Quickstart

You need Node.js. Check with node --version. If that fails, install it from nodejs.org.

Start it

npx --yes enforcer-governor start

The first run downloads it, then the dashboard opens in your browser by itself. Leave that terminal running, it is the guard. Ctrl+C stops it and your agents carry on working normally.

Route one: point any agent at it

The general case. Anything that talks to an API, on any provider, in any language.

# OpenAI-shaped agents, also Gemini, Grok, Groq, Together, most local runtimes
export OPENAI_BASE_URL=http://localhost:4000/v1

# Anthropic-shaped agents
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=http://localhost:4000

Every request now passes through GVNR. It meters real usage from each response and refuses with HTTP 429 once an agent is over budget or grounded. Tag requests per agent with an x-enforcer-agent: <name> header so they appear separately on the dashboard.

To forward somewhere other than OpenAI, set GOVERNOR_OPENAI_URL:

# Gemini
GOVERNOR_OPENAI_URL=https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/openai/chat/completions \
  npx --yes enforcer-governor start

# Grok
GOVERNOR_OPENAI_URL=https://api.x.ai/v1/chat/completions npx --yes enforcer-governor start

# OpenRouter
GOVERNOR_OPENAI_URL=https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/chat/completions npx --yes enforcer-governor start

# a local runtime
GOVERNOR_OPENAI_URL=http://localhost:11434/v1/chat/completions npx --yes enforcer-governor start

Route two: a coding agent with hook support

Stronger where it exists, because a refused action never executes at all rather than being refused at the API, and it catches actions that cost nothing, like rm -rf or reading a .env, which an API-level guard never sees. Claude Code is wired today.

In a second terminal, in the project you want watched:

npx --yes enforcer-governor install-hook

Then start a new session in that project. Add --global to watch every project. Remove it with npx enforcer-governor uninstall-hook, or the Remove Enforcer button on the dashboard.

What you get back

allow, in budget and on task, carry on.
deny, over budget or stuck in a loop, blocked.
escalate, it wants more budget or is about to do something irreversible, so it pauses and asks you.

The public ChatGPT website is closed and cannot be governed. Anything built on the OpenAI API can.

Powered by Instruxi. Verified against the GVNR source on 15 September 2026. Free and open, runs on your own machine, nothing is sent to Instruxi. Related: GVNR · Stop an agent overspending · Block dangerous commands · Quickstart · Configure · Receipts · How it compares · Live demo · Enforcer. Enforcer, the identity and authorization service, is at enforcer.instruxi.dev.