# Zulip: AI-friendly with conditions

> Any tools including AI may be used to understand the code and write it, but contributors must understand, test and be able to explain every change. AI-generated messages are not allowed in the development community, apart from help with spelling, grammar or translation, and LLMs should not be pointed at the code to find problems.

- What it is: An organized team chat app. (Application)
- Homepage: https://zulip.com/
- Repository: https://github.com/zulip/zulip
- Overall stance: AI-friendly with conditions (Mostly friendly). AI-assisted contributions are accepted with extra rules, such as disclosing AI use, or AI is banned for issues or written text.
- Last classified: 2026-10-09 (manual review, medium confidence)
- Policy last changed: 2026-10-09
- Web page: https://areweaifriendly.com/projects/zulip/

## Policy by area

- **Code contributions**: AI-friendly (Contributor takes full responsibility; A human must review the output)
- **Issues & bug reports**: Not AI-friendly (Only minor help (autocomplete, grammar))
- **AI-written text**: Not AI-friendly (Only minor help (autocomplete, grammar))

## In their own words

- Code contributions: "You can use any tools that help you understand the Zulip codebase and write good code, including AI tools." (https://github.com/zulip/zulip/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md)
- Code contributions: "Do not submit an AI-generated PR you haven't personally understood and tested" (https://github.com/zulip/zulip/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md)
- Issues & bug reports: "Don't point an LLM at the code and ask it to find problems or things to work on." (https://github.com/zulip/zulip/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md)
- AI-written text: "Do not post AI-generated messages" (https://github.com/zulip/zulip/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md)
- AI-written text: "we want to read your own genuine expression of your thoughts." (https://github.com/zulip/zulip/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md)
- AI-written text: "It's fine to use whatever tools you like for help with spelling, grammar, or translation." (https://github.com/zulip/zulip/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md)

## Sources

- [Zulip contributing guide](https://github.com/zulip/zulip/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md), fetched 2026-10-09