Kitwork and My Journey as an Indie Hacker Pursuing Open-Source

#kitwork #programming #opensource #automation

Getting started opensource with README

For me, that was the beginning, not just of Kitwork, but of an indie path that I knew was worth pursuing.

Today, Kitwork is live at opens.vn

If you do not see any results, it might be because you arrived late, the server is overloaded, or simply because I have not implemented caching yet.

This is also why I chose open-source. You can clone the repository and run it yourself at https://github.com/kitwork/kitwork. Just clone the repository, run the executable for your operating system, and Kitwork will run on port 80. No Docker, no environment setup, no dependencies.

Basic Structure of Kitwork

The folder ./tasks contains .work files. Currently, these files are static, so if you edit them, you need to restart the service. I plan to add a feature to automatically watch files and reload changes, similar to Git or nodemon.

The folder ./router can be edited directly and Kitwork will reload immediately.

Go code is optional. You can delete all .go files. Kitwork only needs the executable file and the configuration folders.

Many people think Kitwork is YAML that generates Go code. It is not. It is a combination of configuration and handler, similar to serverless functions and workflow engines, but extremely lightweight, self-running, and self-deploying. Kitwork allows me to deploy any service as quickly as possible.

The Story Begins with Kitstack

A younger sibling once asked me, “Why do you not open-source the things you have built?”

I had written a fullstack framework, which I call Kitstack. It is similar to Liquid, Django, or Spring Boot but written in Go. Kitstack sustained me for years and helped me deploy websites with just creating a profile, copying the template folder to the server, and the project runs immediately.

However, Kitstack contains many customer APIs and security functions, so I could not open-source it.

That is why I created Kitwork, where I extracted the essence of five years of work. It includes DNS systems, load balancing, proxy engine, template engine, plugin architecture, and a lightweight configuration experience similar to serverless.

All of this will gradually be incorporated into Kitwork.

What Kitwork Will Become

I do not want Kitwork to be just a repository. I want it to be the first platform for indie hackers or small startups starting their tech dreams.

You can clone a Git folder and run it. Instantly you have a backend, routing, workflow, and templates. No environment setup, Docker, or Kubernetes required.

Kitwork’s long-term vision includes running self-hosted serverless functions through .work files, building a low-code or no-code backend where APIs, workflows, and cron jobs can be configured without complex coding, creating a lightweight and maintainable microservice system that does not depend on the cloud or heavy infrastructure, integrating V8 using v8go to run JavaScript logic directly inside .work files without Node.js, querying the database directly in .work files without additional Go handlers if not needed, and rewriting the template engine to be more flexible and clean since Go templates are limited and do not support operators.

Opens.vn is a playground for Testing and Sharing

I will experiment with Kitwork at opens.vn and open everything to the community. Services, sample APIs, workflows, and templates can all be downloaded, edited, self-hosted, and turned into your own platform.

Others sell services. I share my dream.

To many, Kitwork may seem like just a website and a GitHub repository. But anyone who clones the repo and runs it will feel what I mean: a small platform with the potential to become very large, an indie tool that could spark an entire ecosystem.

You can also view and vote for Kitwork on Product Hunt at https://www.producthunt.com/products/kit-work.

Kitwork and I, as an indie hacker passionate about open-source, continue this journey. Every line of code, every workflow, is how I share my dream with the world as an indie hacker building in public.