code or GitHub Copilot in other work now have to keep them out of QGIS core contributions. The AGENTS.md file asks agents to refuse QGIS development tasks. When a commenter in the review thread asked on October 14 how the ban will be enforced, signedav replied "By trust...".

Version 2.0 of QEP 408 names only the qgis/qgis repository. Other repositories in the QGIS organization are not mentioned in the policy text.

Proposals already filed to change the QGIS policy

Two follow-up proposals were open as of October 15, 2026. QEP 429, in pull request #388 (opens in a new tab) by wonder-sk with 3nids, would let trusted contributors use AI tools. It defines a trusted contributor as someone with at least 100 merged pull requests in qgis/QGIS.

Those contributors would have to label any tool-generated content and review all generated code. They would also have to state that they own the code and link a full transcript of the chat or agent session from the pull request.

QEP 430, pull request #389 by elpaso, goes the other way. It would ban LLM-generated text, such as issue and pull request titles, descriptions and comments, across all QGIS repositories and systems. Source code would stay under the separate per-repository rules.

Limits and open questions in the QGIS policy

• Definition: the policy does not define AI. One contributor asked in the thread about LLM autocomplete, ML-ranked IDE suggestions, translation tools and asking a chatbot for help. The same contributor proposed narrower wording about code written by LLMs or agents, and the merged text kept the broad wording.
• Enforcement: asked on October 14 how the ban would be enforced, signedav replied that it would be by trust. Sutton's proposed policy text also called the rule difficult to enforce.
• Duration: the policy gives no end date or review date. Dawson and elpaso both wrote in the thread that the ban is not meant to be permanent.
• Scope: QEP 408 version 2.0 covers code in qgis/qgis, while AGENTS.md also covers issues, comments and reviews. Neither text says which one governs a non-code contribution.
• Sanctions: what "contributor rights sanctioning" means in practice is not spelled out.