MAIOS Project Kernel

Draft generated by the system on August 14, 2026. Not yet reviewed.

Versione italiana

MAIOS Project Kernel is a self-configuring package for starting a new project with an AI assistant. You do not need to define the architecture, select the skills, or even know the product in advance: it starts from the person's real work, makes its understanding explicit, and proposes a first correctable result.

The package gives the project an operational identity, working memory, sources, capabilities, success criteria, and continuity. The person remains in control of decisions; installations, publications, and external integrations are not activated implicitly.

Download and start

The recommended path is the Releases page, which provides the installable ZIP and its SHA-256 checksum.

1. Create a new, empty folder for the project.
2. Extract the entire ZIP into that folder.
3. Open the folder with your assistant.
4. Write: Read START_HERE.md and let's begin the configuration.

This release is designed for a new project. Do not extract it over an existing repository; that case requires a separate integration path.

The installable source can be inspected in package/. The current startup guide is in Italian at package/START_HERE.md.

Two entry paths, one function

MAIOS provides two ways to obtain a situated Project Kernel:

• Self-configuring package: context is discovered after download through an initial conversation with the person.
• MAIOS Form: starts from information that is already structured, then discusses and refines it before generation.

The first path can help a person who does not yet know what is possible in their domain. The second starts from a more defined context. Both aim to create an operational structure owned by the project, able to guide the work and evolve without losing the reasons behind decisions.

What is included

• a generated Project Kernel ready to be specified in its real context;
• a startup interview that turns problems, activities, and possibilities into a first correctable direction;
• configuration state, project brief, and re-entry point;
• a meta-faculty that selects and composes relevant capabilities;
• an evolution contract that distinguishes case memory, competence, skill, function, and meta-evolution;
• entries and guides for Codex, Claude Code, OpenCode, and Hermes;
• initial receipts that distinguish included assets from capabilities actually discovered and activated on the host.

The presence of a guide does not mean that every host version has already been verified. See docs/COMPATIBILITY.md for the current claims.

Recent evolution

The 1.3.0 series composed the Project Kernel into the package, introduced the project meta-faculty and typed evolution contract, connected an initial need to a first useful proof, and made context loading progressive. The 1.2.x series had strengthened integrity, novice orientation, and operational continuity across hosts.

See CHANGELOG.md for the complete, evidence-based history.

Project Kernel is not RepoKernel

RepoKernel is the private generative metakernel that compiles project structures. MAIOS Project Kernel is the distributable result: the project receives, uses, owns, and can evolve it.

This repository does not contain or license the RepoKernel source. It contains the generated Project Kernel, its adapters, local faculties, and the documents needed to use it. See docs/ARCHITECTURE.md.

States that must remain distinct

generated -> included in the package
downloaded -> acquired by the person
extracted -> present in the new folder
configured -> specified with the person
discovered -> seen by the assistant or host
activated -> tested in the real context

One state does not automatically imply the next.

Privacy and authority

Configuration remains local to the project. By itself, the package does not install services, send data, publish content, or enable external integrations. Every external effect remains subject to the authority required by the environment and the person.

Verification and development

python tools/verify_distribution.py
python tools/build_release.py

The first command checks structure, manifest, paths, and the RepoKernel boundary. The second creates a reproducible ZIP in dist/ and prints its SHA-256 checksum. Release provenance is documented in docs/PROVENANCE.md.

Current status

• Package version: 1.3.0
• Mode: deferred configuration through a startup interview
• Target: new folder / new repository
• Existing-repository installation: not supported in this release
• RepoKernel source: not included

Related repositories

• d-nd-seed provides the public capability and faculty registries used as pinned, data_only generation references.
• d-nd-ux-ai-seed contains public UX behavior contracts for agentic workspaces; it is a related ecosystem surface, not code bundled in this package.
• RepoKernel generates the Project Kernel but remains private; its repository is neither linked nor distributed here.

The role and terms of each source are detailed in THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md and docs/PROVENANCE.md.

License

Repository content, excluding names and trademarks, is available under the MIT License. RepoKernel is excluded. Informational sources and their terms are listed in THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md, while names and marks are addressed in TRADEMARKS.md.