Kai

A friendly frontend for determinate computing.

Kai turns a small, typed configuration file into reproducible environments, tasks, builds and deployments, with Nix (or Guix) underneath. The devlogs below follow it as it’s built.

Writing about Kai

19 Sep 2026
Kai Devlog #6: κατακλυσμός!Blog
Refactoring Kai's plugin schema while adding better errors, system management, deployment, ISO creation, SOPS secrets, and backend escape hatches.
2 Sep 2026
Kai Devlog #5: Conceptual Integrity and Being a Better ProgrammerBlog
Building Kai for the long term through conceptual integrity, better tools, deliberate practice, and dogfooding.
17 Aug 2026
Kai Devlog #4: Environment, Task, Build, WorkflowBlog
Expanding Kai with reusable environments, runnable tasks, composable workflows, portable builds, and overlays.
11 Aug 2026
Kai Devlog #3: Custom DSL & Plugin ModulesBlog
Replacing Kai's embedded Roc config with a custom DSL and making plugin modules simpler, reusable, and validated.
4 Aug 2026
Kai Devlog #2: ModularityBlog
Building Kai around replaceable commands, extensible plugins, and custom determinate backends.
28 Jul 2026
Kai Devlog #1: BoundariesBlog
Finding the right boundary between Kai's simple configuration and Nix's power.
13 Jul 2026
Prototyping a friendlier frontend for determinate computingArticle
Making determinate computing friendly by building a modular frontend for Nix, Guix, and future reproducible systems.