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Soul Kernel Developer Onboarding

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🎯 Project Overview

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Key Concepts

• Soul: An AI companion with persistent identity and memory
• Digital Twin: A Soul that maintains consistent identity across multiple devices
• Kernel: The core runtime that manages Soul lifecycle
• Skills: Plugin capabilities (vision, voice, actuators)
• Shells: Platform-specific hosts (iOS, Unity, Physical AI)

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🚀 Quick Start

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Prerequisites

1. Rust 1.79+ - Our core runtime language
   curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
   source "$HOME/.cargo/env"
   
2. Git - For version control
3. GitHub Account - For contributing

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First Steps

1. Clone the repository
   git clone https://github.com/soul-kernel/soul-kernel.git
   cd soul-kernel
   
2. Build and test
   cd kernel
   cargo test
   cargo run
   
3. Read the architecture
   • Product Requirements Document
   • Architecture Document
   • Current Epic & Stories

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📚 Learning Path

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Week 1: Foundations

• Complete Rust basics (if new to Rust)
• Run the Soul Kernel locally
• Read through the codebase structure
• Understand the Skill ABI concept

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Week 2: Deep Dive

• Implement a simple Skill
• Explore the memory graph design
• Review the gRPC API surface
• Join our Discord community

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Week 3: Contributing

• Pick a “good first issue”
• Submit your first PR
• Participate in code reviews
• Update documentation

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🏗️ Development Workflow

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1. Agile Process

• Epics: Large features (one active at a time)
• Stories: Implementable units with clear acceptance criteria
• Tasks: Technical steps within stories

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2. Code Standards

• Use cargo fmt before committing
• Run cargo clippy for linting
• Write tests for new functionality
• Keep binary size minimal

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3. Git Workflow

# Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/your-feature

# Make changes and test
cargo test
cargo fmt
cargo clippy

# Commit with conventional commits
git commit -m "feat: add new skill interface"

# Push and create PR
git push origin feature/your-feature

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🛠️ Development Environment

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Recommended Tools

• IDE: VS Code with rust-analyzer or IntelliJ IDEA with Rust plugin
• Debugging: lldb or gdb with Rust support
• Profiling: cargo-flamegraph for performance analysis

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VS Code Setup

{
  "rust-analyzer.cargo.features": "all",
  "rust-analyzer.checkOnSave.command": "clippy"
}

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🤝 Getting Help

• Discord: Join #soul-kernel-dev channel
• GitHub Discussions: For design questions
• Issue Tracker: For bugs and features
• Weekly Office Hours: Thursdays 2pm PT

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📖 Key Resources

• Rust Book - Learn Rust
• gRPC Documentation - For API work
• Skill Development Guide - Create Skills
• Memory Graph Design - Core concept

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🎉 Your First Contribution

1. Look for issues labeled good-first-issue
2. Comment on the issue to claim it
3. Fork the repository
4. Create a branch from main
5. Make your changes with tests
6. Submit a PR referencing the issue