# Install kona with Homebrew, Nix, winget

Open-source implementation of the K programming language. Version 20211225 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#kona.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:kona
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install kona
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#kona
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ko/kona/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

### Windows

- winget (92%):

```sh
winget install --id Tencent.WeSing -e
```

  Evidence: Windows Package Manager source index: Tencent.WeSing from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:kona
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 20211225
- **Source summary:** Open-source implementation of the K programming language
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/kevinlawler/kona>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/kevinlawler/kona>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- k (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 20211225
## Project history and usage

Kona is an open-source implementation of the k3 programming language, one member of the K family associated with Arthur Whitney and Kx Systems. It gives Unix package managers a buildable, inspectable implementation of a historically proprietary array language lineage.

### Project history

The repository was created on 2010-08-25. Its README explains that Kona targets k3, describes K as a synthesis of APL and Lisp, and says Kona is unaffiliated with Kx. The README also places k3 in the lineage of k1, k2, k3, k4, q, KDB, and KDB+.

### Adoption history

Kona's audience is smaller than mainstream language runtimes but unusually durable: array-language enthusiasts, performance-oriented programmers, and people studying the K/KDB+ ecosystem use it as a source-available route into a language family that otherwise has limited public implementation material.

### How it is used

The Homebrew package installs the `k` executable, making the interpreter accessible from a shell. The project is mainly used interactively and for studying K idioms rather than as a broad application platform.

### Why package nerds care

Kona is package-nerd significant because it preserves access to an older K dialect in source form. It also exposes the famously terse C implementation style associated with the K tradition, which makes it a cultural artifact as much as a language runtime.

### Timeline

- 2010-08-25: GitHub repository created.
- 2014-09-24: Win.3.06-32 release published.
- 2014-08-24: W3.08-64 tag created.

### Related projects

- Kona is related to APL, Lisp, K, k3, k4, q, KDB, KDB+, Kx Systems, and other open K-family implementations documented by the K community.

### Sources

- <https://api.github.com/repos/kevinlawler/kona>
- <https://github.com/kevinlawler/kona>
- <https://github.com/kevinlawler/kona/releases/tag/Win.3.06-32>
- <https://github.com/kevinlawler/kona/wiki>
- <https://ngn.bitbucket.io/k.html>
- <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kevinlawler/kona/master/README.md>


## Security Notes

generalized runtime or code generation signal.

- **Geiger risk:** yellow / medium
- generalized runtime or code generation signal

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Nix - kona: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ko/kona/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- winget - Tencent.WeSing: installed executable or alias match | Windows Package Manager source index: Tencent.WeSing from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix
- winget - Tencent.WeSingLiveAssistant: installed executable or alias match | Windows Package Manager source index: Tencent.WeSingLiveAssistant from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/kona.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/kona.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph