> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.nika.sh/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# nika

> Contract, placement, related fields and source examples for this Nika YAML field.

[Language reference](/reference/language/overview) / `nika`

## Meaning and placement

### document

The file's NAME · kebab-case · and the mark that says « this is a nika file ». One word, one meaning across both document types: `nika.yaml` carries the PROJECT name, a `*.nika.yaml` carries the WORKFLOW name. The document TYPE is read from `tasks:` — present means workflow, absent means project — so it survives a blob, a paste or an HTTP body where the filename does not travel. This key held the literal `v1` until the envelope nuke; it carried zero bits as a version (there is no `nika: v2` — ever) and now carries the file's most necessary field instead.

| Property        | Declaration             |
| --------------- | ----------------------- |
| Requirement     | Required in this object |
| Schema location | `/properties/nika`      |
| type            | "string"                |
| pattern         | "^\[a-z]\[a-z0-9-]\*\$" |

**In the same object:** [const](/reference/language/words/const) · [inputs](/reference/language/words/inputs) · [model](/reference/language/words/model) · [outputs](/reference/language/words/outputs) · [permits](/reference/language/words/permits) · [run](/reference/language/words/run) · [secrets](/reference/language/words/secrets) · [tasks](/reference/language/words/tasks)

[Schema source (use the pointer above)](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/c5ebbb7b862b68bc6cf7235efba61173b844afc6/schemas/workflow.schema.json)

## In a source template

Excerpt from `templates/agent-loop.nika.yaml`, source lines 24–33. This is a fragment, not a runnable workflow.

```yaml illustration theme={"system"}
#
# Run · nika run <file> --model mock/echo                    # offline rehearsal
#     · nika run <file> --var goal="triage the open bugs"    # a real seat
nika: agent-loop-template       # SLOT: kebab-case workflow id

# SLOT: a TOOL-CALLING model · local by default. This seat is measured, not
# assumed: `ollama/qwen2.5:14b` completes the planning call in ~65s under the
# ceiling below. A reasoning seat (`ollama/qwen3.5:4b`) spends its whole
# budget thinking and never emits JSON here — the guaranteed offline path is
# `--model mock/echo`, which needs no seat at all.
```

### Templates containing this field

| Template                                    | Source                                                                                                                                            |
| ------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `templates/agent-loop.nika.yaml`            | [Line 27](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/c5ebbb7b862b68bc6cf7235efba61173b844afc6/templates/agent-loop.nika.yaml#L27)            |
| `templates/api-upload-and-create.nika.yaml` | [Line 37](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/c5ebbb7b862b68bc6cf7235efba61173b844afc6/templates/api-upload-and-create.nika.yaml#L37) |
| `templates/chain.nika.yaml`                 | [Line 24](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/c5ebbb7b862b68bc6cf7235efba61173b844afc6/templates/chain.nika.yaml#L24)                 |
| `templates/classify-and-route.nika.yaml`    | [Line 11](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/c5ebbb7b862b68bc6cf7235efba61173b844afc6/templates/classify-and-route.nika.yaml#L11)    |
| `templates/corpus-qa.nika.yaml`             | [Line 12](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/c5ebbb7b862b68bc6cf7235efba61173b844afc6/templates/corpus-qa.nika.yaml#L12)             |
| `templates/docker-report.nika.yaml`         | [Line 27](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/c5ebbb7b862b68bc6cf7235efba61173b844afc6/templates/docker-report.nika.yaml#L27)         |
| `templates/document-to-fields.nika.yaml`    | [Line 12](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/c5ebbb7b862b68bc6cf7235efba61173b844afc6/templates/document-to-fields.nika.yaml#L12)    |
| `templates/etl-state.nika.yaml`             | [Line 48](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/c5ebbb7b862b68bc6cf7235efba61173b844afc6/templates/etl-state.nika.yaml#L48)             |
| `templates/evaluate-and-optimize.nika.yaml` | [Line 24](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/c5ebbb7b862b68bc6cf7235efba61173b844afc6/templates/evaluate-and-optimize.nika.yaml#L24) |
| `templates/fanout.nika.yaml`                | [Line 45](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/c5ebbb7b862b68bc6cf7235efba61173b844afc6/templates/fanout.nika.yaml#L45)                |
| `templates/gate-and-act.nika.yaml`          | [Line 26](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/c5ebbb7b862b68bc6cf7235efba61173b844afc6/templates/gate-and-act.nika.yaml#L26)          |
| `templates/human-gated-ship.nika.yaml`      | [Line 54](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/c5ebbb7b862b68bc6cf7235efba61173b844afc6/templates/human-gated-ship.nika.yaml#L54)      |
| `templates/media-asset-pack.nika.yaml`      | [Line 25](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/c5ebbb7b862b68bc6cf7235efba61173b844afc6/templates/media-asset-pack.nika.yaml#L25)      |
| `templates/website-brief.nika.yaml`         | [Line 26](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/blob/c5ebbb7b862b68bc6cf7235efba61173b844afc6/templates/website-brief.nika.yaml#L26)         |

These are literal key occurrences in the source files, not an execution or conformance claim. [How to instantiate a template](/guides/templates).

## Contract and implementation

This page projects the named specification revision. Check [released engine status](/reference/status) and [the validation workflow](/guides/agent-authoring) before running a file. An optional field is not evidence that every engine supports every value.

Canonical identity: `language:word:nika`. Spec revision: [`c5ebbb7b862b`](https://github.com/supernovae-st/nika-spec/tree/c5ebbb7b862b68bc6cf7235efba61173b844afc6).

[How documentation stays connected](/reference/knowledge-system).