The AI kernel for agents. Desktop for Windows (preview), the terminal app and the SDK, on one runtime. ChangelogTerminal app MIT · SDK FSL-1.1-MIT

The AI kernel for every agent.Namzu.

An operating system for AI agents. Namzu runs an agent the way an operating system runs a process: it gives it an identity and a budget, schedules its tool calls, and checkpoints its turns.

Download for Windows

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cogitave/namzu/main/install.sh | sh

Desktop is an unsigned Windows preview, so Windows warns first. What to expect. Node.js 22.13 or newer for the terminal app.

README example, reflowed. It needs no key and no network. The output line is the example’s own scripted answer.

Process modelIdentity and budgetScheduled tools, checkpointed turns
One runtimeDesktop, terminal, SDKThe same kernel under all three
ProvidersTen driversOne package per service
ResilienceRecovers by itselfNo dead end on a recoverable failure
IsolationSandboxesContainer, Kubernetes, microVM
SourceSource availableFSL-1.1-MIT and MIT

Every agent, its own kernel. Identity, budget, scheduling and checkpoints, so you build the agent and not the plumbing.

The kernel renders no UI and requires no database, and you install only the drivers you use. Desktop, the terminal app and the SDK are three ways into the same runtime.

Install the terminal app Docs

What the kernel does.

An identity, a budget, scheduled tool calls, checkpointed turns. The SDK kernel runs an agent the way an operating system runs a process. It renders no UI and requires no database.

Proof: README.md#for-developers

Tool calls can run inside a sandbox the kernel acquires. @namzu/sandbox carries container, Kubernetes and microVM backends, and the first model request does not have to wait for the sandbox to be allocated.

Proof: docs/sdk/sandbox-acquisition.md

A path outside your folder is an approval request. Commands and file tools run under a permission system, and /restore N puts the tree back to before turn N.

Proof: docs/cli/tool-boundary.md

One kernel, three ways in.

Namzu Desktop showing a conversation about a rounding bug, with the changed file beside it

01Desktop: a conversation and its change

Namzu Desktop asking whether to edit a file, with the change shown and Reject and Accept buttons

02Desktop: the permission review, with the diff

A Pal's own computer in Namzu Desktop, with a browser open and a Take over button

03Desktop: a Pal on its own computer

03 views

Desktop, built on the kernel.

The kernel, in windows of their own.

Desktop runs on the same runtime as the terminal app, so folder trust, model choice and permission review behave the same in both. Conversations and projects get windows of their own.

Download for Windows (preview)

Unsigned preview, about 500 MB. Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit), installed for your user, no administrator rights. Windows warns before it runs: choose More info, then Run anyway; or in “Open File - Security Warning”, choose Run. macOS and Linux: not yet, use the terminal agent. Desktop guide

Your records. Your drivers.

state on your machine

Sessions live on your machine.

The SDK writes one append-only, hash-chained log per session, so a crash loses at most the line being written. Notes you curate are read into every conversation. Session storage

any provider

One driver package per service.

The kernel talks to a model through a driver, so switching provider is a configuration change and you install only the drivers you use. Sign-ins already on your machine are found, or sign in with namzu login.

@namzu/anthropic
@namzu/openai
@namzu/deepseek
@namzu/bedrock
@namzu/openrouter
@namzu/google
@namzu/ollama
@namzu/lmstudio
@namzu/zen
@namzu/http

An agent runs the way an operating system runs a process. Namzu gives it an identity and a budget, schedules its tool calls, and checkpoints its turns.

01 IdentityAttributes every action. Tenant, project, topic and session identities travel with the work.
02 BudgetStops runaway work. Token, cost, time and iteration budgets, with a warning before the hard stop.
03 ScheduleMakes tools declare what they are. Read-only, destructive, concurrency-safe, permissions needed.
04 CheckpointSurvives a restart. An append-only, hash-chained session log; a paused turn can be picked up later.

agent.ts · needs no key and no network

pnpm add @namzu/sdk zod@^3, then pnpm exec tsx agent.ts. Pin zod to v3: a bare pnpm add zod installs v4. SDK quick start

Install Namzu Docs

What the kernel owns. What it leaves to you.

[ the kernel owns ]

Identitytenant, project, topic and session ids on every action
Budgettoken, cost, time and iteration limits
Schedulingtool calls declare read-only, destructive, concurrency-safe
Checkpointsan append-only, hash-chained session log
Recoveryrequest repair and retries, so failures do not dead-end
Permission reviewpaths outside the folder are an approval request

[ you bring ]

Model driverinstall only the ones you use
The UIthe kernel renders none
Storagethe kernel requires no database
Your toolsplus MCP servers by command or URL
Capabilitiesbrowser, computer-use, files, live, lsp, sandbox...

From For developers, request repair and where tools run.

Pals: named agents on the kernel.

A named agent that remembers its purpose. Optionally with its own Linux desktop.

A Pal keeps its name, purpose and conversations between sessions. A Pal computer has a browser and a files app: you see what it is doing, you can pause it at any time, and you can take over. Namzu never silently installs the container engine or pulls its image; you turn the computer on explicitly.

Pals · Pal computers

Source available, and honest about its status.

Read it, run it, fork it.

The SDK and most packages are FSL-1.1-MIT: use, modify and redistribute them for any purpose except a Competing Use, and every published version converts to MIT two years after its release. The terminal app and the files package are MIT.

GitHub Issues npm

Terminal agentpublished, MIT
SDKpublished, FSL-1.1-MIT
DesktopWindows, unsigned preview
@namzu/lsppre-1.0
Versionsmajors move quickly

What you get.

Identity. On every action.

Tenant, project, topic and session ids travel with the work.

Budgets. Runaway work stops.

Token, cost, time and iteration limits, with a warning first.

Scheduled tools. They declare what they are.

Read-only, destructive, concurrency-safe.

Start in a minute.

Get started

Node.js 22.13 or newer. Desktop is a Windows preview.

Checkpoints. A turn survives a restart.

An append-only, hash-chained session log.

Recovery. No dead end.

Rejected requests are repaired and resent.

Scriptable. One prompt, or a stream.

namzu exec --json writes one event per line.

Install the terminal app.

On macOS, Linux or WSL, run the installer. On Windows, use PowerShell. Then namzu doctor checks your sign-in and sandboxing, and namzu opens the app. You need Node.js 22.13 or newer; the installers do not install it.

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cogitave/namzu/main/install.sh | sh

No curl? On minimal Debian or Ubuntu, wget -qO- <url> | sh does the same. Windows Command Prompt: npm.cmd install --global @namzu/cli. Every shell, and what to do when an install fails.

FAQ

Questions, answered from the docs.

Anything else is in the docs or on GitHub.

What does “AI kernel” mean here?

@namzu/sdk is the TypeScript kernel the terminal app is built on. It runs an agent the way an operating system runs a process: it gives the agent an identity and a budget, schedules its tool calls, and checkpoints its turns. It renders no UI and requires no database. See For developers.

How do I install it?

The terminal agent installs with one line on macOS, Linux and WSL, or in Windows PowerShell. Then run namzu doctor to check your sign-in and sandboxing, and namzu to open the app. Every shell is covered in installing Namzu.

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cogitave/namzu/main/install.sh | sh
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cogitave/namzu/main/install.ps1 | iex

What do I need first?

Node.js 22.13 or newer. The installers do not install Node for you: get it from nodejs.org, with nvm install 22, or on Windows with winget install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS. The SDK needs Node.js 20 or newer and zod v3.

Which models can I use?

Ten drivers ship today, one package per service: Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepSeek, Amazon Bedrock, OpenRouter, Google, Ollama, LM Studio, Zen and a dependency-free HTTP driver for any compatible endpoint. You install only the drivers you use. See credentials.

What happens when a provider rejects a request?

The runtime repairs what it can and resends, so a conversation does not dead-end on a recoverable failure: it drops an unsupported parameter, removes a reasoning block the provider will not take, replaces media it cannot process with a note, and keeps the conversation when it grows too long. See request repair and context limits.

Where are my conversations stored?

On your machine. The SDK writes one append-only, hash-chained log per session, so a crash loses at most the line being written. See session storage and the session log.

Does it still ask before it acts?

Yes, as one of the kernel’s guarantees. Commands and file tools run under a permission system. A path outside the working folder is always an approval request, even in a mode that allows other tools, and with nobody to ask, such as a headless namzu exec, it is refused and never approved on its own. See where tools run.

Is Namzu Desktop signed?

No. It is an unsigned preview for Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit), so Windows warns before it runs. If the page says “Windows protected your PC”, choose More info, then Run anyway. If the box says “Open File - Security Warning”, choose Run. There is no macOS or Linux build yet; use the terminal agent there. See the desktop guide.

What is the licence?

The SDK and most packages are FSL-1.1-MIT. You may use, modify and redistribute them for any purpose except a Competing Use, and every published version converts to MIT two years after its release. The terminal app (@namzu/cli) and @namzu/files are MIT. Read LICENSE.md.

Changelog

Shipped in the open.

v37.0.1

Latest entry in the repository changelog for @namzu/cli.

FIX37.0.1A conversation that grows too long, or a picture the model cannot read, no longer tells you to start over. Namzu points you to /model instead.
MAJOR37.0.0Shell hooks can answer with JSON, and the permission tables from your config files are now combined, with a deny in any of them winning.
FEAT36.6.0A model call that fails for a reason that may pass, such as a dropped connection or an overloaded server, is retried up to ten times.
FEAT36.5.0Shift+Tab and the permission prompt follow the reference terminal, and an answer to a prompt now stays scoped to what you approved.

READ THE CHANGELOG >

Run your agents on a kernel.Namzu, the AI kernel for agents.

Download for Windows

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cogitave/namzu/main/install.sh | sh

Read the docs

Desktop: unsigned Windows preview · Terminal app: Node.js 22.13+

The AI kernel for every agent.Namzu.

Every agent, its own kernel. Identity, budget, scheduling and checkpoints, so you build the agent and not the plumbing.

>What the kernel does.

>One kernel, three ways in.

>Desktop, built on the kernel.

The kernel, in windows of their own.

>Your records. Your drivers.

Sessions live on your machine.

One driver package per service.

An agent runs the way an operating system runs a process. Namzu gives it an identity and a budget, schedules its tool calls, and checkpoints its turns.

>What the kernel owns. What it leaves to you.

>Pals: named agents on the kernel.

A named agent that remembers its purpose. Optionally with its own Linux desktop.

>Source available, and honest about its status.

Read it, run it, fork it.

>What you get.

Identity. On every action.

Budgets. Runaway work stops.

Scheduled tools. They declare what they are.

Start in a minute.

Checkpoints. A turn survives a restart.

Recovery. No dead end.

Scriptable. One prompt, or a stream.

>Install the terminal app.

Questions, answered from the docs.

Shipped in the open.

Run your agents on a kernel.Namzu, the AI kernel for agents.

What the kernel does.

One kernel, three ways in.

Desktop, built on the kernel.

Your records. Your drivers.

What the kernel owns. What it leaves to you.

Pals: named agents on the kernel.

Source available, and honest about its status.

What you get.

Install the terminal app.