Date: 2026-09-14

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How Nova works

Nova turns a request into a guided terminal workflow. It gathers relevant local context, asks a model to reason about the task, uses the tools available to the session, and reports what changed and what was verified.

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A Nova session in practice

  1. Nova opens your workspace. It loads the applicable configuration, project context, and safety policy for the directory you started in.
  2. It investigates before changing code. Nova can search the repository, read focused files, inspect Git state, and identify the project’s existing commands and conventions.
  3. It chooses the next action. For a simple request, Nova can work directly. For a larger or riskier change, it can propose a plan and carry the work through its steps.
  4. Tools do the work. File edits, shell commands, Git operations, and configured integrations are performed through tools. The available tools vary by session and policy.
  5. You review the evidence. Nova can show the edited files, command output, and Git diff. Tests, linting, builds, or manual checks are the evidence that a requested result holds.

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Approvals and boundaries

Nova separates reasoning from execution. A model can suggest an action, but it cannot bypass tool availability, approval requirements, or local permissions. Destructive and externally visible actions require explicit confirmation. A session may also include optional MCP servers, skills, custom models, or isolated Git worktrees. Those extensions are only available when configured and allowed for the current session.

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Keep requests concrete

Nova produces better results when you provide the outcome, constraints, and expected verification:

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Next steps