Built on the foundation of Daniel Miessler's PAI system. The Algorithm, TELOS framework, skill hierarchy, and hook lifecycle originated there. KAI extends it with production hardening, multi-model inference, self-learning memory, and individual deployment.
- macOS or Linux
- Claude Code CLI installed (
claude --versionto check) - Anthropic API key set in your shell profile:
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."- Get a key at console.anthropic.com/settings/keys
- Or AWS Bedrock credentials (configured during install)
git clone https://github.com/kai-cli/kai ~/kai
bash ~/kai/install.shThe installer symlinks ~/.claude/ to your repo, walks you through identity setup (your name, assistant name, timezone), optionally configures AWS Bedrock, and builds your settings.json from domain config files.
New to KAI? See docs/QUICKSTART.md for the full getting-started guide.
| Directory | Contents |
|---|---|
PAI/ |
Core system: Algorithm v3.14.0, context routing, system docs |
skills/ |
71 skill modules (Research, Security, Writing, Analysis, EM/PLM workflows) |
hooks/ |
61 lifecycle hooks (security guards, formatters, analytics, cleanup) |
agents/ |
20 named agents (Architect, Engineer, 7 researchers, Pentester, etc.) |
config/ |
7 domain config files that generate settings.json |
scripts/ |
KAI Board dashboard, deployment packager |
PAI-Install/ |
Interactive setup wizard |
MEMORY/ |
Runtime state (gitignored — created per-machine) |
See docs/WHATS-DIFFERENT.md for a detailed comparison with Daniel Miessler's original.
Highlights: domain-based config, interactive installer, hook stderr wrapper + async flags, SecretScanner, GitHubWriteGuard, branch-write guards, staged-artifact KAI release sync, memory + latency telemetry, agent context handoff, SpecKit spec-driven workflows, 20 named agents, Algorithm v3.14.0 with ISC quality gates, EM/PLM workflow skills, no personal data in repo.
Configuration lives in config/*.jsonc — not in settings.json directly.
# Edit your identity
$EDITOR ~/.claude/config/identity.jsonc
# Edit hook registrations
$EDITOR ~/.claude/config/hooks.jsonc
# Rebuild settings.json (also runs automatically at session start)
bun ~/.claude/hooks/handlers/BuildSettings.tsPersonal files go in PAI/USER/ (gitignored, created by installer):
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
PAI/USER/ABOUTME.md |
Your name, role, organization |
PAI/USER/AISTEERINGRULES.md |
Personal behavioral rules |
PAI/USER/CONTACTS.md |
Frequent contacts |
PAI/USER/TELOS/ |
Goals, projects, beliefs, strategies |
# Start a Claude Code session (KAI loads automatically)
claude
# Open KAI Board (dashboard on port 3333)
bun ~/.claude/scripts/board.ts
# Build a deployment package
bun ~/.claude/scripts/deploy.ts- docs/QUICKSTART.md — Getting started guide (start here)
- docs/WHATS-DIFFERENT.md — Comparison with the original
- docs/planning/ROADMAP-7.x.md — Current work and roadmap
- docs/architecture/README.md — System architecture overview
- PAI/THEHOOKSYSTEM.md — Hook system docs
- PAI/SKILL.md — Full system documentation
See .env.example for all optional API keys (GitHub, research agents, notifications, etc.).