A fast, open-source runtime for building real-time gRPC services.

KingKong combines an async concurrency model with a gRPC-native core, so services stay simple to write and fast to run — from small tools to production backends.

Download KingKong 3.4.2 Read the docs

Looking for a specific release? See all versions →

$ curl -sSL https://kingkong.entertainment/install.sh | sh
$ kk new runtime-service && cd runtime-service
$ kk run

✓ KingKong runtime v3.4.2 started
✓ listening on 0.0.0.0:50051 (gRPC)
✓ service registered: kingkong.rpc.v1.KingKongRuntimeService

Get Started

Whether you're new to gRPC or migrating an existing service, the getting-started guide walks through installation, your first service, and deployment.

Go to the guide →

Download KingKong

Prebuilt binaries for Linux, macOS and Windows, plus container images for production deployments.

View all downloads →

Why KingKong

Built for teams that need predictable performance from their internal and public-facing services.

gRPC-native core

Protocol buffers and streaming RPCs are first-class citizens, not an add-on.

Async by default

A lightweight scheduler handles thousands of concurrent streams per node.

Cross-platform

Single static binaries for Linux, macOS, Windows and ARM targets.

Small footprint

Cold start under 40ms and a base image under 15MB.

Open source

Apache 2.0 licensed, developed in the open with public roadmaps.

Built-in observability

Structured logs, metrics and traces exported without extra middleware.

SERVICE DEFINITION

One service, defined once

KingKong services are described in a single .proto file. The runtime generates client and server stubs, wires up health checks, and registers reflection automatically.

The core runtime service used by every KingKong node is exposed under the package kingkong.rpc.v1.

syntax = "proto3";
package kingkong.rpc.v1;

service KingKongRuntimeService {
  rpc Execute(ExecuteRequest) returns (ExecuteResponse);
  rpc Health(HealthRequest) returns (HealthResponse);
  rpc Watch(WatchRequest) returns (stream Event);
}

message ExecuteRequest {
  string job_id = 1;
  bytes payload = 2;
}

Success Stories

Teams across Asia-Pacific run KingKong in production.

"We moved our matchmaking service to KingKong and cut p99 latency by more than half."

Lion Rock Interactive — Platform Engineering, Hong Kong

"The built-in observability meant we removed three separate sidecars from our deployment."

Harbour Byte Ltd. — Infrastructure Lead, Singapore

"Single static binaries made our edge rollout across ten regions painless."

Tai Fung Cloud — SRE Team, Taipei

Latest News

14 September 2026

KingKong 3.4.2 released

Bug fixes for the streaming reconnect logic and improved cold-start times on ARM64.

2 September 2026

New guide: migrating from REST to KingKong RPC

A step-by-step walkthrough for teams moving existing HTTP services to gRPC.

18 August 2026

KingKong 3.4.0: native WebSocket bridge

Browser clients can now talk to KingKong services without a separate gateway.

30 July 2026

Community call recap — July 2026

Notes and recording from the monthly contributor call are now available.

Upcoming Events

15 October 2026 · Online

KingKong Contributor Summit

3 November 2026 · Hong Kong

APAC gRPC Meetup #12

20 November 2026 · Online

Office hours with the core team

Get Involved

KingKong is developed in the open. Issues, discussions and pull requests are welcome.

View on GitHub

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