kukicha

Kukicha

AI-assisted coding.

You describe what you want. AI writes the code. Kukicha lets you 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 as long as you can 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.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@v0.0.16
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.

A CLI Release Tool

import "stdlib/cli"
import "stdlib/semver"
import "stdlib/shell"
import "stdlib/sort"
import "stdlib/table"

func main()
    repos := listMyRepos() onerr panic "{error}"
    entries := repos
        |> slice.Map(r => buildEntry(r, bump))
        |> sort.ByKey(e => e.name)

    t := table.New(list of string{"repo", "current", "next"})
    for entry in entries
        t = t |> table.AddRow(list of string{entry.name, entry.current, entry.next})
    t |> table.Print()

Parse semver tags, sort repos, and display a formatted table — all with stdlib pipes. See the full gh-semver-release example.

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

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.

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

41+ 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: 0.0.16 — Ready for testing Go: 1.26.1+ required License: See LICENSE