sqlite AGENTS.md

The more pointed detail here is the proof-of-concept requirement: SQLite isn't just adding a policy document, it's explicitly routing agent-generated contributions into a slower, higher-friction review lane than human contributors typically face. That asymmetry is the real governance decision.

This is largely disconnected from recent activity in our archive, as we have no prior coverage to anchor it to. It belongs to an emerging category of stories about how legacy infrastructure projects (databases, compilers, package registries) are being forced to make explicit choices that were previously implicit: who counts as a contributor, what licensing obligations attach to machine-generated code, and who bears liability when an agent submits something that breaks a downstream dependency. SQLite is a particularly high-stakes venue for this because its zero-dependency, public-domain model is load-bearing for thousands of applications. The proof-of-concept gate suggests maintainers are less worried about volume than about provenance and auditability.

Watch whether other zero-dependency or public-domain projects (curl, zlib, musl) publish similar policy documents within the next six months. If they do, it signals coordinated norm-setting rather than a one-off quirk from SQLite's notoriously cautious maintainers.