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A package is the unit of build, versioning, dependency, and publication in Kairo. Every Kairo project is a package. A package has one kairo.toml manifest at its root, one or more .ak source files, and a declared kind: either an application or a library.

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Package kinds

application

Has an entrypoint. Directly executable by Pulse. Produces a runnable artifact.

library

No entrypoint. Provides types and functions to other packages. Not directly runnable.
The kind is declared in kairo.toml:

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Standard layout

Kairo packages follow a predictable folder structure:
File paths are conventions for humans. The authoritative name for a module is its module declaration inside the source file, not its folder path.

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The manifest

Every package has a kairo.toml at its root. It declares:
  • Package identity: name, version, kind
  • Application settings (entrypoint, runtime target) when the kind is application
  • Dependencies on other packages
  • Publish metadata when relevant
Minimal application manifest:
Minimal library manifest:
See the manifest reference for every field.

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Modules within a package

A package contains one or more modules. Each .ak file declares exactly one module.
Module names are PascalCase, dot-separated, and independent of folder layout. Multiple files may contribute to the same module.

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Dependencies

Packages depend on other packages by name and version, declared in kairo.toml. Forge resolves dependencies deterministically and writes the result to forge.lock.
See Dependencies for the full model.

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Applications vs. libraries

Only packages with kind = "application" can be executed by Pulse. Library packages are consumed by other packages via [dependencies].

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Next steps

Manifest reference

Every kairo.toml field explained.

Dependencies

Declaring, restoring, and locking dependencies.