NovaOS

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@RishitEncrypt on NovaOS · about 4 hours ago

So this is NovaOS, my browser based desktop environment. I started this about 3 days ago as a small side project, and somehow it turned into something much bigger than I anticipated. My primary goal for this project was to create a desktop environment which was reminiscent of an actual desktop operating system, and still remained completely within the browser.

Here are some of the features I ended up including: desktop, taskbar, launcher, windowing system, live wallpapers, notifications, settings, music player, notes app, file explorer, calculator, Nova AI, Nova Command. Although I could have tried to rebuild Windows or macOS, my true intention was to create something original and built entirely by me and help of Claude AI.
i used claude to create me some css for the project, nova command app was entirely made using Claude , and the widget .

I believe the largest obstacle I faced was getting all the features to interact with each other. Actually implementing a single feature is one aspect; getting all your apps, windows, settings, wallpapers and notifications working together smoothly is where almost all of my time went. There were definitely quite a few bugs, and plenty of issues with deployment, and fixing one bug would cause two more. This was pretty much a project in problem solving.

The thing that I am the most proud of is the fact that I actually finished it. It is quite easy to start something because of the excitement of a new idea, however actually taking that idea all the way through to completion is much more difficult. Getting all the different pieces to work together in harmony, and to create something which actually felt like a desktop was a tremendous joy that made all the debugging worthwhile.

If you decide to try out NovaOS, the best way to do it is to simply mess around with it. Open the apps, try the Nova Command, use Nova Music, change a wallpaper and check the settings. Although there are still quite a few areas that may seem a bit rough around the edges, given that it was built relatively quickly, I think it pretty much captures what I was looking to achieve.

And after three days I think that NovaOS v1.0 is officially done.

8 devlogs
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WebOS 1

Try project → See source code →

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@RishitEncrypt on NovaOS · about 4 hours ago

1h 6m 23s logged

That’s all for now.

NovaOS v1.0 is done after 3 days of developing, breaking, fixing stuff, redesigning some half of the interface, and wasting a lot of time trying to find those weird bugs.

It grew from being an experiment to a full-fledged desktop environment working inside the browser, equipped with its own applications, launcher, wallpaper options, notifications, music player, artificial intelligence, settings, and many other features.

I especially liked implementing Nova Command, Nova Music, and making the whole desktop feel like an actual operating system.

Working on this project definitely brought many insights and overall I’m quite satisfied with the result achieved in such little time.

For everyone interested to see the result yourself:

🔗 Live Demo: https://nova-os-encrypt.netlify.app/
🔗 GitHub: https://github.com/rishitencrypt/Nova-Os

Thanks for following me during this journey.

Next project incoming.

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@RishitEncrypt on NovaOS · about 8 hours ago

29m 54s logged

Hi!!
NovaOS is becoming very close to that point where I can say that it’s “usable” and not just “project”.

The development of most of the key features is completed now, which means that I can finally start working on improving existing code rather than implementing new stuff. Right now, I’m working on cleaning up the user interface, making the windows behave better, redesigning Settings app, working on the taskbar and Nova Hub.

Also, now novaOS supports multiple live wallpapers and I have started adding some improvements to the stock apps to make them more functional.

Now, it’s almost all about bug fixing, UI adjustments and quality of life improvements.

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@RishitEncrypt on NovaOS · about 17 hours ago

45m 55s logged

hi!
Been working on NovaOS, a desktop environment I’m building in React. It’s not a real operating system, but more of a futuristic desktop experience with its own apps, live wallpapers, glassmorphism UI, and custom window system.

So far I’ve built a taskbar, start menu (Nova Hub), Notes, Explorer, Calculator, Nova AI, Nova Command, Settings, boot animations, and support for live video wallpapers.

Lately I’ve been focusing on making everything feel more polished and less like a prototype. Still plenty to improve, but it’s finally starting to feel like an actual desktop instead of a bunch of components thrown together.