kukicha

Kukicha

Brewed from Go. Use readable forms while you learn, or plain Go when you're fluent; same file, same compiler. The standard library stays steeped in simplicity no matter how you write it. Ships as a single binary.

kukicha.org | Quick Reference | Tutorials | Stdlib Reference

A taste of Kukicha

Triage open GitHub issues with an LLM. Fetch, classify in parallel, keep the urgent ones, sort, print.

# triage.kuki — classify open issues with Claude, flag the urgent ones
import "stdlib/concurrent"
import "stdlib/fetch"
import "stdlib/json" as jsonpkg
import "stdlib/llm"
import "stdlib/slice"
import "stdlib/sort"

type Issue
    number int
    title string
    body string

type Verdict
    number int
    severity int # 1 = trivial .. 5 = on fire
    kind string # bug | feature | docs | question
    summary string

func triage(i Issue) Verdict
    reply := llm.New("anthropic:claude-sonnet-4-6")
        |> llm.JSONMode()
        |> llm.System(`Classify GitHub issues. Reply JSON: {severity:1-5, kind, summary}`)
        |> llm.Ask("{i.title}\n\n{i.body}") onerr return {}

    v := Verdict{number: i.number}
    jsonpkg.UnmarshalString(reply, reference of v) onerr return {}
    return v

func main()
    issues := fetch.Get("https://api.github.com/repos/golang/go/issues?per_page=20")
        |> fetch.CheckStatus()
        |> fetch.Json(empty list of Issue) onerr panic "github: {error}"

    urgent := issues
        |> concurrent.MapWithLimit(4, triage)
        |> slice.Filter(v => v.severity >= 4)
        |> sort.ByKey(v => -v.severity)

    print("Needs attention:")
    for v in urgent
        print("  [P{v.severity}] {v.kind}  #{v.number}  {v.summary}")

You can read this top-to-bottom without knowing the language: fetch issues, classify four at a time, filter the severe ones, sort, print. The stdlib names carry the weight — fetch.Json, slice.Filter, concurrent.MapWithLimit, sort.ByKey and onerr keeps error handling out of the flow. A Go developer can write the same program in plain Go []Issue, &v, != nil, closures and Kukicha will compile it unchanged.

Two tiers, one stdlib

Kukicha is a strict superset of Go: the language you graduate into is Go itself. The Kukicha tier gives you scannable forms while you're learning; the Go tier is waiting whenever you're ready. Pick the one that fits or mix them in the same file.

The Kukicha forms are syntactic sugar; the Go forms are the Go they desugar to. Every .go file is valid .kuki unchanged, and every .kuki file transpiles to standard Go before compilation.

What stays constant across both tiers is the stdlib — fetch, slice, sort, llm, mcp, concurrent, html, crypto, shell, and 30+ more. fetch.Get(...) |> fetch.Json(...) onerr ... reads the same whether the surrounding code is list of string or []string.

Quickstart

Requires Go 1.26+ (download) | Pre-built binaries on GitHub Releases

go install github.com/kukichalang/kukicha/cmd/kukicha@v0.3.0
mkdir myapp && cd myapp
kukicha init

kukicha init initializes a Go module (if go.mod is absent), extracts the stdlib, downloads dependencies, and writes an AGENTS.md language reference. Add .kukicha/ to your .gitignore.

Create hello.kuki:

function main()
    name := "World"
    print("Hello, {name}!")

kukicha run hello.kuki

Commands

Why bother

• Skimmable at every skill level — beginners read the Kukicha forms, Go developers write plain Go, both call the same friendly stdlib
• Compile-time security checks — catches SQL injection, XSS, SSRF, path traversal, command injection, and open redirects before you ship
• 42+ batteries-included stdlib packages — fetch, slice, sort, mcp, llm, html, crypto, shell, and more
• Ships as Go — single binary, cross-compile, WASM, full Go ecosystem
• kukicha brew file.kuki converts any file back to standard Go; existing .go files compile as .kuki unchanged

Starting from Go

Already have a Go codebase? You don't have to rewrite anything, Kukicha can suggest idioms incrementally or convert files on request.

# See what your Go code looks like with Kukicha idioms
kukicha-blend main.go

# Convert Go to Kukicha (preview first, then apply)
kukicha-blend --diff main.go
kukicha-blend --apply main.go

# Convert Kukicha back to Go anytime
kukicha brew main.kuki

Editor support

• VS Code: Search kukicha-lang in extensions (repo)
• Zed: kukichalang/zed-kukicha
• Other: make install-lsp and point your editor at kukicha-lsp

Documentation

• Quick Reference — Go-to-Kukicha translation table
• Agent Workflow Tutorial — prompt AI, review, ship
• Beginner Tutorial — first program, variables, functions
• Production Patterns — databases, auth, retry
• FAQ | Contributing

Version: 0.3.0 | License: MIT

[!NOTE] Portions of this codebase were written with AI assistance. Commits are reviewed by human maintainers before merge.