v0.94.0 — the media suite

Two media builtins take the stdlib to 25: nika:image_generate (generation and editing, local-first providers, provenance manifests, content credentials preserved) and nika:tts_generate (one sovereign /v1/audio/speech wire · a real deterministic WAV under mock). Every run now writes .nika/traces/ by default and --task scopes execution to one upstream cone. The catalog rides the wire (catalog/tools --json plus their MCP twins — 8 read-only tools on protocol 2026-07-28), cost_usd rides task_completed without ever faking a zero, and Hugging Face + NVIDIA join the 16-provider canonical catalog.

Install: brew install supernovae-st/tap/nika · or curl -fsSL https://nika.sh/install.sh | sh

📚 The full arc — changelog with tags · Docs · Roadmap

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0.94.0 - 2026-07-06

✨ Highlights

• The media suite — two new builtins take the stdlib to 25.
  nika:image_generate (PR 173 · providers v1.1 local-first + xai
  PR 174 · mode: edit M-A/M-A.2
  PR 188/PR 189) and
  nika:tts_generate (PR 176 · one sovereign
  /v1/audio/speech wire = LocalAI/Kokoro/Speaches · openai · elevenlabs · a real
  deterministic WAV under mock). Assets land on disk with provenance manifests —
  content credentials detected and preserved (PR 177) ·
  the elevenlabs watermark declared (PR 183).
• Every run leaves a journal — .nika/traces/<ts>-<id>.ndjson by default
  (PR 170 · opt out --no-trace-file /
  NIKA_NO_TRACE_FILE), and nika run --task <id> scopes execution to one task
  and its upstream cone. CEL expression completion lands in the LSP.
• The catalog rides the wire — nika catalog --json · nika tools --json
  (PR 172) + their MCP twins:
  the oracle now serves 8 read-only tools, and the server speaks MCP
  2026-07-28 natively (PR 171) while
  accepting 2025-11-25 clients (PR 185).
• Honest money — real per-task spend: cost_usd rides task_completed
  (PR 168 · absent for mock/local,
  never a fake zero) and agent loops meter tool-reported cost
  (PR 178).
• Providers 16 — huggingface + nvidia join the canonical catalog
  (PR 167 · ADR-104).
• nika doctor --ping — the local ports, actually probed
  (PR 195 · TCP connect-only ·
  300ms cap · loopback/configured URLs only · the default run stays offline).
  nika check findings carry severity + a docs URL
  (PR 184).

🧹 Chore

• pack — re-vendored from spec main: the 16-provider/25-builtin markers ·
  the tts error-category ladder · the new mcp: canon section ride the binary.
• ci — the test gate runs under nextest (PR 192) ·
  public-api baselines canonicalized from the ubuntu artifact ·
  iter_over_hash_type denied (PR 181).
• cli — round-8 visual polish (PR 169) ·
  the comprehension pass (PR 166) ·
  the init hand-off drops its phantom indentation (PR 194).

What's Changed

• docs(readme): teach qwen3.5 on the re-runnable surfaces by @ThibautMelen in #165
• CLI comprehension pass: see WHAT ran — outputs, peek, flow, clarity by @ThibautMelen in #166
• feat(providers): huggingface + nvidia join the canonical catalog (16) by @ThibautMelen in #167
• feat(nika-runtime): real per-task spend — cost_usd rides task_completed by @ThibautMelen in #168
• feat(nika-cli): round-8 visual polish — links, sync frames, heat, one formatter by @ThibautMelen in #169
• feat(nika-mcp): negotiate MCP 2026-07-28 — the stateless rev, natively by @ThibautMelen in #171
• feat(nika-builtin): nika:image_generate — the 24th builtin rides a dedicated image plane by @ThibautMelen in #173
• feat(catalog): export the embedded catalogs on the wire — nika catalog/tools --json + MCP twins by @ThibautMelen in #172
• feat(nika-builtin): image providers v1.1 — local-first + xai by @ThibautMelen in #174
• feat(nika-builtin): image polish — in-file provenance · honest cost · doctor by @ThibautMelen in #175
• feat(nika-builtin): nika:tts_generate — the 25th builtin (stdlib §Audio) by @ThibautMelen in #176
• feat(nika-builtin): content credentials — detect-and-preserve + surface by @ThibautMelen in #177
• feat(nika-verb-agent): meter tool-reported cost through the loop by @ThibautMelen in #178
• feat(nika-cli): doctor names the tts plane by @ThibautMelen in #179
• fix(nika-builtin): heal the tts↔image drift — the architect review's cheap P-items by @ThibautMelen in #180
• chore(lints): deny iter_over_hash_type — determinism as a ratchet by @ThibautMelen in #181
• refactor(nika-builtin): seed the media/ core — first two re-homings by @ThibautMelen in #182
• feat(nika-builtin): tts manifest declares the elevenlabs watermark by @ThibautMelen in #183
• docs(readme): media gif v2 — one file, both senses by @ThibautMelen in #186
• feat(nika-mcp): accept protocol 2025-11-25 — the version clients send today by @ThibautMelen in #185
• refactor(nika-builtin): media/wire — the transient status matrix, named once by @ThibautMelen in #187
• feat(nika-builtin): image mode:edit — M-A (args · permit-gated reads · mock) by @ThibautMelen in #188
• feat(check): findings carry severity + docs_url — the --explain wire by @ThibautMelen in #184
• feat(nika-builtin): openai edit wire — M-A.2 (multipart · proven live) by @ThibautMelen in #189
• feat(cli): the Unix dash — check/graph/inspect read stdin by @ThibautMelen in #190
• ci: the test gate runs under nextest — process isolation, parallel by @ThibautMelen in #192
• docs(nika-catalog): builtins.rs doc-comments catch up to 25 by @ThibautMelen in #191
• feat(nika-cli): painted diagnostics — rustc-grade source frames on check by @ThibautMelen in #193
• fix(nika-cli): init hand-off loses its phantom indentation by @ThibautMelen in #194
• feat(nika-cli): doctor --ping — the local ports, actually probed by @ThibautMelen in #195
• chore(nika-cli): sync public-api baseline — doctor::run gained ping by @ThibautMelen in #198
• feat(run): run journal + --task cone + CEL expression completion by @ThibautMelen in #170
• chore(release): v0.94.0 — media suite · run journal · the catalog on the wire by @ThibautMelen in #201

Full Changelog: v0.93.1...v0.94.0