Nika - Intent as code

Explore Nika, an open-source workflow language and Rust engine. Define AI pipelines in a single YAML file using just four verbs.

Rust YAML jaq CEL Nika

Overview

Nika is an open source workflow language + Rust engine where AI pipelibe is a siNGle YAML file woth 4 verb

Links

https://github.com/supernovae-st
SuperNovae builds Jungo, a multilingual SEO platform powered by NovaNet's AI semantic-entity generation.
https://nika.sh
Nika declares explicit, reproducible agent workflows using YAML-specified MCP tools.

Tech stack

Rust

Rust is a high-performance systems programming language that guarantees memory and thread safety via its compile-time ownership model.

Rust is a statically-typed systems language engineered for performance and reliability, directly challenging C/C++ in speed. Its core innovation is the ownership model and 'borrow checker,' which enforces strict memory and thread safety at compile-time, eliminating data races and null pointer dereferences without a conventional garbage collector. Rust achieves near-native speed through 'zero-cost abstractions,' allowing high-level features to compile into highly optimized code. Major industry players, including Microsoft and Cloudflare, leverage Rust for critical infrastructure, and it is now officially supported for development in the Linux kernel.

https://www.rust-lang.org/

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YAML

YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language) is a human-friendly data serialization language prioritizing readability and ease of use.

YAML is a human-readable data serialization language, primarily used for configuration files and inter-process data exchange. It employs a minimal, indentation-based syntax (like Python) to define structure, utilizing colons for key-value pairs (mappings) and hyphens for list items (sequences). YAML is a superset of JSON, offering key benefits like support for comments and reusable data references (anchors). This clarity and feature set make it the standard for major DevOps tools, including Kubernetes deployments and Ansible Playbooks.

https://yaml.org

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jaq

A high-performance, Rust-powered jq clone that delivers precise JSON parsing with zero external dependencies.

Built to solve the startup lag and edge-case bugs of traditional jq, jaq is a lightweight, syntax-compatible replacement written in Rust. It launches up to 30 times faster than older jq versions, making it ideal for processing thousands of small files in rapid succession. Beyond raw speed, jaq fixes long-standing correctness issues in filter limits and arithmetic operations, while expanding its utility with native support for YAML, TOML, and XML. Developers can drop it directly into existing shell pipelines or integrate its core library, jaq-core, safely into multi-threaded Rust applications.

https://github.com/01mf02/jaq

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CEL

Google's Common Expression Language (CEL) provides fast, portable, and safe expression evaluation for policy enforcement and data filtering.

CEL is a non-Turing complete language designed for speed and security, executing in linear time with zero side effects. It integrates seamlessly into distributed systems like Kubernetes for Admission Control and Istio for attribute-based policies. By using a C++ or Go runtime, CEL evaluates complex logic (e.g., checking if a request size is under 5MB or if a user has a 'prod' tag) without the overhead or risks of a full scripting engine.

https://github.com/google/cel-spec

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Nika

Nika is an open-source, local-first workflow language that turns repeatable AI tasks into structured, version-controlled files.

Nika replaces standard, ephemeral AI chat threads with Intent as Code: a system where workflows are written as portable files using a single Rust binary and four core verbs (infer, exec, invoke, and suspend). Operating under an AGPL-3.0 license, the engine runs locally with any LLM to ensure your data stays secure. It relies on a strict, default-deny permissions block to define the exact blast radius of your files, tools, and hosts before execution. This approach lets teams build, review, and version-control their AI workflows just like traditional software.

https://nika.sh

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Nika - Intent as code

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