Nova

Nova is an AI-powered terminal assistant that turns plain-language development requests into commands and runs them sequentially in your current shell.

Requirements

• Node.js 22 or newer (Node.js 24 LTS is recommended)
• npm
• A Google Gemini API key

Installation

Install Nova globally from npm:

npm install --global tnova

The package is named tnova; the installed command is nova.

Getting started

Start Nova in the directory where you want it to work:

nova

On the first run, enter your Google Gemini API key when prompted. Nova stores it locally in ~/.nova/config.json and reuses it on later runs.

Then describe a task, for example:

Create a React app called dashboard using Vite

Nova asks Gemini to create a structured plan, displays a short description, and executes the returned commands in order. Enter exit, quit, or bye, or press Ctrl+C, to leave the prompt.

Caution

Nova currently executes AI-generated commands in your shell. Review the displayed commands and run Nova only in a directory where you are comfortable allowing changes.

Supported tasks

Nova's current prompts support:

Task	Example
Create directories	Create a folder called utils inside src
Initialize Node.js projects	Create a Node.js app called api-server
Scaffold Vite apps	Create a Vue app called dashboard using Vite
Scaffold Next.js, Remix, or Astro apps	Create a Next.js app called blog
Scaffold Next.js with MUI	Create a Next.js project with MUI called admin
Install or remove npm packages	Install axios and dotenv
Run npm scripts	Run the dev script
Rename a codebase with Casely	Rename src to kebab case

Scaffolding and package-management tasks can download packages and may open interactive prompts from npm or npx.

CLI options

nova                 Start the interactive assistant
nova --help          Show command help
nova --version       Show the installed version
nova --dev           Open the development action menu

The development menu runs predefined actions through Nova's executor. Some actions create files, install packages, or start a long-running development server, so use it in a disposable directory.

Configuration

Nova stores its configuration in:

~/.nova/config.json

The current format is:

{
  "apiKey": "your-google-gemini-api-key"
}

Treat this file as a secret and do not commit it. To replace the key, delete the file and start Nova again:

macOS and Linux:

rm ~/.nova/config.json
nova

Windows PowerShell:

Remove-Item "$HOME\.nova\config.json"
nova

Updating and uninstalling

npm install --global tnova@latest
npm uninstall --global tnova

Development

Clone the repository and install its dependencies:

git clone https://github.com/thatonevikash/nova.git
cd nova
npm install

Run the CLI directly from source:

node bin/nova.js

Or create a global development link:

npm link
nova

Run the automated tests and package smoke test before contributing:

npm test
npm run test:package

The project uses ECMAScript modules. Its main entry points are bin/nova.js, src/index.js, and src/executor.js.

Tech stack

• Google GenAI SDK for task evaluation
• Clack for interactive prompts
• Chalk for terminal styling
• Node.js child_process and filesystem APIs for command execution

License

Nova is available under the MIT License.