The repository is Shards-foundation/Shards-kernel, the Python distribution is shards-kernel, the import namespace is shards_kernel, and the command is shards-kernel.
The historical kernels Python namespace is intentionally not installed as a compatibility alias: the PyPI distribution named kernels is maintained by a different organisation. Shipping both under the same top-level import namespace would create a package collision.
| Before | After |
|---|---|
from kernels import StrictKernel |
from shards_kernel import StrictKernel |
from kernels.api import KernelRequest |
from shards_kernel.api import KernelRequest |
python -m kernels --help |
python -m shards_kernel --help |
kernels --version |
shards-kernel --version |
https://github.com/Shards-foundation/kernels |
https://github.com/Shards-foundation/Shards-kernel |
Shards-Kernel’s implementation and API names such as KernelRequest remain unchanged; only its Python module namespace and distribution tooling change. Consumers referring to internal submodules must update their import paths, although internal submodules are not part of the stable public contract.
Until an approved PyPI release exists, use a GitHub checkout:
git clone https://github.com/Shards-foundation/Shards-kernel.git
cd Shards-kernel
python -m pip install -e ".[dev]"
python -c "from shards_kernel import StrictKernel; print(StrictKernel)"
python -m shards_kernel --version
shards-kernel --help
python -m pytest tests/test_distribution_identity.py
python -m build
The release workflow currently only verifies and uploads distributions as GitHub artifacts. It does not publish to PyPI. Publishing requires explicit owner approval and separate trusted-publisher configuration.
Existing environments using the obsolete kernels import must migrate before upgrading to this branch. Do not add an import alias named kernels to the published wheel; doing so risks interfering with Hugging Face’s package.