govctl

govctl

Governance-as-code for AI-assisted software development.
Enforce spec-first discipline. Every feature starts with an RFC, not a prompt.

---

The Problem

AI-assisted coding is powerful but undisciplined:

• Phase skipping -- Jumping from idea to implementation without specification
• Documentation drift -- Specs and code diverge silently
• No enforceable governance -- "Best practices" become optional suggestions

The result: faster typing, slower thinking, unmaintainable systems.

Without govctl

Day 1:  "Let's add caching!"
Day 2:  AI generates 500 lines of Redis integration
Day 7:  "Wait, did we agree on Redis or Memcached?"
Day 14: Half the team implements one, half the other
Day 30: Two incompatible caching layers, no spec, nobody knows why

With govctl

Day 1:  govctl rfc new "Caching Strategy"
Day 2:  RFC-0015 defines: Redis, TTL policy, invalidation rules
Day 3:  govctl rfc advance RFC-0015 impl
Day 7:  Implementation complete, traceable to spec
Day 14: Tests pass, govctl rfc advance RFC-0015 stable

---

How It Works

govctl enforces phase discipline on software development:

┌─────────┐     ┌──────────┐     ┌──────────┐     ┌──────────┐
│  SPEC   │ ──► │   IMPL   │ ──► │   TEST   │ ──► │  STABLE  │
└─────────┘     └──────────┘     └──────────┘     └──────────┘
     │                │                │                │
     ▼                ▼                ▼                ▼
  RFC must         Code must       Tests must       Bug fixes
  be normative     match spec      pass gates       only

Three artifact types, one lifecycle:

• RFCs -- Specifications that must exist before implementation
• ADRs -- Architectural decisions with explicit trade-offs
• Work Items -- Tracked tasks with acceptance criteria and verification guards

All artifacts are TOML files in gov/, validated by JSON schemas, and rendered to markdown in docs/. govctl governs itself by its own rules -- this repository is the first proof.

---

Quick Start

Claude Code Plugin

/plugin marketplace add govctl-org/govctl
/plugin install govctl@govctl
/govctl:init

The plugin provides workflow skills, reviewer agents, and enforcement hooks out of the box.

CLI

cargo install govctl
govctl init

govctl init creates the governance structure and installs AI agent skills into .claude/.

For complete documentation, see the User Guide.

---

AI Agent Integration

govctl is built for AI-native development. Install the Claude Code plugin or run govctl init to get workflow skills that any Claude Code / Cursor / Codex agent can invoke:

Skill	Purpose
/gov <task>	Complete governed workflow: work item, RFC/ADR, implement, test, done
/migrate	Adopt govctl in an existing project: discover decisions, backfill ADRs, annotate source
/discuss <topic>	Design discussion: explore options, draft RFC or ADR
/commit	Smart commit: VCS detection, govctl checks, work item journal updates
/quick <task>	Fast path for trivial changes (skip governance ceremony)
/guard-writer	Create and edit verification guards

The plugin also includes enforcement hooks: govctl status runs at session start for context, govctl check runs at session end as a gate.

Every govctl operation is a single CLI call. No MCP server needed -- the CLI is the universal interface. Every shell-capable agent already speaks it.

---

Features