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Welcome to Nowa

Nowa turns your app idea into a real app for iOS, Android and the web, and you don't need to write a line of code. You describe what you want, Nowa AI builds it on your board, and then you shape every detail with visual tools until it's exactly right.

What you see on the board is your real app, not a mockup. Behind it, Nowa writes real Flutter code (Flutter is Google's toolkit for apps that run on phones, the web and computers), and that code belongs to you. You never have to open it. If one day a developer joins you, you can download the code and hand it over.

How building works​

Most projects follow the same loop. You can jump in at any step and go back whenever you like.

  1. Describe. Tell Nowa AI what you want in plain words, the way you'd explain it to a friend: "A booking app for my yoga studio, with this week's classes and a sign-up form." See Build with Nowa AI.
  2. Watch it build. Nowa AI designs your screens right on the board while you follow each step in the chat. In Agent mode it also makes them work, with real data and the logic behind every button.
  3. Refine visually. Click anything on a screen and change it in the Details panel, drag it into place, or restyle the whole app with a theme. See Design your app.
  4. Add logic. Decide what happens when someone taps a button, what your app remembers and which screen comes next. Nowa AI can build this for you in Agent mode, and you can see and change every step in Circuit, a visual editor where each step is a block instead of a line of code. See Add logic.
  5. Connect data and sign-in. Keep your app's data in an online database and let people sign in, with Supabase or Firebase. You can also pull in data from a service you already use, through its REST API (the way most online services share data). See Connect data and services.
  6. Play. Play (Instant Play) runs a screen right on the board in an instant, so you can tap through it the way your users will. See Preview and test.
  7. Run. Run builds and starts your real app: inside the editor, on your phone, or on a device or emulator (a phone simulated on your computer) with the desktop app.
  8. Publish. Deploy builds your app for the web, Android and iOS. Your app goes live on the web and in the stores only when you publish it, so you can experiment freely until then. See Get ready to publish.
  9. Update. Change your app, then publish it again. See Ship an update.

Nowa AI and the visual tools work on the same project, so you can switch between them any time. Tweak a widget by hand and ask Nowa AI to build on it, or let Nowa AI make a change and fine-tune it yourself.

What you can build​

Because Nowa builds Flutter apps, one project can become an app for several platforms.

PlatformHow you get there
WebDeploy publishes your app to a live web address that anyone can open.
Android and iOSDeploy builds your Android and iOS apps. Before that, you can try them on your phone, or on devices and emulators with the desktop app.
DesktopFrom the desktop app, you can also run your app on your computer itself: it shows up in the Run on menu next to your phones and emulators.

You can start on the free plan. Deploy is for cloud projects, and publishing to a live web address or building for Android and iOS needs a paid plan. See pricing.

Who Nowa is for​

  • People with an idea. Founders, shop owners, teachers, designers and hobbyists. You describe your app, watch it take shape and change what you don't like, without writing code or learning Flutter. Every page in these docs outside Work with code is written for you.
  • Teams. Workspaces let you share projects with the people you build with.
  • People who also code. The same project is real Flutter code, so you can use Git, add packages and write your own custom code. Already have a Flutter app? Import it in the desktop app as a local project, and keep Nowa and VS Code open on the same folder. You'll find all of this in Work with code, and you can skip it if you don't code.

Where Nowa runs​

  • The web app at app.nowa.dev. Sign in and build in your browser, with nothing to install. On a phone-sized window you get a phone layout for checking and chatting on the go.
  • The desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux. It adds local projects, running on devices and emulators, and importing existing Flutter projects. You don't need it to build and publish your app. See Install the desktop app.
  • The playground at app.nowa.dev/playground. Try the editor without an account. See Try Nowa without an account.

Key terms​

TermWhat it means
Nowa AIThe AI agent that builds, edits and fixes your app when you ask. It lives in the AI Assistant panel (the Assistant icon in the sidebar).
BoardThe design surface where your screens, components and widgets sit side by side, like pages pinned to a wall.
ScreenA page of your app, such as a home page, a product page or a checkout. The Library lists your screens.
ComponentA piece you build once and reuse on any screen, such as a product card. Change it once and every copy updates.
WidgetA building block, such as a text, a button, an image or a row. Every screen is made of widgets (they're Flutter widgets).
DetailsThe panel on the right that shows the settings of whatever you selected.
CircuitThe visual logic editor, where you stack steps to say what happens, for example when someone taps a button.
Cloud project and local projectWhere a project's files live: in your Nowa account, or in a folder on your computer. See Cloud and local projects.

More terms are in the glossary.

Next steps​