Installation

This page covers:

1. The one-line install command for Linux / macOS / Windows.
2. Direct binary download and the escape-hatch alternative.
3. Where the binary lands.
4. Two sanity checks — novetest --version and novetest --help.
5. Environment overrides, re-install, and uninstall.

Nove Test ships as a single self-contained binary — a PyApp bundle that embeds CPython 3.11 plus the novetest wheel — so the binary path needs no Python toolchain on your machine. The install script always resolves the latest release unless you pin one; the current version is listed on the GitHub Releases page.

1. The install command

The install scripts are hosted at ailovestesting.com/products/novetest/ — a byte-identical mirror of scripts/install.sh / scripts/install.ps1 in the public repo. Use the branded URL (shorter, canonical to share); the GitHub Raw URL shown under each is the same script straight from source. Either URL works.

Linux + macOS

curl -fsSL https://ailovestesting.com/products/novetest/install.sh | sh

Direct from source (identical bytes):

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Nove-Lab/Nove-Test/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

Windows (PowerShell)

irm https://ailovestesting.com/products/novetest/install.ps1 | iex

Direct from source (identical bytes):

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Nove-Lab/Nove-Test/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iex

Both scripts are idempotent (re-running upgrades in place via atomic rename), sudo-free (write to ~/.local/bin/), and abort loudly on a SHA-256 mismatch rather than write a partial binary.

Inspect-first (recommended for first-time users)

# Linux / macOS
curl -fsSL -o install.sh \
  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Nove-Lab/Nove-Test/main/scripts/install.sh
less install.sh   # read it
sh install.sh

# Windows
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Nove-Lab/Nove-Test/main/scripts/install.ps1 -OutFile install.ps1
Get-Content install.ps1   # read it
.\install.ps1

What the install script does, step by step

1. Detects OS + arch.

2. Resolves the GitHub Release asset name:

   • Linux × x86_64 -> novetest-linux-x86_64
   • Linux × aarch64 -> novetest-linux-aarch64
   • macOS (any arch) -> novetest-macos-universal2 (one fat binary covering Intel + Apple Silicon)
   • Windows × x86_64 -> novetest-windows-x86_64.exe
3. Downloads the binary and its .sha256 sidecar.
4. Computes SHA-256 locally (sha256sum / shasum / openssl / Get-FileHash).
5. Compares to the sidecar. Mismatch -> loud abort; nothing is written under the install prefix.
6. Atomically renames the verified binary into ~/.local/bin/novetest.
7. Tests whether the install prefix is on PATH; if not, prints a one-line hint.

The script needs a downloader (curl or wget) and a SHA-256 tool.

Supported platforms

Linux i686 / armv7l and Windows arm64 are not built.

Where the binary lives

Override with NOVETEST_INSTALL_PREFIX=... if you need elsewhere.

If ~/.local/bin is not on your PATH

# Linux / macOS (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc)
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

# Windows (PowerShell profile)
$env:PATH = "$HOME\.local\bin;$env:PATH"

Then source the profile (or open a new shell) and re-check.

Pinning a specific version

NOVETEST_INSTALL_VERSION=v0.1.2 \
  curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Nove-Lab/Nove-Test/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

The default (latest) resolves the most recent GitHub Release at install time. Pinning a tag gives deterministic, reproducible installs — recommended for CI pipelines and agent-managed hosts.

2. Other ways to install

Direct binary download (no script)

base=https://github.com/Nove-Lab/Nove-Test/releases/latest/download
target=novetest-linux-x86_64   # or linux-aarch64 / macos-universal2 / windows-x86_64
curl -fsSLO "$base/$target"
curl -fsSLO "$base/$target.sha256"
sha256sum -c "$target.sha256"          # must say: OK
chmod +x "$target" && mv "$target" ~/.local/bin/novetest

The install scripts above are the only recommended install path; the direct binary download covers environments where piping to a shell is forbidden by policy. Escape hatch beyond both (no prebuilt binary for your platform, or a PyPI-mirror-only network): a Python-tooling install — uv tool install novetest / pipx install novetest (Python >= 3.11). There is no Homebrew, Docker, npm, or cargo distribution.

3. Sanity check #1 — novetest --version

The shortest round-trip to confirm the binary works. It reports the CLI identity envelope; on a TTY the same values render as text.

novetest --version

{
  "command": "version",
  "data": {
    "commandName": "novetest",
    "installLocation": "/home/yjshin/dev/aispace/Nove-Test/.venv/bin/python3",
    "installedVersion": "0.1.2",
    "platform": "linux-x86_64",
    "pythonVersion": "3.11.15",
    "verifiedAt": "2026-06-25T06:20:42.645279Z"
  },
  "errors": [],
  "ok": true,
  "schema": "novetest/v1",
  "warnings": []
}

NOVETEST_OUTPUT=json novetest --version

{
  "command": "version",
  "data": {
    "commandName": "novetest",
    "installLocation": "/home/yjshin/dev/aispace/Nove-Test/.venv/bin/python3",
    "installedVersion": "0.1.2",
    "platform": "linux-x86_64",
    "pythonVersion": "3.11.15",
    "verifiedAt": "2026-06-25T06:20:42.645279Z"
  },
  "errors": [],
  "ok": true,
  "schema": "novetest/v1",
  "warnings": []
}

4. Sanity check #2 — novetest --help

The list of every verb the CLI exposes. novetest --help and bare novetest (no args) are equivalent — bare novetest prints help, it does not run tests.

novetest --help

novetest — AI-first testing orchestration

Onboarding:
  novetest --version           Print CLI identity envelope.
  novetest --help              Print command surface envelope.
  novetest init                Initialize a Project Store under .novetest/ in the current workspace.
  novetest reset               Wipe the active Project Store and re-initialize (requires --confirm).

Operating:
  novetest test                Run tests with integrated orchestration and synthesize a recommendation.
  novetest run                 Execute a Test Target via the native engine and persist a Run Record.
  novetest memory list         List Memory Entries in Run History.
  novetest memory show         Show a Memory Entry by Run Reference.
  novetest memory delete       Tombstone a Memory Entry; Run Reference remains resolvable.
  novetest inspect             Aggregate run view across Memory and derived facts.
  novetest status              Latest run plus per-sub-report availability summary.
  novetest coverage show       Show Coverage Facts for a run.
  novetest coverage diff       Diff Coverage Facts between two runs.
  novetest regression compare  Compare two runs into a Regression Fact set.
  novetest regression latest   Compute Regression Facts versus the latest baseline.
  novetest compare             Composed Regression and Coverage delta between two runs.
  novetest localization        Ranked suspicious code locations for a run.
  novetest replay              Re-execute a stored run and classify reproducibility.
  novetest licenses            List third-party components Nove Test redistributes or links to.

NOVETEST_OUTPUT=json novetest --help

{
  "command": "help",
  "data": {
    "onboarding": [
      { "availableInPhase": 0, "group": "onboarding", "name": "novetest --version", "summary": "Print CLI identity envelope." },
      { "availableInPhase": 0, "group": "onboarding", "name": "novetest --help",    "summary": "Print command surface envelope." },
      { "availableInPhase": 1, "group": "onboarding", "name": "novetest init",      "summary": "Initialize a Project Store under .novetest/ in the current workspace." },
      { "availableInPhase": 7, "group": "onboarding", "name": "novetest reset",     "summary": "Wipe the active Project Store and re-initialize (requires --confirm)." }
    ],
    "operating": [
      { "availableInPhase": 6, "group": "orchestration", "name": "novetest test", "summary": "Run tests with integrated orchestration and synthesize a recommendation." },
      { "availableInPhase": 1, "group": "run",           "name": "novetest run",  "summary": "Execute a Test Target via the native engine and persist a Run Record." }
      /* ... also: memory list/show/delete, inspect, status, coverage show/diff,
         regression compare/latest, compare, localization, replay, licenses */
    ],
    "schemaVersion": 1
  },
  "errors": [],
  "ok": true,
  "schema": "novetest/v1",
  "warnings": []
}

5. Environment overrides

Install-script variables (script-only; they do not affect the CLI at runtime):

Runtime output mode:

Precedence rule:

explicit --output flag  >  NOVETEST_OUTPUT env  >  TTY auto-detect

6. Verifying a clean install

# 1) Binary on PATH
command -v novetest || { echo "novetest missing"; exit 1; }

# 2) Version envelope round-trips
NOVETEST_OUTPUT=json novetest --version \
  | jq -e '.ok == true and .schema == "novetest/v1"' \
  || { echo "version envelope malformed"; exit 1; }
# (gate on .data.installedVersion only if you pinned a version at install time)

# 3) Help envelope enumerates the operating surface
NOVETEST_OUTPUT=json novetest --help | jq -e '.data.operating | length >= 15' \
  || { echo "help envelope shrunk unexpectedly"; exit 1; }

7. Re-install and uninstall

• Re-install / upgrade: re-run the same install command. The script always overwrites with the verified binary via atomic rename.
• Uninstall: rm ~/.local/bin/novetest (Linux/macOS) or Remove-Item $HOME\.local\bin\novetest.exe (Windows). The CLI keeps no state outside per-project .novetest/ directories, so removing the binary removes the CLI entirely.

To delete a specific project's history (without touching its source or tests):

cd /path/to/project
novetest reset --confirm   # wipe + re-initialize the Project Store
# or remove it outright:
rm -rf .novetest/

Caveats pinned by the MVP

• First-run cold start is on the order of 5–15 seconds (PyApp unpacks its embedded Python once per binary version). Subsequent invocations are warm and fast.
• The SHA-256 check is a real integrity gate: a mismatch aborts and writes nothing.
• The binary bundles CPython 3.11; a Python >= 3.11 requirement applies only to the uv / pipx escape hatch (see §2).

What to read next

• Quick Start — the 4-step canonical happy path: init -> test -> read the recommendation -> (optional) inspect.
• Supported Languages — if your project is not Python, the one-line toolchain difference your engine needs before you novetest init.
• Troubleshooting — if a sanity check didn't return clean output.