Getting Started

Choose your path to get started with NKIDO.

Web IDE

Try NKIDO in your browser. No install required.

Open in browser

Native CLI

Build from source and run on the command line.

git clone https://github.com/mlaass/nkido
cd nkido
cmake -B build
cmake --build build
./build/tools/nkido-cli/nkido-cli

Web IDE first run

The fastest way to make a sound is the live IDE. It runs entirely in your browser — no install, no account.

  • Browser: a current version of Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.
  • Audio permission: the page will not produce sound until you interact with it. Click the editor or press the run key once after the page loads — that's the gesture the browser needs to unlock the audio context.
  • Output: use headphones or a speaker. The default example is loud enough to be heard but won't damage anything.

If you don't hear anything: check that your tab is unmuted, your output device is selected, and that the IDE's status bar isn't reporting an error.

CLI install

The CLI is built from source today. Pre-built packages and Homebrew are not yet shipping; the steps below are the supported path.

macOS and Linux

You'll need git, cmake, and a recent C++ compiler.

git clone https://github.com/mlaass/nkido
cd nkido
cmake -B build
cmake --build build

Expected output: a successful build ends with the nkido-cli executable at ./build/tools/nkido-cli/nkido-cli. Run it with no arguments to confirm it loads.

Windows

The recommended path on Windows is WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux). Inside WSL, follow the macOS / Linux steps above. A native MSVC build is possible but not yet a supported path — expect rough edges if you try it.

Troubleshooting

  • cmake: command not found — install it from your package manager (brew install cmake on macOS, apt install cmake on Debian/Ubuntu).
  • Compile errors about C++20 — make sure your compiler is recent. GCC 11+, Clang 13+, or Apple Clang from Xcode 14+ are known to work.

First patch

Save the following as hello.akk:

osc("sin", 440) |> out(@)

That's the smallest complete patch — a 440 Hz sine wave routed to both stereo channels.

Run it from the build directory:

./build/tools/nkido-cli/nkido-cli hello.akk

You should hear a steady tone. Press Ctrl+C to stop. From here, edit hello.akk in your editor and re-run — or pop the patch into the live IDE for the hot-swap workflow.

Next steps

  • Hello Sine — work the first tutorial line by line.
  • Signals and DAGs — the mental model behind every patch.
  • Cookbook — short, runnable recipes for drums, bass, pads, and leads.
  • Live IDE — try patches in your browser.
  • GitHub repo — source, issues, releases.