# I got tired of repeating engineering rules to AI on every project. So I built GEF.

> Source: <https://dev.to/gnzikoune/i-got-tired-of-repeating-engineering-rules-to-ai-on-every-project-so-i-built-gef-4b6d>
> Published: 2026-07-21 02:23:41+00:00

For several months, I noticed the same problem with Cursor, Windsurf, and other AI assistants.

They're excellent…

but they quickly forget project rules.

At first:

clean architecture

conventional commits

documentation

tests

Then, after a few hours of development:

200-line functions

direct push to main

no ADR

forgotten documentation

ignored OWASP rules

End up, you end up repeating the same instructions:

"Use GitHub Flow"

"Don't forget the tests"

"Respect the complexity limits"

"Document this decision"

Again.

And again.

And again.

So I decided to reverse the problem.

Instead of reminding the AI of the rules…

...why not integrate them directly into the project?

This is exactly what Guardian Engineering Framework (GEF) does.

The idea

GEF is a project generator.

But unlike a simple scaffold, it also installs:

Engineering Playbook

AI prompts

Git Hooks

CI/CD

Cursor/Windsurf rules

ADR

Diátaxis documentation

right from project creation.

`npx create-gef`

A few minutes later, the project already has technical governance.

What is generated

GEF automatically configures:

GitHub Flow

Conventional Commits

Pull Request template

CI GitHub Actions

Docker

documentation

ADR

lint

security

AI prompts

The goal is for the project to enforce best practices, even when multiple developers or multiple AIs are involved.

An AI that acts as a Tech Lead

This is the point I find most interesting.

The framework pushes the AI to:

create ADRs

open Pull Requests

respect issues

run tests

follow a reproducible workflow

The AI is no longer just a code generator.

It follows a process.

Why it's open source

I wanted something usable with:

Cursor

Windsurf

GitHub Copilot

Claude Code

without depending on a specific IDE.

All the rules reside within the project.

Repository

GitHub:

[https://github.com/Gnzikoune/GEF](https://github.com/Gnzikoune/GEF)

NPM:

[https://www.npmjs.com/package/create-gef](https://www.npmjs.com/package/create-gef)

Feedback is welcome.