Trust
What NOVA is made of, what it keeps, how it is tested and what is still undecided, written so you can check it.
Status
- Development
- 0.1.0 Released 2026-10-16. Active development.
- Source code
- Public at github.com/VED2107/nova, licensed MIT OR Apache-2.0.
- Distribution
- Windows installer on GitHub Releases. Because it bundles an engine build with GPL components, the installer as a whole is distributed under the GPL. See Release.
- Made by
- SNOWBROS.
- Reporting issues
- GitHub issues.
Privacy
What NOVA keeps, on your computer
- Library folders, titles, file paths, durations and spec linesSQLite database
- Playback positions and watch historysame database
- Saved playlistssame database
- Preferences: theme, keys, mouse, decodingsame database
- Thumbnailsapp-data folder
- Frames you choose to savePictures\NOVA
The database and thumbnails live in %APPDATA%\com.snowbros.nova. Clear history in Settings → Library & privacy.
What it doesn't have
- An account or sign-inNone
- Telemetry, analytics or crash-reporting codeNone in code
- An HTTP client in the app's runtime dependenciesNone in code
- Engine extras: web fetching (ytdl), user scripts, outside config filesSwitched off
- Interface network access: content policy allows only the app itself and its IPC bridgeIn config
Not yet verified Network traffic has not been captured, so we don't claim NOVA makes no connections at all. Windows and the WebView2 runtime may make their own.
This website has no analytics, cookies, trackers, external fonts or third-party scripts. It is static files only.
Testing
Engine compatibility harness
55 synthetic samples on the real engine, twice: software decoding, then hardware allowed. 55/55 and 55/55 met their expectation. Media Atlas
Rust workspace tests
Unit and integration tests across the domain, playback contract, engine, storage, library scanning and thumbnails, plus a restart-and-resume test. Clippy with warnings as errors, and rustfmt.
Interface tests
Vitest component tests and TypeScript checks for the React interface (36 at RC1, 38 after the redesign).
Feature audit in the running app
Every feature marked Verified, Partial or Deferred by exercising it in the installed or debug app, with an isolated profile. RC1 test record
Not verified yet
- A clean Windows machine; Windows 10; per-machine install, uninstall and file associations
- How SmartScreen treats the unsigned installer
- Real camera files and real RAW files
- HDR on an HDR display; tone mapping by eye
- Audio/video sync beyond H.264, HEVC and VP9
- Rendered-pixel contrast in the app (computed from tokens only)
- Display scaling at 125% and 150%
- Network traffic capture
All testing so far was on one machine: Windows 11, Intel i5-10300H, Intel UHD 630 and NVIDIA GTX 1650.
Licensing
NOVA's code is MIT OR Apache-2.0. The 0.1.0 installer is GPL.
0.1.0 bundles a third-party engine build. It ships under the GPL with licence texts, notices, source archives of the exact mpv and FFmpeg commits and the build recipe, and a written offer for the rest. The plan for later releases is an LGPL engine built from source (option B), so installers can follow NOVA's own licence.
The engine build used in development comes from a third-party nightly. Its DLL includes the x264 and x265 encoder wrappers, which require FFmpeg's GPL configuration, so that build must be treated as GPL. A player doesn't need those encoders: decoding uses FFmpeg's own LGPL decoders or the GPU.
That LGPL build has not been made yet. Codec patents are a separate question that depends on jurisdiction.
| Option | What it means | State |
|---|---|---|
| A. Ship a GPL build | Ship the third-party GPL engine build and meet the GPL: licence text, corresponding source, notices. | Used for 0.1.0 |
| B. Build an LGPL engine | A reproducible build of mpv and FFmpeg without GPL or non-free parts, so installers can follow NOVA's MIT OR Apache-2.0 licence. | Next releases |
ADR 0003 is not legal advice; counsel should review the final distribution.
Third-party components
The initial inventory from ADR 0003, as each project publishes its licence. An automated check in CI is still to do.
| Component | Licence | Role |
|---|---|---|
| libmpv (mpv) | GPLv2+ by default; LGPLv2.1+ when built with -Dgpl=false | Playback engine. 0.1.0 bundles the shinchiro build 20261015 (GPL). Next: our own LGPL build. |
| FFmpeg | LGPLv2.1+, or GPL when built with GPL parts | Decoders and demuxers inside libmpv. The 0.1.0 build includes x264/x265, which makes it GPL. |
| NOVA | MIT OR Apache-2.0 | This application's own code |
| Tauri 2, tauri-plugin-dialog, tauri-plugin-log | MIT OR Apache-2.0 | Application shell |
| React 19, Vite 8, Tailwind CSS 4 | MIT | Interface |
| rusqlite / SQLite | MIT / public domain | Local library and progress |
| serde, thiserror, log, libloading | MIT OR Apache-2.0, ISC | Rust libraries |
| Microsoft Edge WebView2 | Microsoft; system component, not bundled | Draws the interface |
| Archivo | SIL Open Font License 1.1 | Typeface, in the app and on this site |
| Astro | MIT | Builds this website (not part of the app) |
Known limitations
- Subtitles drawn by the engine can sit under the control bar while the controls are visible.
- Side panels and menus can't blur the video, which is a native surface below the interface; they use a 93% opaque fill instead.
- A playlist's duration reads “0:30 known”: correct, but awkward.
- Interface contrast was computed from colour tokens, not measured on rendered pixels.
- No timeline preview frames when hovering the seek bar.
- Alpha video is shown over black; image sequences, embedded timecode and camera RAW decoding are not built.
Format-level limits, such as VP9 alpha, HDR display, image sequences and camera RAW, are listed entry by entry in the Media Atlas. Feature gaps are marked on Product.
Credits
The product images on this site show NOVA playing open films made by the Blender Foundation. The films are not NOVA's and the Blender Foundation does not endorse NOVA.
Tears of Steel
2012, directed by Ian Hubert. © Blender Foundation | mango.blender.org.
Licensed under CC BY 3.0. Film website
Appears in 12 of the 14 product images.
Sintel (trailer)
2010, directed by Colin Levy. © copyright Blender Foundation | durian.blender.org.
Licensed under CC BY 3.0. Film website
Appears in 7 of the 14 product images.
Big Buck Bunny (trailer)
2008, directed by Sacha Goedegebure. © copyright 2008, Blender Foundation | www.bigbuckbunny.org.
Licensed under CC BY 3.0. Film website
Appears in 6 of the 14 product images.
Changes: Frames shown inside NOVA's interface, captured from playback, scaled and compressed.
- Typeface
- Archivo, © 2020 The Archivo Project Authors (Omnibus-Type), SIL Open Font License 1.1, self-hosted as a Latin subset. Licence text
- Name and mark
- NOVA and the Lumen N are by SNOWBROS. No trademark search has been made yet.