Start
This page helps you choose the right reading path. Nimi is pre-launch, so the public docs are deliberately not a quick install guide. They are a product and architecture guide that explains what the platform is, what is already specified, and which operational claims are still evidence-gated.
If you arrived here looking for a copy-paste install command, jump to Installation And Availability. That page describes the current posture and what must become true before public setup material can be published.
If You Are New To Nimi
Read the docs in this order:
- Platform for the product model, the world idea, and the six protocol primitives.
- Runtime for how AI work is actually executed.
- SDK for the app-facing access boundary.
- Desktop for the first-party native shell and how Web differs from it.
- Realm for semantic truth and world history.
That sequence builds the mental model before you encounter implementation details. It moves from "what kind of system this is" into "how AI work gets done" and then into "how apps see it."
If you want a single reference page for vocabulary, the Glossary collects cross-domain terms used in every section.
If You Are Evaluating The Project
For a quick evaluation pass, read in this order:
- Platform Vision — the north-star framing.
- Platform Architecture — the cross-layer map.
- Runtime Overview and Runtime Workflows And Multimodal — what the AI substrate is responsible for.
- SDK Overview and SDK Boundaries — the integration discipline expected of apps.
- Nimi Coding Whitepaper — how AI-assisted engineering is governed in this repository.
This path takes about as long as reading a long blog post and gives a faithful picture of what the public surface contains today.
If You Are Building Against Nimi
Start with SDK and Runtime. The SDK is the public access surface for applications. Runtime and Realm private boundaries should not be crossed directly from apps; the SDK exists exactly so that apps do not have to.
For native shell behavior, read Desktop. For Web behavior, read Web Mode. Web is a constrained projection and does not inherit Desktop-native capabilities by implication.
Reader Scenario: An App Author Walks Through The Docs
Suppose you are an app author who just heard about Nimi. A useful first walkthrough looks like this:
- Read Platform to find out that worlds, not chat sessions, are the central object.
- Read Runtime to find out that providers, workflows, streaming, and multimodal artifacts follow Runtime contracts, not by your app code.
- Read SDK to find out that your app should consume those contracts through
sdk/runtime,sdk/world,sdk/realm,sdk/ai-provider,sdk/scope, andsdk/mod, not by importing private internals. - Read Desktop and Web Mode to learn why Desktop and Web do not have the same capability envelope and what that means for your app's distribution plans.
- Read Nimi Coding once you start contributing, because that is the workflow other contributors will expect you to follow on high-risk or cross-surface changes.
After that walkthrough, the Spec Map tells you where to read the underlying contracts when public prose is not precise enough.
If You Are Looking For Setup Instructions
Public setup material must be backed by admitted evidence: the command must exist, the route must be supported, and the release or distribution channel must be real. Until that evidence is admitted, the docs use these contract pages to describe the product surface rather than treating the docs as a runnable onboarding flow.
See Installation And Availability for the current posture and the standard a public install page must meet.