Fork & Own
August 4, 2026 · View on GitHub
GAAI is designed to be forked and adapted. This is the intended distribution model.
Why Fork & Own?
GAAI is a governance layer, not a generic tool. Every project is different:
- Different tech stacks, languages, conventions
- Different team sizes and workflows
- Different quality standards and risk tolerances
- Different domain rules (regulated industries, specific architectures)
A shared community framework would be too generic to be useful for any specific project. Fork & Own means GAAI serves your project, not a hypothetical average project.
How to Fork
GAAI is a GitHub template repository.
Option 1: GitHub template
- Go to github.com/gaai-framework/gaai-framework
- Click "Use this template"
- Create your repository (private or public)
- Done — you own a full copy
Option 2: Clone
git clone https://github.com/gaai-framework/gaai-framework.git /tmp/gaai
bash /tmp/gaai/.gaai/core/scripts/install.sh
The installer copies .gaai/ into your project. You own the files.
What to Customize
Once you have GAAI in your project, adapt it:
High-value customizations
contexts/memory/project/context.md — fill this in completely. This is the single most impactful thing you can do.
contexts/memory/patterns/conventions.md — add your team's coding conventions, naming rules, testing approach.
contexts/rules/orchestration.rules.md — tighten agent authority to match your risk tolerance.
contexts/rules/context-discovery.rules.md — define when Discovery is mandatory for your project.
Advanced customizations
Add domain rules — create contexts/rules/your-domain.rules.md for domain-specific constraints.
Extend memory — add domain-specific memory files for large or complex projects.
Modify skills — adapt skill content to match your project's conventions. The SKILL.md format stays the same; the content is yours.
Add skills — GAAI ships 40 core skills. Your project may need more. Follow the SKILL.md format (agentskills.io spec) and add to the appropriate category.
Staying in Sync with Upstream
After forking, you own your copy. There is no automatic sync with the upstream GAAI repository.
If GAAI releases updates you want:
- Review the upstream changelog
- Manually apply relevant changes to your fork
- Test with
health-check.sh
Most value from GAAI is in the structure and conventions — not in constantly following upstream changes. Once your .gaai/ folder reflects your project's knowledge, upstream updates matter less.
What We Ask
GAAI is source-available under the Elastic License 2.0 (ELv2) — see LICENSE for the governing terms.
If you find bugs or documentation errors in the upstream framework, please report them at GitHub Issues.
We do not accept skill contributions or agent additions to the upstream repo — this is by design. Your customizations belong in your fork.