diff --git a/appframework.go b/appframework.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9f0c7b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/appframework.go
@@ -0,0 +1,316 @@
+package kernel
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+	"reflect"
+	"sync"
+)
+
+// KernelContext contains metadata that is propagated through a Go context.Context.
+// At the moment it only exposes the invocation ID of the running action, but this
+// struct can be extended in the future as we add more metadata.
+//
+// Use kernel.WithInvocationID to attach a KernelContext to an existing
+// context.Context and kernel.Context to retrieve it back.
+//
+//	ctx := kernel.WithInvocationID(context.Background(), "inv-123")
+//	kctx := kernel.Context(ctx) // => KernelContext{InvocationID: "inv-123"}
+//
+// End-users typically won't build the context themselves – the runtime that
+// executes actions will do it – but providing the helpers here allows for unit
+// testing and for advanced users to craft their own contexts when needed.
+//
+// NOTE: we intentionally keep the struct exported so that client code can
+// inspect / copy it if they need to.
+type KernelContext struct {
+	InvocationID string
+}
+
+type kernelCtxKey struct{}
+
+// WithInvocationID returns a child context that contains a KernelContext with
+// the provided invocation id.
+func WithInvocationID(ctx context.Context, invocationID string) context.Context {
+	return context.WithValue(ctx, kernelCtxKey{}, KernelContext{InvocationID: invocationID})
+}
+
+// Context extracts the KernelContext stored inside the passed in ctx. If the
+// context was not carrying any KernelContext value, the zero value is
+// returned.
+func Context(ctx context.Context) KernelContext {
+	if v, ok := ctx.Value(kernelCtxKey{}).(KernelContext); ok {
+		return v
+	}
+	return KernelContext{}
+}
+
+// -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Global App Registry
+// -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+type appRegistry struct {
+	mu   sync.RWMutex
+	apps map[string]*KernelApp
+}
+
+func (r *appRegistry) registerApp(app *KernelApp) {
+	r.mu.Lock()
+	defer r.mu.Unlock()
+	r.apps[app.Name] = app
+}
+
+func (r *appRegistry) getApp(name string) (*KernelApp, bool) {
+	r.mu.RLock()
+	defer r.mu.RUnlock()
+	app, ok := r.apps[name]
+	return app, ok
+}
+
+func (r *appRegistry) getApps() []*KernelApp {
+	r.mu.RLock()
+	defer r.mu.RUnlock()
+	out := make([]*KernelApp, 0, len(r.apps))
+	for _, app := range r.apps {
+		out = append(out, app)
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+var globalRegistry = &appRegistry{apps: make(map[string]*KernelApp)}
+
+// App returns a *KernelApp with the given name, creating it if necessary. The
+// returned app is automatically registered in the global registry so that the
+// runtime can discover it later.
+func App(name string) *KernelApp {
+	if existing, ok := globalRegistry.getApp(name); ok {
+		return existing
+	}
+	app := &KernelApp{
+		Name:    name,
+		actions: make(map[string]KernelAction),
+	}
+	globalRegistry.registerApp(app)
+	return app
+}
+
+// Apps returns a slice with all the apps currently registered in the global registry.
+func Apps() []*KernelApp { return globalRegistry.getApps() }
+
+// GetApp retrieves an app by name from the global registry. It returns nil if
+// the app could not be found.
+func GetApp(name string) *KernelApp {
+	if app, ok := globalRegistry.getApp(name); ok {
+		return app
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// Export returns a serialisable representation of the current registry. It is
+// primarily useful for debugging and testing.
+func Export() KernelJSON {
+	apps := make([]KernelAppJSON, 0, len(globalRegistry.apps))
+	for _, a := range Apps() {
+		apps = append(apps, a.toJSON())
+	}
+	return KernelJSON{Apps: apps}
+}
+
+// ExportJSON exports the registry to a JSON string. The JSON is indented with
+// two spaces to make it human-readable.
+func ExportJSON() string {
+	raw, _ := json.MarshalIndent(Export(), "", "  ")
+	return string(raw)
+}
+
+// -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Kernel App & Actions
+// -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+// KernelAction wraps the user-provided handler together with some metadata that
+// the runtime may need when invoking the action.
+//
+// The internal exec function brings all handlers (with or without inputs /
+// outputs) to a single canonical signature so that the runtime can treat them
+// uniformly.
+type KernelAction struct {
+	Name string
+
+	// handler is the original user-provided function so that we can surface it
+	// back when needed (for example when generating reflection based stubs).
+	handler any
+
+	// exec adapts every supported signature to func(ctx, input) (output, err).
+	exec func(ctx context.Context, input any) (any, error)
+}
+
+// Exec executes the adapted handler. It is **not** normally called by end-users
+// but is exported to simplify unit testing.
+func (a KernelAction) Exec(ctx context.Context, input any) (any, error) { // nolint: revive // false positive on stutter
+	return a.exec(ctx, input)
+}
+
+// KernelApp represents a collection of actions that belong together.
+//
+// Users obtain an instance by calling kernel.App("my-app").
+//
+// All methods on KernelApp are safe for concurrent use.
+type KernelApp struct {
+	Name string
+
+	mu      sync.RWMutex
+	actions map[string]KernelAction
+}
+
+// GetActions returns a copy of all registered actions.
+func (a *KernelApp) GetActions() []KernelAction {
+	a.mu.RLock()
+	defer a.mu.RUnlock()
+	out := make([]KernelAction, 0, len(a.actions))
+	for _, act := range a.actions {
+		out = append(out, act)
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// GetAction retrieves a single action by name. The second return value is
+// false when the action doesn't exist.
+func (a *KernelApp) GetAction(name string) (KernelAction, bool) {
+	a.mu.RLock()
+	defer a.mu.RUnlock()
+	act, ok := a.actions[name]
+	return act, ok
+}
+
+// --- Action registration helpers ------------------------------------------------
+
+// Action registers an action in the app. The handler must have one of the
+// following signatures:
+//
+//  1. func(context.Context) error
+//  2. func(context.Context) (Out, error)
+//  3. func(context.Context, In) error
+//  4. func(context.Context, In) (Out, error)
+//
+// "In" and "Out" can be any types (including struct{}).
+//
+// The method panics if the provided handler does not match any of the expected
+// signatures. We choose to panic instead of returning an error because action
+// registration happens at init-time and panicking provides immediate feedback
+// to the developer.
+func (a *KernelApp) Action(name string, handler any) {
+	// Validate handler signature via reflection and create a wrapper that
+	// normalises to func(ctx, input) (output, error)
+	wrapper := buildActionWrapper(name, handler)
+	a.addAction(name, handler, wrapper)
+}
+
+// buildActionWrapper analyses the handler's type and returns a wrapper with the
+// canonical signature used internally by the runtime.
+func buildActionWrapper(name string, handler any) func(context.Context, any) (any, error) {
+	hv := reflect.ValueOf(handler)
+	ht := hv.Type()
+
+	if ht.Kind() != reflect.Func {
+		panic(fmt.Sprintf("action %s: handler must be a function", name))
+	}
+
+	// All allowed signatures start with a context.Context parameter.
+	if ht.NumIn() == 0 {
+		panic(fmt.Sprintf("action %s: handler must accept context.Context", name))
+	}
+	firstParam := ht.In(0)
+	if !firstParam.Implements(reflect.TypeOf((*context.Context)(nil)).Elem()) {
+		panic(fmt.Sprintf("action %s: first parameter must be context.Context", name))
+	}
+
+	switch {
+	// 1. func(ctx) error
+	case ht.NumIn() == 1 && ht.NumOut() == 1 && ht.Out(0) == reflect.TypeOf((*error)(nil)).Elem():
+		return func(ctx context.Context, _ any) (any, error) {
+			out := hv.Call([]reflect.Value{reflect.ValueOf(ctx)})
+			err, _ := out[0].Interface().(error)
+			return nil, err
+		}
+
+	// 2. func(ctx) (Out, error)
+	case ht.NumIn() == 1 && ht.NumOut() == 2 && ht.Out(1) == reflect.TypeOf((*error)(nil)).Elem():
+		return func(ctx context.Context, _ any) (any, error) {
+			outs := hv.Call([]reflect.Value{reflect.ValueOf(ctx)})
+			result := outs[0].Interface()
+			err, _ := outs[1].Interface().(error)
+			return result, err
+		}
+
+	// 3. func(ctx, In) error
+	case ht.NumIn() == 2 && ht.NumOut() == 1 && ht.Out(0) == reflect.TypeOf((*error)(nil)).Elem():
+		inType := ht.In(1)
+		return func(ctx context.Context, raw any) (any, error) {
+			// Validate input type at runtime.
+			if raw == nil {
+				// Zero value of the expected type.
+				raw = reflect.Zero(inType).Interface()
+			}
+			rv := reflect.ValueOf(raw)
+			if !rv.IsValid() || !rv.Type().AssignableTo(inType) {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("action %s: input type mismatch", name)
+			}
+			outs := hv.Call([]reflect.Value{reflect.ValueOf(ctx), rv})
+			err, _ := outs[0].Interface().(error)
+			return nil, err
+		}
+
+	// 4. func(ctx, In) (Out, error)
+	case ht.NumIn() == 2 && ht.NumOut() == 2 && ht.Out(1) == reflect.TypeOf((*error)(nil)).Elem():
+		inType := ht.In(1)
+		return func(ctx context.Context, raw any) (any, error) {
+			if raw == nil {
+				raw = reflect.Zero(inType).Interface()
+			}
+			rv := reflect.ValueOf(raw)
+			if !rv.IsValid() || !rv.Type().AssignableTo(inType) {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("action %s: input type mismatch", name)
+			}
+			outs := hv.Call([]reflect.Value{reflect.ValueOf(ctx), rv})
+			result := outs[0].Interface()
+			err, _ := outs[1].Interface().(error)
+			return result, err
+		}
+	default:
+		panic(fmt.Sprintf("action %s: handler has an unsupported signature", name))
+	}
+}
+
+// addAction centralises the logic of mutating the app.
+func (a *KernelApp) addAction(name string, handler any, exec func(context.Context, any) (any, error)) {
+	a.mu.Lock()
+	defer a.mu.Unlock()
+	if _, exists := a.actions[name]; exists {
+		panic(fmt.Sprintf("action with name %q already registered in app %q", name, a.Name))
+	}
+	a.actions[name] = KernelAction{Name: name, handler: handler, exec: exec}
+}
+
+// --- JSON helpers (for tests / debug) -------------------------------------------
+
+type KernelActionJSON struct {
+	Name string `json:"name"`
+}
+
+type KernelAppJSON struct {
+	Name    string             `json:"name"`
+	Actions []KernelActionJSON `json:"actions"`
+}
+
+type KernelJSON struct {
+	Apps []KernelAppJSON `json:"apps"`
+}
+
+func (a *KernelApp) toJSON() KernelAppJSON {
+	acts := make([]KernelActionJSON, 0, len(a.actions))
+	for _, act := range a.GetActions() {
+		acts = append(acts, KernelActionJSON{Name: act.Name})
+	}
+	return KernelAppJSON{Name: a.Name, Actions: acts}
+}
diff --git a/examples/basic/basic.go b/examples/basic/basic.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6fd9d03
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/basic/basic.go
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+package basic
+
+import (
+	"context"
+
+	kernel "github.com/onkernel/kernel-go-sdk"
+)
+
+// PageTitleInput represents the input expected by the get-page-title action.
+type PageTitleInput struct {
+	URL string `json:"url"`
+}
+
+// PageTitleOutput represents the output returned by the get-page-title action.
+type PageTitleOutput struct {
+	Title string `json:"title"`
+}
+
+var app = kernel.App("go-basic")
+
+func init() {
+	// Signature 1: ctx only => error
+	app.Action("ping", func(ctx context.Context) error {
+		// do nothing
+		return nil
+	})
+
+	// Signature 2: ctx only => (Out, err)
+	app.Action("get-random-number", func(ctx context.Context) (int, error) {
+		return 42, nil
+	})
+
+	// Signature 3: ctx, In => error
+	app.Action("print-url", func(ctx context.Context, input PageTitleInput) error {
+		_ = input.URL // pretend to do something
+		return nil
+	})
+
+	// Signature 4: ctx, In => (Out, err)
+	app.Action("get-page-title", func(ctx context.Context, input PageTitleInput) (PageTitleOutput, error) {
+		// This is just a stub implementation used for demonstration purposes.
+		return PageTitleOutput{Title: "Example Title for " + input.URL}, nil
+	})
+}
diff --git a/examples/basic/basic_test.go b/examples/basic/basic_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..88c44bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/basic/basic_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+package basic_test
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	kernel "github.com/onkernel/kernel-go-sdk"
+	_ "github.com/onkernel/kernel-go-sdk/examples/basic" // import for side-effects (init)
+)
+
+func TestBasicAppRegistration(t *testing.T) {
+	app := kernel.GetApp("go-basic")
+	if app == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected app to be registered, got nil")
+	}
+
+	actions := app.GetActions()
+	if len(actions) != 4 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 4 actions registered, got %d", len(actions))
+	}
+
+	expected := map[string]bool{
+		"ping":              true,
+		"get-random-number": true,
+		"print-url":         true,
+		"get-page-title":    true,
+	}
+	for _, act := range actions {
+		if !expected[act.Name] {
+			t.Fatalf("unexpected action name %s", act.Name)
+		}
+	}
+}