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@ariaxhan ariaxhan released this 10 Jan 13:26
· 603 commits to main since this release
v1.0.0-alpha
58e9f66

KERNEL v1.0.0-alpha

Self-Evolving Project Intelligence for Claude Code

The first release of KERNEL - a Claude Code plugin that progressively builds your project configuration based on observed patterns instead of upfront speculation.

What's Included

Core Commands

Command Description
/kernel-init Initialize KERNEL in any project - analyzes stack, detects tier, creates customized CLAUDE.md
/discover Map codebase, find tooling, extract conventions, populate state.md
/plan Get-it-right-first-time planning methodology
/debug Systematic diagnosis and root cause fixing
/review Correctness, consistency, completeness validation
/kernel-status Show config health and staleness report
/kernel-prune Review and remove stale config entries
/handoff Generate context handoff brief for session continuation
/parallelize Set up git worktrees for parallel development

Knowledge Banks

Token-optimized methodology templates (~500-800 tokens each):

  • PLANNING-BANK.md - Mental simulation before execution, interface definition first
  • DEBUGGING-BANK.md - Reproduce → Isolate → Instrument → Root cause → Fix → Verify
  • DISCOVERY-BANK.md - Reconnaissance before action, map terrain, extract conventions
  • REVIEW-BANK.md - Correctness checks, convention adherence, invariant validation

Banks are NOT loaded by default (zero token cost until referenced via modes).

Skills

Lightweight capability pointers (~50-100 tokens each):

  • worktree-parallelization - Detect tasks suitable for git worktree parallel development

Rules Templates

Starter templates for project-specific patterns:

  • preferences.md - Formatting, presentation, tool choices
  • assumptions.md - Extract assumptions before executing
  • invariants.md - Non-negotiable contracts
  • patterns.md - Discovered coding patterns
  • decisions.md - Architecture decision log

Configuration Reference

  • CONFIG-TYPES.md - Complete guide on when to use Agents vs Skills vs Commands vs Rules vs Hooks vs MCP (decision tree, comparison table, anti-patterns)

Sample Project

Included sample-project/ with a TaskMgr CLI demonstrating KERNEL in action with:

  • CSV export functionality
  • Database optimization
  • Encryption support
  • API sync capabilities
  • Full test suite

Installation

Via Plugin Menu (Recommended)

  1. In Claude Code, run /plugin
  2. Navigate to Marketplaces tab
  3. Select + Add Marketplace
  4. Enter: https://github.com/ariaxhan/kernel-plugin
  5. Go to Discover tab and enable the KERNEL plugin

Programmatic

Add to ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "extraKnownMarketplaces": {
    "kernel-marketplace": {
      "source": { "source": "github", "repo": "ariaxhan/kernel-plugin" }
    }
  },
  "enabledPlugins": { "kernel@kernel-marketplace": {} }
}

How It Works

Philosophy

  • CORRECTNESS > SPEED - One working implementation beats three debug cycles
  • INVESTIGATE BEFORE IMPLEMENT - Search for existing patterns first
  • DETECT, THEN ACT - Don't assume tooling exists, find it
  • PROTECT STATE - Backup before mutation, confirm before deletion

The Bank Architecture

Instead of loading 6000+ tokens of coding rules upfront, KERNEL uses:

  1. Banks (~500-800 tokens) - Methodology templates with slots to fill
  2. Skills (~50-100 tokens) - Lightweight pointers, auto-discovered by context
  3. Commands (0 tokens until used) - On-demand workflow invocation
  4. State (~200 tokens) - Single source of truth, updated by modes

Total baseline cost: ~330 tokens (vs ~6000+ traditional approach)

Pattern → Artifact Mapping

When patterns emerge during work, KERNEL creates the appropriate Claude Code artifact:

Pattern Artifact Created
Repeated workflow .claude/commands/workflow-name.md
Specialized task .claude/agents/specialist-name.md
External service Entry in .mcp.json
Pre/post processing Hook in .claude/settings.json
Domain capability .claude/skills/capability.md
Explicit preference .claude/rules/topic.md

Requirements

  • Claude Code CLI v1.0.33+
  • Python 3.8+ (optional, for Claude Docs MCP server)

Platform Support

Works on macOS, Linux, and Windows.

Known Limitations

  • extraKnownMarketplaces only works in interactive mode (not CI/headless)
  • Banks are project-agnostic templates - fill slots as you learn your codebase
  • Config registry tracking (memory/config_registry.jsonl) requires manual bootstrap for existing configs

What's Next

Planned for future releases:

  • More MCP server specific support
  • Mathematical compacting of context powered by ARBITER (https://github.com/ariaxhan/arbiter), a propositional logic validation and compression library.
  • Surprises

Contributing

Contributions welcome. Read CONFIG-TYPES.md before creating artifacts and follow the philosophy in CLAUDE.md.

License

MIT

Author: Aria Han
Repository: https://github.com/ariaxhan/kernel-plugin

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