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Nova

Nova Documentation

Nova is an open-source agent runtime and application platform built on the DeerFlow  harness. It gives you a production-ready harness for composing agents with memory, tools, skills, sandboxes, and subagents — and a full application layer for deploying and operating those agents for end users.

This documentation covers the Nova App (how to use it) and the Nova Harness (how to extend and embed it).

Start here

New to Nova

Start with the conceptual overview to understand what Nova is and what it is designed to solve.

Deploying Nova

Start here if you want to run Nova as a complete application and understand how to configure, operate, and use it in practice.

Building on the Harness

This path is for developers who want to integrate Nova capabilities into their own system or build a custom agent product on top of the DeerFlow runtime that Nova wraps.

Tutorials

Hands-on, task-oriented guides for learning Nova by doing.

Reference

Detailed lookup material — configuration, runtime modes, APIs, and SDK reference.

Documentation structure

Introduction

Build the right mental model before touching implementation details.

  • What is Nova explains what Nova is and what problems it solves.
  • Why Nova explains the project’s motivation.
  • Core Concepts introduces the concepts that appear throughout the docs.
  • Harness vs App explains the relationship between the runtime layer and the application layer.

Nova App

Written for teams deploying Nova as a complete application.

  • Quick Start helps you run Nova locally.
  • Deployment Guide explains how to deploy in your own environment.
  • Configuration covers the application-level configuration model.
  • Workspace Usage explains the main user workflows.
  • Agents and Threads explains how users interact with Nova in practice.

Nova Harness

Written for developers building custom agent systems on top of the DeerFlow runtime.

  • Quick Start shows how to create your first agent with the core API.
  • Design Principles explains the architectural ideas behind the Harness.
  • Configuration covers the main configuration surface of the SDK/runtime.
  • Memory, Tools, Skills, and Sandbox explain the major system capabilities.
  • Customization shows how to adapt Nova to your own product requirements.

Choose your path

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Why Nova