# Nova

> Nova is a memory-safe systems programming language with C#- and TypeScript-style syntax, compiled ahead of time to
> portable C11. Ownership and borrowing are checked at compile time; there is no garbage collector. It targets
> operating-system kernels (CosmoOS, and C codebases such as Linux) as well as ordinary programs.

Agents writing Nova: read the agent guide first, and use `novac mcp` (an MCP server with a checker, fixes, a
sandboxed interpreter and this documentation) or `novac check --diagnostics-format=json` and `novac fix`.

## Guide

- [What Nova is](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/introduction.md)
- [Installation](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/installation.md)
- [Getting started](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/getting-started.md)
- [Nova for AI agents](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/for-agents.md)
- [Basics](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/basics.md)
- [Structs, enums and patterns](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/structs-and-enums.md)
- [Ownership and borrowing](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/ownership.md)
- [Errors](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/errors.md)
- [Memory and allocation](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/memory.md)
- [Arrays, slices and collections](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/collections.md)
- [Generics and interfaces](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/generics.md)
- [Functions and closures](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/closures.md)
- [Unsafe code and C](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/unsafe-and-c.md)
- [Kernel code](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/kernel.md)
- [The novac command](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/novac.md)
- [Packages](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/packages.md)
- [Formatting and documentation](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/formatting-and-docs.md)
- [Editors](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/editors.md)
- [Debugging](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/debugging.md)
- [Coming from another language](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/coming-from/index.md)
- [Nova for Rust programmers](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/coming-from/rust.md)
- [Nova for Zig programmers](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/coming-from/zig.md)
- [Nova for C and C++ programmers](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/coming-from/c-and-cpp.md)
- [Nova for C#, Java and TypeScript programmers](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/coming-from/csharp-java-typescript.md)
- [Nova for Go programmers](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/coming-from/go.md)
- [Threads](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/guide/threads.md)

## Specification

- [Nova Grammar — M1 subset](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/reference/grammar.md)
- [Type System and Static Semantics — M1 subset](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/reference/type-system.md)
- [Diagnostics](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/reference/diagnostics.md)
- [Unsafe Code — Contract and Checks](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/reference/unsafe.md)
- [Ownership, Borrowing and Lifetimes — Formal Safety Design (v0)](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/reference/ownership.md)
- [References and the Borrow Checker (M2b)](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/reference/lifetimes.md)
- [Nova Memory Model and Allocation Architecture (v0)](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/reference/memory-model.md)
- [Formatting (M10 T1)](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/reference/formatting.md)
- [Tooling (M10)](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/reference/tooling.md)
- [C Backend Design (v0)](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/reference/c-backend.md)

## Optional

- [Everything above in one file](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/llms-full.txt)
- [Library: lib/core](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/reference/api/core.md)
- [Roadmap](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/reference/roadmap.md)
- [Design decisions (ADRs)](https://vkuttyp.github.io/Nova/reference/decisions/0001-compiler-implementation-language)