Kora core master meta skill

Kora Developer — Meta-skill for development on the Kora Framework

Kora Version: 1.x (for the latest version see the changelog)
Languages: Java (JDK 25), Kotlin 1.9+ (JDK 21) Build: Gradle 9.5.1+ (recommended)

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READ THIS FIRST — CORE RULES

Three non-negotiable rules that apply to EVERY Kora task, from the FIRST session load:

Rule	What	Why
CORE RULE #1	Follow navigation priority: CLAUDE.md → SKILL.md → references/ → search journal → .kora-agent/	Sub-skills + references are primary; journal has recent discoveries
CORE RULE #2	Kora-only development — NO Spring/other frameworks, NO unnecessary comments/Javadoc	Kora is compile-time DI; code should be self-explanatory
CORE RULE #3	Journal Kora Framework incorrect usage (agent self-realized or user-pointed)	Journal feeds skill improvements and prevents repeating Kora mistakes

WORKFLOW: Minimal code → compile (./gradlew clean classes) → tests → run (./gradlew test). Stuck? ./gradlew --stop.

CORE RULE #3 SCOPE: ONLY for Kora Framework incorrect usage — NOT for project-specific business logic, domain rules, or non-Kora issues.

VIOLATION RESPONSE: If you catch yourself violating any rule — STOP immediately, acknowledge the violation, and restart from the correct step.

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Introduction

This meta-skill is the single entry point for Kora Framework development. It routes to 39 specialized domain skills, each with its own narrow area of expertise.

Read this file first when:

• Starting a new Kora microservice project from scratch (Java or Kotlin)
• Adding or refactoring @KoraApp application graph with *Module interfaces
• Choosing which Kora modules to plug in (HTTP, Database, Kafka, gRPC, SOAP, S3, Telemetry)
• Debugging DI container issues ("dependency not found", ambiguous bindings, graph build failures)
• Configuring typed config with @ConfigSource and environment variable substitution
• Planning a multi-module Gradle project with @KoraSubmodule boundaries

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CORE RULES — Detailed

These three rules are NON-NEGOTIABLE. Read and follow them at EVERY session start, before ANY Kora task, and continuously throughout the work.

CORE RULE #1: Navigation Priority

ALWAYS follow this order — NO EXCEPTIONS:

1. This meta-skill (CLAUDE.md) — navigation + architectural principles
        ↓
2. Relevant sub-skill (SKILL.md in ../<name>/) — concentrated expertise with templates
        ↓
3. Reference documents inside sub-skill (references/) — detailed patterns
        ↓
4. Search kora-journal (~/.kora-journal/) — check for existing solutions
        ↓
5. External docs/examples (.kora-agent/) — ONLY if steps 1-4 don't cover the case

VIOLATION: Jumping straight to Kora documentation or examples without reading the sub-skill first → STOP AND RESTART from step 2.

WHY: Sub-skills contain battle-tested patterns, scripts, and templates. External docs may be outdated or miss Kora-specific nuances.

Search commands:

# Search by keywords (in content + tags)
python kora-journal/scripts/kora_journal.py search "http interceptor auth" --limit 5

# Search by tags only (more precise)
python kora-journal/scripts/kora_journal.py search "auth oauth2" --by-tags

# Filter by status
python kora-journal/scripts/kora_journal.py search "Principal" --status pending

If journal has relevant entry:

1. Read the entry file (~/.kora-journal/<project>/<module>/YYYY-MM-DD_slug.md)
2. Apply the solution from the entry
3. If entry is pending and you applied it → mark as integrated
4. If entry helped but needs update → add new entry with improvements

If journal has NO relevant entry:

• Continue to step 5 (external docs/examples)
• After solving → add new entry to journal (CORE RULE #3)

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CORE RULE #2: Kora-Only Development

Kora is an AUTHENTIC framework with its own annotations, classes, libraries, and modules.

NEVER:

• Use Spring annotations (@Autowired, @Service, @Repository, @Configuration, etc.)
• Use Micronaut/Quarkus/Helidon annotations
• Hallucinate non-existent Kora annotations
• Apply patterns from other frameworks without verifying in Kora skills first
• Write comments or Javadoc in code UNLESS user explicitly requested OR truly complex logic (byte operations, encodings, cryptography, etc.)

ALWAYS:

• Use ONLY Kora annotations (@KoraApp, @Component, @Module, @HttpController, @Repository, etc.)
• Verify every annotation/class in the relevant Kora sub-skill BEFORE using
• Follow Kora's compile-time DI model (no reflection, no runtime proxies)
• Write self-explanatory code with clear names — let code speak for itself

VIOLATION: Using Spring/other framework patterns → STOP, DELETE, REWRITE using Kora skills. VIOLATION: Writing unnecessary comments/Javadoc → REMOVE unless user requested or complexity justifies it.

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CORE RULE #3: Continuous Improvement Journal

ALWAYS use the kora-journal to record Kora Framework incorrect usage discovered during development.

SCOPE — Kora Incorrect Usage ONLY:

✅ Record in Journal	❌ Do NOT Record
Agent used wrong Kora annotation (self-realized or user-pointed)	Application business logic
Agent hallucinated non-existent Kora API	Project-specific domain rules
Agent misapplied Kora pattern (DI, AOP, config, etc.)	Temporary project workarounds
Agent violated Kora best practices from skills	UI/UX preferences
Skill documentation was unclear/wrong	Non-Kora framework issues
Agent wrote unnecessary comments/Javadoc (user didn't request)

Trigger: When YOU (agent) realize OR USER points out that you used Kora Framework incorrectly.

Location: ~/.kora-journal/<project>/<module>/<YYYY-MM-DD>_slug.md — each entry is a separate file, shared across ALL sessions and projects.

# Add a journal entry AFTER discovering Kora incorrect usage
python kora-journal/scripts/kora_journal.py add "Wrong annotation used" \
  --context "What we were doing" \
  --problem "What Kora pattern was misused" \
  --solution "Correct Kora pattern" \
  --files ../kora-xxx/SKILL.md

WHY: Journal entries become the source of truth for future improvements. They feed back into skill updates and prevent repeating Kora mistakes.

VIOLATION: Discovering Kora incorrect usage without recording it → GO BACK AND ADD a journal entry.

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ENFORCEMENT: These three CORE RULES apply to EVERY Kora task, from the FIRST session load and continuously thereafter. If you catch yourself violating any rule — STOP immediately, acknowledge the violation, and restart from the correct step.

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Sub-skill Navigation

39 granular domain skills organized by domain. Read the SKILL.md of the relevant sub-skill before writing code and then follow CORE RULE #1 if required.

Foundation (start here for new projects)

Task	Sub-skill	Path
Gradle scaffolding, wrapper, build scripts, project structure	kora-project-setup-java	../kora-project-setup-java/SKILL.md
Gradle scaffolding (Kotlin), KSP, Kotlin DSL	kora-project-setup-kotlin	../kora-project-setup-kotlin/SKILL.md
Kora BOM, modules, dependencies, annotation processors	kora-project-dependencies	../kora-project-dependencies/SKILL.md
Project generator, Spring Initializr style, working examples	kora-project-dependencies (generator)	../kora-project-dependencies/scripts/generate_project.py
HOCON config, typed @ConfigSource, env substitution	kora-config-hocon	../kora-config-hocon/SKILL.md
YAML config (alternative to HOCON)	kora-config-yaml	../kora-config-yaml/SKILL.md

Dependency Injection

Task	Sub-skill	Path
Compile-time DI, @KoraApp, @Component, @Module, factories	kora-di-compile	../kora-di-compile/SKILL.md
Runtime DI, @Root, Lifecycle, @Tag, All<T>, ValueOf<T>	kora-di-runtime	../kora-di-runtime/SKILL.md

Database

Task	Sub-skill	Path
JDBC repositories, @EntityJdbc, @Query, SQL macros, transactions	kora-database-jdbc	../kora-database-jdbc/SKILL.md
Cassandra, @EntityCassandra, @UDT, CQL, profiles	kora-database-cassandra	../kora-database-cassandra/SKILL.md
Flyway and Liquibase migrations, SQL-based versioning	kora-database-migration	../kora-database-migration/SKILL.md

Testing

Task	Sub-skill	Path
JUnit 5 component tests, @KoraAppTest, @TestComponent, mocks	kora-testing-junit-java	../kora-testing-junit-java/SKILL.md
JUnit 5 component tests (Kotlin), MockK	kora-testing-junit-kotlin	../kora-testing-junit-kotlin/SKILL.md
Black-box E2E tests, AppContainer, Testcontainers, Docker	kora-testing-blackbox	../kora-testing-blackbox/SKILL.md

Communication

Task	Sub-skill	Path
HTTP server, @HttpController, @HttpRoute, @Path, @Query, @Json	kora-http-server	../kora-http-server/SKILL.md
HTTP server auth, BasicAuth, Bearer, API keys, SecurityContext	kora-http-server-auth	../kora-http-server-auth/SKILL.md
HTTP client, @HttpClient, declarative interfaces, interceptors	kora-http-client	../kora-http-client/SKILL.md
HTTP client auth, BasicAuth, Bearer, API keys	kora-http-client-auth	../kora-http-client-auth/SKILL.md
gRPC server, GrpcServerModule, @Component handlers	kora-grpc-server	../kora-grpc-server/SKILL.md
gRPC client, GrpcClientModule, @Tag stub injection	kora-grpc-client	../kora-grpc-client/SKILL.md
SOAP client, WSDL-to-Java, SoapClientModule, generated clients	kora-soap-client	../kora-soap-client/SKILL.md
Kafka producer, @KafkaPublisher, transactional	kora-kafka-producer	../kora-kafka-producer/SKILL.md
Kafka consumer, @KafkaListener, batch, error handling	kora-kafka-consumer	../kora-kafka-consumer/SKILL.md
OpenAPI server codegen, delegates, controllers	kora-openapi-generator-server	../kora-openapi-generator-server/SKILL.md
OpenAPI client codegen, typed Api interfaces	kora-openapi-generator-client	../kora-openapi-generator-client/SKILL.md
OpenAPI management, Swagger UI, RapiDoc, spec publishing	kora-openapi-management	../kora-openapi-management/SKILL.md

Telemetry

Task	Sub-skill	Path
OpenTelemetry tracing, OTLP, spans, Jaeger/Zipkin	kora-telemetry-tracing	../kora-telemetry-tracing/SKILL.md
Micrometer metrics, Prometheus scrape, custom metrics	kora-telemetry-metrics	../kora-telemetry-metrics/SKILL.md
SLF4J/Logback, structured logging, KoraAsyncAppender	kora-telemetry-logging	../kora-telemetry-logging/SKILL.md

AOP

Task	Sub-skill	Path
@Retry, @CircuitBreaker, @Timeout, @Fallback	kora-aop-resilient	../kora-aop-resilient/SKILL.md
@Log, @Mdc, method logging aspect	kora-aop-logging	../kora-aop-logging/SKILL.md
@Cacheable, @CachePut, @CacheInvalidate, Caffeine/Redis	kora-aop-caching	../kora-aop-caching/SKILL.md
@ScheduleAtFixedRate, @ScheduleWithCron	kora-aop-scheduling-jdk	../kora-aop-scheduling-jdk/SKILL.md
Quartz scheduling, cron jobs, clustered	kora-aop-scheduling-quartz	../kora-aop-scheduling-quartz/SKILL.md
@Valid, @Validate, JSR-380 constraints	kora-aop-validation	../kora-aop-validation/SKILL.md

Other

Task	Sub-skill	Path
JSON DTOs, sealed discriminators, custom (de)serialization	kora-json	../kora-json/SKILL.md
S3 object storage, AWS S3/MinIO, @S3.Client, multipart uploads	kora-s3	../kora-s3/SKILL.md
MapStruct mappers, DTO ↔ entity mapping	kora-mapstruct	../kora-mapstruct/SKILL.md

Development Tools

Task	Sub-skill	Path
Continuous improvement journal, Kora incorrect usage tracking	kora-journal	../kora-journal/SKILL.md
Learn Kora from scratch, guided tutorials, explain concepts	kora-teacher	../kora-teacher/SKILL.md

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Development & Architecture

Workflow (MANDATORY)

Step	Command	When
1. Write minimal increments	—	One change at a time — single annotation/method/class
2. Compile	./gradlew clean classes	After any Kora annotation change, before tests
3. Write integration tests	—	Use @KoraAppTest + Testcontainers; test real endpoints/queries/messages
4. Run tests	./gradlew test	After compilation succeeds, before commit
5. Stop daemons if stuck	./gradlew --stop	When builds hang or clean fails with "Unable to delete directory"

Architectural Principles

Compile-time first: Kora avoids reflection, dynamic proxies, and runtime bytecode generation. All magic happens at compile time (DI → *ComponentImpl.java, HTTP → *HttpRouter.java, AOP → *Aspect.java, JSON → *JsonReader.java/*JsonWriter.java, Repositories → *RepositoryImpl.java).

Validate by compiling + testing: If code compiles and tests pass — implementation is correct.

Don't mix paradigms: If you generate a controller from OpenAPI — use the delegate, don't write a manual controller. If you use Kora @HttpClient — don't use OkHttp by hand for the same target.

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Debugging & Troubleshooting

Look at generated code

Kora is compile-time. If DI, AOP, or other mechanisms are unclear:

1. Open $buildDir/generated/sources/annotationProcessor/ (Java) or $buildDir/generated/ksp/ (Kotlin)
2. Find generated class (*ComponentImpl, *Graph, *Aspect, *Delegate)
3. Study how code is wired together

OpenAPI delegates: Before implementing, check generated *Delegate interface — methods to implement, return types (ApiResponses), HTTP status handling.

Build problems

Problem	Solution
Build hangs / fails after clean	./gradlew --stop — terminate daemons, retry
Generated classes broken after refactor	Clean build/generated/, rebuild
"Required dependency not found: Foo"	Check: @Component on class, extends *Module on @KoraApp, @KoraSubmodule for multi-module
ApplicationGraph missing after clean	Run ./gradlew classes — annotation processors must run first
IDE shows errors but compilation passes	IDE caching — invalidate caches / restart

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Documentation & Resources

Setup (CORE RULE #2 PREREQUISITE)

Clone docs and examples BEFORE any Kora development:

mkdir -p .kora-agent
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/kora-projects/kora-docs.git .kora-agent/kora-docs
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/kora-projects/kora-examples.git .kora-agent/kora-examples
rm -rf .kora-agent/kora-docs/.git .kora-agent/kora-examples/.git
echo ".kora-agent/" >> .gitignore

Verify: .kora-agent/ must contain both kora-docs/ and kora-examples/.

Quick Reference

Module	Docs	Guides	Guide apps	Example apps
Bootstrap	config.md, container.md, general.md	getting-started.md, dependency-injection.md, config-hocon.md, config-yaml.md	kora-java-guide-getting-started-app, kora-java-guide-dependency-injection-introduction-app, kora-java-guide-config-hocon-app, kora-java-guide-config-yaml-app	kora-java-helloworld, kora-java-config-hocon
HTTP Server	http-server.md	http-server.md, http-server-advanced.md	kora-java-guide-http-server-app, kora-java-guide-http-server-advanced-app	kora-java-http-server, kora-java-http-server-undertow
HTTP Client	http-client.md	http-client.md, http-client-advanced.md	kora-java-guide-http-client-app, kora-java-guide-http-client-advanced-app	kora-java-http-client, kora-java-http-client-apache
OpenAPI	openapi.md	openapi-http-server.md, openapi-http-server-advanced.md, openapi-http-client.md	kora-java-guide-openapi-http-server-app, kora-java-guide-openapi-http-server-advanced-app, kora-java-guide-openapi-http-client-app	kora-java-openapi-generator-http-server/client
Database JDBC	database-jdbc.md, database-repository.md	database-jdbc.md, database-jdbc-advanced.md	kora-java-guide-database-jdbc-app, kora-java-guide-database-jdbc-advanced-app	kora-java-database-jdbc, kora-java-crud
Database Cassandra	database-cassandra.md	database-cassandra.md	kora-java-guide-database-cassandra-app	kora-java-database-cassandra
gRPC	grpc.md	grpc-server.md, grpc-server-advanced.md, grpc-client.md, grpc-client-advanced.md	kora-java-guide-grpc-server-app, kora-java-guide-grpc-server-advanced-app, kora-java-guide-grpc-client-app, kora-java-guide-grpc-client-advanced-app	kora-java-grpc-server, kora-java-grpc-client
Kafka	kafka.md	messaging-kafka.md	kora-java-guide-messaging-kafka-app	kora-java-kafka, kora-java-kafka-batch
JSON	json.md	json.md	kora-java-guide-json-app	kora-java-json, kora-java-json-module
Validation	validation.md	validation.md	kora-java-guide-validation-app	kora-java-validation
Telemetry	telemetry.md, metrics.md, tracing.md	observability.md, observability-metrics.md, observability-tracing.md, observability-probes.md	kora-java-guide-observability-app	kora-java-telemetry, kora-java-metrics-micrometer
Logging	logging.md	observability.md	kora-java-guide-observability-app	kora-java-logging-logback
Cache	cache-caffeine.md, cache-redis.md	cache.md, cache-multi-level.md	kora-java-guide-cache-app, kora-java-guide-cache-multi-level-app	kora-java-cache-caffeine, kora-java-cache-redis
Resilience	resilient.md	resilient.md	kora-java-guide-resilient-app	kora-java-resilient
Scheduling	scheduling.md	—	—	kora-java-scheduling-jdk, kora-java-scheduling-quartz
S3	s3.md	s3.md	kora-java-guide-s3-app	kora-java-s3-client-aws, kora-java-s3-client-minio
MapStruct	mapper.md	—	—	kora-java-mapper-mapstruct
Testing	—	testing-junit.md, testing-integration.md, testing-black-box.md	kora-java-guide-testing-junit-app, kora-java-guide-testing-integration-app, kora-java-guide-testing-black-box-app	—

Kotlin equivalents: All kora-java-* apps have Kotlin counterparts — replace java → kotlin in the name (e.g., kora-kotlin-guide-http-server-app, kora-kotlin-http-server).

Paths: Docs: .kora-agent/kora-docs/mkdocs/docs/en/documentation/<module>.md | Guides: .kora-agent/kora-docs/mkdocs/docs/en/guides/<guide>.md | Examples apps: .kora-agent/kora-examples/examples/... | Guides apps: .kora-agent/kora-examples/guides/...

Limitations

Not covered (narrow use cases — read docs directly):

• R2DBC / Vert.x drivers, Camunda (BPMN/REST, Zeebe), GraalVM native-image

Database drivers: This meta-skill covers JDBC as canonical path. Kora also provides database-r2dbc and database-vertx — but Kora maintainers do not recommend them. Start with JDBC + Hikari. Deviate only with hard requirement and prod-experience sign-off.

Source Priority

1. Sub-skills — concentrated expertise with templates and scripts
2. Reference documents inside each sub-skill (references/)
3. Kora documentation or guides — .kora-agent/kora-docs/docs/en/documentation/<module>.md or .kora-agent/kora-docs/mkdocs/docs/en/guides/<guide>.md
4. Examples — .kora-agent/kora-examples/examples/... or .kora-agent/kora-examples/guides/...
5. Changelog — https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kora-projects/kora-docs/refs/heads/master/mkdocs/docs/en/changelog/changelog.md

Discrepancy: Trust the source and update the skill.

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Continuous Improvement Journal

See CORE RULE #3 (line 120) for full journal requirements.

Quick reference:

• When: After discovering Kora incorrect usage (self-realized or user-pointed)
• Where: ~/.kora-journal/<project>/<module>/<YYYY-MM-DD>_slug.md
• Format: Separate Markdown file per entry
• NOT for: Project business logic, domain rules, non-Kora issues

# Add journal entry
python kora-journal/scripts/kora_journal.py add "Title" \
  --context "..." --problem "..." --solution "..." --files "..."

Docs: ../kora-journal/SKILL.md