Unternet Kernel

The Unternet Kernel consists of a series of modules which work in tandem to form the basis of a future agentic operating system. It's capable of understanding user intent, executing actions, accumulating memory, and orchestrating a full graphical user interface with stateful processes.

Goals

Unlike other reasoning libraries (e.g. LangChain, Microsoft's Semantic Kernel), Unternet's Kernel is built from the ground up to satisfy all of the following:

• Model-agnostic (including compatability with small, local, or open-source models)
• Orchestration of ongoing, stateful processes (not just one-off tool use)
• Asynchronous inputs & action taking (not a single, blocking chat thread)
• Open, pluggable architecture (so anyone can build applications for it & extend it)
• Abstraction over arbitrary tool-use protocols (compatible with MCP, Web Applets, and anything else that emerges)
• Designed to form the basis of a full GUI

Getting started

To load up the Kernel in your codebase, use the Kernel import. At its most minimal, Kernel only requires a model parameter to get started.

import { Kernel, createMessage } from '@unternet/kernel';

const model = openai('gpt-4o');
const kernel = new Kernel({ model });

kernel.on('message', (msg) => {
  if (msg.type === 'reply') console.log(msg.text);
});

const msg = createMessage('input', { text: 'Hello world!' });
kernel.send(msg); // "Hello, how can I help you today?"

Tool use

You can add additional capabilities by giving the kernel tools it can execute. Tools are plain JavaScript objects.

Use the createTool helper to create them with type hints:

const calculatorTool = createTool({
  name: 'calculator',
  description: 'Calculate a JavaScript expression',
  parameters: z.object({ expr: z.string() }),
  execute: ({ expr }) => eval(expr),
});

const tools = [calculatorTool];
const kernel = new Kernel({ model, tools });

The kernel now automatically handles the execution of these tools, emitting tool_calls and tool_results messages.

kernel.on('message', (msg) => {
  if (msg.type === 'tool_results') console.log(msg.results[0].output);
});

const msg = createMessage('input', { text: 'What is Pi / 2?' });
kernel.send(msg); // 1.57079633...

Processes

Tools are blocking, meaning that if you run an async tool call, the kernel will wait until it's completed before continuing. However, you can trigger a background task by creating a Process.

Processes are independent tasks that exist outside of the kernel's processing loop. They have their own internal state, can be suspended & resumed, and serialized to/restored from storage. They can be used both for hidden background processes, and for GUI-based application windows like an open webview or a PDF.

Let's create a process that pretends to be a long-running async call:

class MeaningOfLifeProcess extends Process {
  async call() {
    return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
      setTimeout(() => {
        resolve({ answer: 42 });
        this.exit();
      }, 10_000);
    });
  }
}

Instead of providing an execute property, this tool will have a process that the kernel will instantiate. The tool will then be called on the process, instead of executing the function:

const meaningOfLifeTool = createTool({
  name: 'meaning_of_life',
  description:
    'Get the answer to the meaning of life, the universe, and everything',
  process: () => new MeaningOfLifeProcess(),
});

const tools = [meaningOfLifeTool];
const kernel = new Kernel({ model, tools });

kernel.on('message', (msg) => {
  if (msg.type === 'reply') console.log(msg.text);
  if (msg.type === 'tool_results') console.log(msg.results[0].output);
});

const msg1 = createMessage('input', { text: 'What is the meaning of life?' });
kernel.send(msg1); // "I'm looking into that for you now, I'll let you know..."

const msg2 = createMessage('input', { text: 'Any update?' });
kernel.send(msg2); // "Still working on it! Can I help you with anything else?"

// { answer: 42 }
// The answer to the meaning of life is 42.