Kimchi

This post is sponsored by Cast AI, but they had no input in my review. It’s September 2026 and we’re going through another wave of “what is software engineering” angst. These have been coming every 4-6 months since ChatGPT launched and have ranged from RAG, one shots, gas towns, agents, escapes, and “open” is having a moment. Open weight models have caught up to be good enough for a lot of software lifecycle tasks. Open harnesses are still in flux, but there are some patterns about what shape they should have and what layers each part of the system should be responsible for. This is where Kimchi sits. An open source harness built on Pi with some vibey functions. And Kimchi, the service that manages access, measurements, and runs open weight models. Here’s a video review to see both components in action. Some neat features Kimchi leans into the vibe of vibe coding and builds a plugin with the command /ferment right into the harness. This is designed to require minimal confirmation and…