kukicha

Kukicha

AI-assisted coding. Not AI-replaced coding.

You describe what you want. AI writes the code. Kukicha lets you actually read it.

Kukicha is a programming language designed to be read by humans and written by AI agents. It compiles to Go, so your programs run fast and deploy as a single binary with no dependencies.

The Workflow

You describe what you want
        ↓
AI agent writes Kukicha
        ↓
You read and approve it  ← Kukicha makes this step possible
        ↓
kukicha build → single binary
        ↓
Ship it

You don't need to know how to write Kukicha — you just need to read it and spot when something looks wrong.

See the Agent Workflow Tutorial to get started immediately.

Here's What AI-Generated Kukicha Looks Like

See if you can follow it:

import "stdlib/fetch"
import "stdlib/slice"

type Repo
    name string as "name"
    stars int as "stargazers_count"

func main()
    repos := fetch.Get("https://api.github.com/users/golang/repos")
        |> fetch.CheckStatus()
        |> fetch.Json(list of Repo) onerr panic "fetch failed: {error}"

    popular := repos |> slice.Filter((repo Repo) => repo.stars > 1000)

    for repo in popular
        print("{repo.name}: {repo.stars} stars")

What just happened: This program fetches a list of repositories from GitHub, keeps only the ones with more than 1,000 stars, and prints each name with its star count. The |> (pipe) passes the result of one step into the next. onerr panic means "if something goes wrong, stop and show this message."

What to Read in Agent-Generated Code

When AI writes Kukicha for you, here's the decoder ring:

Key question when reviewing: Does each onerr say what to do when something fails? If it panics, is that appropriate? If it returns an error, will the caller handle it?

Quickstart

Prerequisites

Go 1.26+ is required. If you don't have Go installed, download it here.

Install Kukicha

Option A — Binary download (no Go toolchain needed after install):

Download a pre-built binary from GitHub Releases.

Option B — Install with Go:

go install github.com/duber000/kukicha/cmd/kukicha@v0.0.15
kukicha version

Your First Project

mkdir myapp && cd myapp
kukicha init          # sets up your project and stdlib

Create a file called hello.kuki:

# hello.kuki
func main()
    name := "World"
    print("Hello, {name}!")

Then run it:

kukicha run hello.kuki

Which Command Do I Use?

What Can You Build?

A Tool for Your AI Agent (MCP Server)

import "stdlib/mcp"
import "stdlib/fetch"

func getPrice(symbol string) string
    price := fetch.Get("https://api.example.com/price/{symbol}")
        |> fetch.CheckStatus()
        |> fetch.Text() onerr return "unavailable"
    return "{symbol}: {price}"

func main()
    server := mcp.NewServer()
    server |> mcp.Tool("get_price", "Get stock price by ticker symbol", getPrice)
    server |> mcp.Serve()

Compile to a single binary and register it with Claude Desktop or any MCP-compatible agent.

A Simple Automation Script

import "stdlib/files"
import "stdlib/string"

func main()
    content := "notes.txt" |> files.Read() onerr panic "can't read file: {error}"
    lines := content |> string.Split("\n")
    for line in lines
        if line |> string.Contains("TODO")
            print(line)

Read a file, find every line containing "TODO", and print them out.

More examples: AI commit messages, Concurrent URL health checker, REST API link shortener, CLI repo explorer

Beyond Readability

Kukicha compiles to Go — single binaries, goroutines, strong typing, memory safety, fast cold starts. No runtime dependencies.

But readability alone isn't enough. AI writes nearly half of all committed code, yet 45% of it contains security flaws and AI-generated code introduces 1.7x more issues. In 2026, security debt hit 82% of organizations and AI-generated code introduces 15–18% more security vulnerabilities at enterprise scale.

The Kukicha compiler catches common AI-generated vulnerabilities at build time — SQL injection, XSS, SSRF, path traversal, command injection, and open redirects — and tells both you and the AI agent what safe alternative to use instead.

AI is the writer. You are the editor. That's not a limitation — it's the architecture of trust.

For Developers

If you already know Go or Python, here's how Kukicha compares:

Every Kukicha concept maps 1:1 to Go and Python — see the Quick Reference for a full translation table.

Standard Library

35+ packages, pipe-friendly, error-handled with onerr.

See the full Stdlib Reference.

Editor Support

VS Code: Search kukicha-lang in extensions, or download the .vsix from GitHub Releases. See editors/vscode/README.md.

Zed: Open Zed → zed: install dev extension → point to editors/zed/ in this repo.

Other editors: make install-lsp and configure your editor to run kukicha-lsp for .kuki files.

All editors get syntax highlighting, hover, go-to-definition, completions, and diagnostics via the LSP.

Documentation

New to Kukicha?

• Agent Workflow Tutorial — prompt AI, read and approve, ship
• Absolute Beginner Tutorial — first program, variables, functions, lists, loops

Build something real:

• Data & AI Scripting — maps, CSV, shell, LLM
• CLI Repo Explorer — types, methods, API data
• Link Shortener — HTTP servers, JSON, REST APIs
• Concurrent Health Checker — goroutines and channels

Go deeper:

• Shell Scripters Guide — for bash users
• Production Patterns — databases, validation, retry, auth
• FAQ — coming from bash, Python, or Go
• Quick Reference — Go-to-Kukicha translation table
• Stdlib Reference — all packages

Contributing

See Contributing Guide for development setup, tests, and architecture.

Status

Version: 0.0.15 — Ready for testing Go: 1.26.1+ required License: See LICENSE