What is nova-ide?

Nova IDE is a lightweight, browser-based code editor designed around on-device AI. Instead of sending your code or prompts to a cloud service, it runs a large language model (an AI that understands and generates text) directly inside your browser using your computer's GPU. This means everything stays private on your machine, no API keys, no internet connection required for the AI features. The editor itself supports Python, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, and is built on CodeMirror 6, a well-known editor component. Alongside the code editor, there is an integrated simulated terminal for running commands and inspecting your environment, and a virtual file system stored in your browser's built-in IndexedDB storage, so you can manage files without needing a server. To use the AI assistant, you open the AI panel, load the local AI model (which is over 1GB and gets downloaded into your browser's memory the first time), and once it reports ready you can chat with it. The model runs using WebGPU and MediaPipe GenAI, technologies that let modern browsers access GPU hardware for fast computation. The project is built with JavaScript using the Vite bundler, and the interface takes visual inspiration from VS Code's dark theme. It is MIT licensed. The topics list also references on-device inference for Qualcomm GPU hardware.