Re: What is the AI ​​policy of the project?

[Gaël Bonithon]

Yes, I suppose that pretty much matches our perspective on the use of AI at Xfce.

I built the project without any issues, tested it a bit, and did a very cursory code review: it looks good! It would be great if the other core devs could weigh in at some point; I’ll follow up on Matrix if needed.

A few random notes:
* We no longer use a `config.h` file since switching to meson; instead, we define constants directly in `meson.build`. That said, it’s just a convention: I suppose you can keep using that file if you prefer for some reason.
* It would be a good idea to set up the CI by copying the `.gitlab-ci.yml` file from another project. You can then enable optional static analysis and formatting jobs (clang-format) if you wish, by adding CI/CD variables to the project (SCAN_BUILD, GCC_ANALYZER, CPPCHECK, CLANG_FORMAT) . Ultimately, the documentation for all of this can be found in `xfce4-dev-tools/ci/build_project.yml`, but there are also some instructions on the wiki for running these tools locally:
** https://gitlab.xfce.org/xfce/xfce4-dev-tools/-/blob/master/ci/build_project.yml?ref_type=heads
** https://wiki.xfce.org/building/advanced
* The project actually depends on NetworkManager, but this isn’t checked by `meson setup`. Is this possible?

Cheers,
Gaël

On Friday, September 4th, 2026 at 9:50 PM, Matias De lellis <mati86dl at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Gaël,
>
> With your approval and compliance with the policies, I uploaded it to my personal area on Xfce GitLab..
>
> https://gitlab.xfce.org/matiasdelellis/xfce4-network-manager
>
> The project grew more than expected (it was practically completed, replacing all the NM dialogues), but only because it worked very well.
> I think it's in an interesting state to test. Although I wouldn't promote it for official integration just yet.
> I tried to be honest about the work, and that's why I listed Claude as a co-author. As an anecdotal note, I can suggest an improvement to the AI policies in the project.
>
> * https://gitlab.xfce.org/matiasdelellis/xfce4-network-manager/-/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md?ref_type=heads#ai-assistance
>
> I can't remember where I saw this note before (Although the original policy I read was to dismiss automatic MRs from bots), but it's brilliant or simply honest.
> AI helps us infinitely; I probably would have written something similar, but it would have taken me 2 months.? I was able to build it in two days. And believe me, I had considered doing it before and dismissed the idea!.
>
> So, at this point, I don't think we should reject AI in any way.. But you must know what you are building, and if you cannot defend it, it means you are not aware of what you are proposing.
>
> The strangest thing is that I can't defend part of my work here. Not because I don't trust what's been built, but because the world of networks is so vast that I can't test it all. The only VPN I have today is OpenVPN, which works well, and I was able to test it. Then there's Wi-Fi and Ethernet... What about the rest?.
>
> So if you're only interested in the Wi-Fi so your mother can easily connect, it's brilliant, and the rest should work, but I can't test it.
> Regards,
> Matias
>
> El vie, 4 sept 2026 a la(s) 5:32 a.m., Gaël Bonithon (trash.paradise at protonmail.com) escribió:
>
>> Hi Matias,
>>
>> For Xfce’s policy on the use of AI, you can check out this link: https://docs.xfce.org/contribute/dev/start#aillm_assisted_contribution_policy
>>
>> In this case, it’s a new project, and the maintainer (you) has chosen to use AI to write all or part of it, so there shouldn’t be a problem in principle.
>>
>> Personally, I think a network manager for Xfce could be useful; in fact, I believe requests for something like this have probably been made here and there already, even though I can’t recall any specific ones right now. I guess it would ultimately be an app with a panel plugin? It would need to be available for download somewhere once it’s somewhat complete, so we can get a sense of it. And if we were to eventually integrate it into our codebase, you’d need to be prepared to maintain it long-term.
>>
>> Feel free to come discuss this on matrix #xfce-dev, you’ll probably get more feedback there than here.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Gaël
>>
>> On Thursday, September 3rd, 2026 at 3:59 PM, Matias De lellis <mati86dl at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Hello everyone,
>>>
>>> I think the subject already says everything I'm asking you about.
>>>
>>> For context, I've only recently started to become familiar with AI. I became familiar with small projects in different languages, then I started rescuing personal projects that I had half abandoned, and now I'm building new things to try.
>>> I have some big personal projects that I don't know if they have a future, but they helped me to learn. Now with more experience, I want to return to my roots. Small projects, but ones that truly add value.
>>>
>>> Without further ado, let me tell you... The only thing that always bothers me about xfce4 is its "dependence" on nm-applet[1], so yesterday I started a new project called xfce-network-manager
>>>
>>> For now, it's just a plugin for the panel, which displays the list, click, and integrated password input. But if you find it interesting, and as long as it complies with the policies, I could formally propose it, and expand it to include more features.
>>>
>>> Note..
>>> [1] Raise your hand if this happened to you.. You're about to click on a network, and the menu has rebuilt and you have to search for it again. Or if you finally clicked and can't type the password in the input field.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>> Xfce4-dev at xfce.org
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