nova #

nova is a local-first, multi-device controller for coding agents, built around pi. it ships a native gpui desktop, a terminal viewport, a headless engine, direct encrypted nova-to-nova sync, and native parent/child agent collaboration.

the interface began as a fork of comet. many thanks to zeronsh for the original shell.

developing #

one command, no environment setup:

scripts/nova-dev.sh

the script keeps the engine daemon alive, builds the desktop, and warm-swaps the window after successful ui rebuilds. chats, terminals, and agent sessions survive the swap.

direct commands are also available:

cargo run -p nova
cargo run -p nova -- headless
cargo run -p nova -- tui

nova uses NOVA_DATA_DIR, NOVA_IPC_PORT, and the other NOVA_* runtime settings. existing .comet-native data and core COMET_* settings are detected as migration fallbacks, so the rename does not strand prior chats or device state.

layout #

• apps/nova — desktop and headless command
• crates/engine — sessions, repositories, terminals, local state, and peer sync
• crates/ui — native gpui interface
• crates/tui — terminal viewport
• crates/nova — authenticated iroh transport and trust
• crates/harness — pi and compatibility harness adapters

see ARCHITECTURE.md for the active system boundary.