Website •
Grammar •
Features •
Principles •
Roadmap
Kilnx is a declarative backend language that compiles to a single binary. You define models, routes, queries, and auth in a .kilnx file. The compiler handles the rest: database migrations, HTTP routing, template rendering, session management, CSRF protection, and htmx integration.
27 keywords. 2 dependencies (SQLite + bcrypt). Zero JavaScript.
model task
title: text required
done: bool default false
created: timestamp auto
auth
table: user
identity: email
password: password
login: /login
after login: /tasks
page /tasks requires auth
query tasks: SELECT id, title, done FROM task
WHERE owner = :current_user.id
ORDER BY created DESC paginate 20
html
{{each tasks}}
<tr>
<td>{title}</td>
<td>{{if done}}Yes{{end}}</td>
<td><button hx-post="/tasks/{id}/delete"
hx-target="closest tr" hx-swap="outerHTML">Delete</button></td>
</tr>
{{end}}
action /tasks/new requires auth
validate task
query: INSERT INTO task (title, owner) VALUES (:title, :current_user.id)
redirect /tasks
action /tasks/:id/delete requires auth
query: DELETE FROM task WHERE id = :id AND owner = :current_user.id
respond fragment delete
This gives you: registration, login with bcrypt, sessions, CSRF, paginated search, validation, inline htmx delete, and a SQLite database.
Zero decisions before the first useful line. Create a file, write a page, run it. No framework to choose, no ORM to configure, no dependencies to install. page / "Hello" is a complete app.
SQL is a first-class citizen. Queries live inline, not in strings, not behind an ORM. The analyzer validates column references against your models at compile time. The optimizer rewrites SELECT * to only the columns your templates actually use.
The binary is the deploy. kilnx build app.kilnx -o myapp produces a single ~15MB executable that embeds your app, the HTTP server, htmx.js, SQLite, and bcrypt. Copy it to a server and run it.
Security is default, not opt-in. CSRF tokens, SQL parameter binding, HTML escaping, bcrypt hashing, HMAC-signed sessions, and webhook signature verification are all automatic. You have to make effort to be insecure.
# macOS / Linux
brew install kilnx-org/tap/kilnx
# or via shell script
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kilnx-org/kilnx/main/install.sh | shOr build from source:
git clone https://github.com/kilnx-org/kilnx.git
cd kilnx && go build -o kilnx ./cmd/kilnx/kilnx run app.kilnx # dev server with hot reload
kilnx build app.kilnx -o app # compile to standalone binary
kilnx check app.kilnx # static analysis
kilnx test app.kilnx # run declarative tests
Or compile and copy a binary anywhere:
kilnx build app.kilnx -o myapp
scp myapp server:~/
ssh server './myapp'VS Code extension with syntax highlighting, diagnostics, completions, hover docs, and go-to-definition via the built-in LSP server.
Models, pages, actions, fragments, JSON APIs, Server-Sent Events, WebSockets, webhooks with HMAC verification, background jobs, scheduled tasks, rate limiting, i18n, email sending, PDF generation, declarative tests, and an LSP server.
See FEATURES.md for examples of each, and GRAMMAR.md for the complete language reference.
| Example | LOC | What it demonstrates |
|---|---|---|
| hello.kilnx | 3 | Minimal app |
| blog.kilnx | 94 | Auth, pagination, validation, fragments, declarative tests |
| CRM | 813 | Full CRUD with JOINs, layouts, Tailwind, 3 related models |
.kilnx → Lexer → Parser → Analyzer → Optimizer → Runtime
│ │ │
type/SQL SELECT * HTTP server
checks rewriting SQLite + htmx
~19,000 lines of Go. 311 tests with race detection. PRINCIPLES.md documents the 11 constitutional design principles.
See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
MIT © 2026 Andre Ahlert Junior