nika-starter

Repeatable AI jobs as files.
A working setup in about a minute: one proven workflow, editor wiring, agent instructions, and CI that re-checks every workflow on every push.

check catches it · the fix is named · the run is live · the trace is the receipt

Use it

1. Click Use this template (top right).
2. Install the engine (single binary):

brew install supernovae-st/tap/nika

3. Prove the setup, offline, zero keys:

nika check daily-brief.nika.yaml
nika run  daily-brief.nika.yaml --model mock/echo

4. Real local run (got Ollama?):

nika run daily-brief.nika.yaml

You get brief.md: the top Hacker News stories, briefed by a local model, with a hash-chained trace in .nika/traces/. Verify it:

nika trace verify   # checks the latest run's hash chain

The workflow, drawn by nika itself

This diagram is generated by nika graph, not drawn by hand. Run it on any workflow and paste the output; it renders on GitHub as-is.

graph TD
  fetch_feed["fetch_feed · invoke · nika:fetch"]
  top_stories["top_stories · invoke · nika:jq"]
  brief["brief · infer · ollama/llama3.2:3b"]
  save["save · invoke · nika:write"]
  fetch_feed --> top_stories
  top_stories --> brief
  brief --> save

Four tasks, one DAG. Change the feed, the story count or the model: it is all in the file's vars:.

What is inside

File	What it does
daily-brief.nika.yaml	the proven starter workflow: fetch a feed, reshape, brief with a local model, save
AGENTS.md	teaches YOUR coding agent (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex...) how to author and check workflows here
.agents/skills/	the authoring skill, picked up by agents that read skills
.vscode/	schema wiring: validation, completion and hover for *.nika.yaml
.github/workflows/nika.yml	CI re-checks every workflow on every push, statically, zero secrets

Everything except the workflow and this README is written by nika init from the released binary, so it stays current with the engine.

Make it yours

nika new                      # guided authoring on the terminal
nika examples                 # 25+ embedded, runnable examples
nika explain my.nika.yaml     # what a file does, before you run it
nika graph my.nika.yaml       # the DAG, from your terminal

_{⭐ If this saved you time, a star helps other people find it.}

_{Want AI-workflow receipts in your CI too? See nika-actions-starter.
Docs: docs.nika.sh · Engine (AGPL-3.0): nika}

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Nika is independent open source · if this template earns its keep, a ⭐ on the engine is how the next person finds it.