Getting Started

Nana is a free terminal for Windows 10 and newer that runs AI coding agents side by side, each on its own git worktree. Install it with the .msi or one PowerShell command, then open a project and start your agents.

Requirements

See Windows desktop app for the package. A source build is described in the root README.

Windows desktop app

Download the native package from the latest release:

1. Download Nana-<version>-x86_64.msi and open it. It installs for your user only — no administrator — into %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\nana-desktop, or nana-desktop-beta for the beta, with a Nana (or Nana Beta) entry in the Start menu.
2. Leave the Command line tool on PATH feature selected to open a project with nana <folder> from any terminal.

Every release installs as a versioned installation: current is a junction the installer points at one versions\<version> directory, and the app’s own updater unpacks the new version beside the running one, points current at it and restarts into it, so the app, the nana command and the server are always from one build. Notifications are filed under the app’s identity (com.nana.app, com.nana-beta.app for a beta), which the installer registers together with the shortcut.

A managed machine, or a policy that blocks MSI files, can use the installer directly. Set VERSION to the version without its leading v:

$version = '0.1.0'
$installer = "$env:TEMP\install-desktop-windows.ps1"
Invoke-WebRequest "https://github.com/Areshkew/nana/releases/download/v$version/install-desktop-windows.ps1" -OutFile $installer
pwsh -File $installer install -Version $version -AddToPath

The installer selects x86_64, downloads the release zip over HTTPS, checks its SHA-256 against the release’s metadata, verifies every file in the package against its manifest and every executable’s own build identity, and then installs. It does not open the app. Nothing else is needed: the package carries the app, the nana command, the server and the default-terminal proxy, needs no Visual C++ redistributable, and does not use Python.

Open Nana or Nana Beta from the Start menu.

Updates and recovery (Windows)

The app checks automatically, and Check for Updates checks immediately. Stable installs receive stable releases; beta installs receive betas. The updater verifies the archive checksum, the package manifest and the matching build of the app, the command and the server before replacing anything, keeps the running version while the app runs, and restarts into the new one. Settings, projects and sessions live in Nana’s own profile under %LOCALAPPDATA% and are not part of an update.

Uninstall (Windows)

Quit the app and stop its local server first. Then either remove Nana (or Nana Beta) in Settings → Apps → Installed apps, or run the installed installer:

pwsh -File "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\nana-desktop\installer\install.ps1" uninstall -Root "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\nana-desktop"

For the beta, replace nana-desktop with nana-desktop-beta. Removal refuses while an installed app, command or server is running, and removes only the versioned installation, its own shortcut, its notification identity and the PATH entry it added. Settings, projects, sessions and kibbles are kept.

Windows terminal integration

Nana can be the terminal Windows hands a new console session to, and it adds Open in Nana to Explorer’s folder menu. Both live in Terminal, and the reasons behind the unpackaged per-user design are in Decisions.

CLI and server only

For a Linux computer or Mac you reach as a remote server. This installs nana and nana-server from the native release packages.

Nana’s native packages and the install script below must be published under Areshkew/nana first; the repository’s existing Electron releases are not native Rust builds. On a computer you reach as a remote server, use the install script: SSH sessions often don’t have a package manager on PATH.

Install script

Set VERSION to the newest version on the releases page, without the leading v:

VERSION=0.1.0
curl -fsSL "https://github.com/Areshkew/nana/releases/download/v$VERSION/install-nana.sh" \
  | sh -s -- --version "$VERSION"
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

The script picks the build for your OS and architecture, verifies its checksum, and installs both commands into ~/.local/bin. Add the export line to your shell’s startup file to keep them on PATH.

• Update: run it again with the new version and --replace.
• Another folder: add --install-dir PATH.

Check it

Run nana --version and nana-server --version, then nana server start to start the server. Updating them never restarts a running server; stop it to switch to the new version.

Beta

The beta gets new features first. It installs as a separate app, Nana Beta, next to Nana, keeps its own settings and data, and updates to each new beta. Download it from the newest v<version>-beta.<N> pre-release on the releases page. For the CLI and server, give the install script a beta version, such as 0.1.0-beta.3.

First steps

1. Add a project. Choose Add Project at the bottom of the sidebar, or press Ctrl+Shift+O, and pick a folder.
2. Open a terminal. Ctrl+Shift+T opens a tab in the project. Ctrl+Shift+N opens one in Home.
3. Split it. Ctrl+Shift+D splits right, Ctrl+Shift+Alt+D splits down.
4. Quit freely. Terminals keep running in the background. Reopen Nana and everything is where you left it.

Next

• How Nana works: the server, sessions, and history.
• Projects, Terminal, and Keyboard shortcuts.
• Remote servers.
• Settings and Troubleshooting.