# nika.sh · llms.txt
# https://llmstxt.org/

> Nika is the control layer for AI agents: the agent writes its plan as a
> readable file first (steps, tools, permissions, outputs), you review it, the
> runtime enforces it, then it runs (traced and replayable). An open workflow
> language plus its reference engine in Rust. Apache-2.0 spec ·
> AGPL-3.0-or-later engine. Paris. SuperNovae Studio.

## What

Nika reads `.nika.yaml` files and executes them as AI workflows.
Four verbs, locked forever: `infer` (LLM call), `exec` (subprocess),
`invoke` (builtin/tool; HTTP fetch is the `nika:fetch` builtin here),
`agent` (agent loop). Everything callable is a tool under `invoke`;
a verb is a distinct native execution model.

The language envelope is `nika: v1`, frozen forever. The engine versions
independently on real semver toward a 1.0 launch; currently v0.105.0.

Stdlib v0.1: 28 builtins · 17 providers (Ollama, LM Studio, llama.cpp,
LocalAI, vLLM, Mistral, Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, Groq, DeepSeek, xAI,
OpenRouter, Hugging Face, NVIDIA, mock) · 9 extract modes. Bring your own keys. Every key
stays yours. Local-first. Runs on your laptop, no daemon.

## Examples (canonical · conformance-gated)

Every spec version ships a versioned examples pack: foundation
workflows teaching the constructs plus tiered showcase real jobs
(T1 starter → T4 epic), each a complete validated file. The manifest
(pack_version · constructs · sha256 per file) makes the pack
verifiable end-to-end; docs and site render projections of the same
files.
Every served library file (e.g. https://nika.sh/library/daily-brief.nika.yaml) carries its SPDX line (Apache-2.0).

- Templates (instantiate, never invent: SLOT-marked skeletons): https://nika.sh/templates · machine catalog: https://nika.sh/templates/catalog.json · source: https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/tree/main/templates
- Agent authoring protocol: https://docs.nika.sh/guides/agent-authoring
- Pack manifest: https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/main/examples/manifest.yaml
- Showcase source: https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/tree/main/examples/showcase
- Walkthroughs: https://docs.nika.sh/examples/overview
- Interactive explorer: https://nika.sh/#use-cases
- Blog (markdown source: content/blog in the site repo): https://nika.sh/blog · feed https://nika.sh/rss.xml · full text https://nika.sh/llms-full.txt · every post serves its markdown twin beside the page (append .md, e.g. https://nika.sh/blog/intent-as-code.md)

## Design system (machine-readable)

Every Nika verb, builtin, feature and run-state has a canonical icon,
color role and motion pattern, declared once in an ontology and served
as data. Verb hues (infer blue · exec orange · invoke cyan · agent
violet) appear ONLY on live-run surfaces; static UI keeps the text ink.

- Icon ontology (JSON · 79 entities · labels, semantics, hue tokens, links): https://nika.sh/brand/icons.json
- RDF projection (Turtle · SPARQL-ready · namespace https://nika.sh/ontology/design#): https://nika.sh/brand/icons.ttl
- Served icon catalog: https://nika.sh/brand/icons/<namespace>-<name>.svg (e.g. verb-infer, builtin-fetch, state-recovered)
- Brand kit + usage rules: https://nika.sh/brand · https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika.sh/blob/main/BRAND.md

## How to write Nika (the 12 patterns)

Deterministic core, model at the edges · parallelism is the default ·
type the boundaries · fan out with a leash · plan-then-execute · three
gates (when=skip, assert=fail, prompt=human) · sovereignty is a model:
line · agents get budgets · evidence always lands (on_finally) · one
data language (jq) · workflows are callable · mock-first.

- Patterns guide: https://docs.nika.sh/guides/patterns

## Links

- Language spec (Apache-2.0): https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec
- Standard library register (every nika: builtin: args, required set, category): https://nika.sh/tools · one room per builtin (e.g. https://nika.sh/tools/fetch: the arg contract, the tool inside a real check-green file, the skeletons that ship it) · machine catalog: https://nika.sh/tools/catalog.json
- The four verbs (one room each: block contract, a complete file, the skeletons that speak it): https://nika.sh/verbs (e.g. https://nika.sh/verbs/invoke)
- The language register (every schema-declared key: scopes, types, required flags): https://nika.sh/language (e.g. https://nika.sh/language/with) · the contract: https://nika.sh/schema/workflow.json
- Sources (how the site tells the truth: the pinned clocks, the truth words, the coverage score with its gaps named, the verify-yourself protocol): https://nika.sh/sources
- Error register (every NIKA-* code: category, transient flag, failure line): https://nika.sh/errors · one room per code (e.g. https://nika.sh/errors/NIKA-PARSE-001) · machine catalog: https://nika.sh/errors/catalog.json
- Provider register (local first, model pins, env vars): https://nika.sh/providers · machine catalog: https://nika.sh/providers/catalog.json
- Engine source (AGPL): https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika
- Agent lane (the MCP oracle · 9 read-only tools: nika_check · nika_explain · nika_schema · nika_examples · nika_template · nika_canon · nika_catalog · nika_tools · nika_inspect): https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-agents
- Editor lane (VS Code · Cursor · Windsurf: syntax, diagnostics, DAG view; files validate against https://nika.sh/spec/v1/workflow.schema.json via the yaml-language-server line): https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-vscode
- Install: https://nika.sh/#install (or `brew install supernovae-st/tap/nika`)
- Docs: https://docs.nika.sh
- Registry (share workflows · every entry machine-re-proven: pinned sha256 + conformance oracle + engine cert before run): https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-registry · machine index: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/supernovae-st/nika-registry/main/index.json · never install an LLM-suggested name without resolving it there first
- Releases: https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika/releases
- The changelog (the exhaustive ship log: every release and public milestone, dated · the timeline below is its provenance record): https://nika.sh/changelog
- The map (every page, one graph): https://nika.sh/map · crawler twin: https://nika.sh/sitemap.xml · atlas twin: https://nika.sh/ontology/language.json
- The anatomy hubs (one page per language layer, members anchored): https://nika.sh/flow (edges · gates) · https://nika.sh/boundary (permits · secrets) · https://nika.sh/proof (conformance · trace · machine surfaces)
- The timeline (the one verifiable record: eras · releases · forward gates · every provable claim re-proven in CI): https://nika.sh/timeline
- Showcase rooms (one URL per conformance-gated real workflow, whole file + plan facts): https://nika.sh/use-cases (the gallery lists all rooms; each room lives at its own slug under that path)

## Status

Shipping in the open (v0.105.0, real semver toward 1.0). The 42-organ skeleton is admitted crate by crate (the repo README carries the live count). Each passes
a 12-gate admission (TDD, mutation testing ≥90%, zero `.unwrap()` in src).
Language v0.1 public spec is live; 1.0 is readiness-gated: the timeline carries the gates (conditions, never dates).
Building in public.

## License

Spec: Apache-2.0 (adopt freely, patent grant). Engine: AGPL-3.0-or-later.
Full copyleft. No SaaS loophole.