I built Nova, a full browser-based visual website editor in TypeScript. I can drag blocks onto a canvas, style them in an inspector, and export a dependency-free site as HTML or React. The project is hosted on my GitHub; its README presents it as a full editor rather than a demo.
Nova has 46 registered block types spanning layout, content, media, forms, interactive elements, social, tabs, counters, and composite sections.
Nova includes 24 complete multi-page starter templates, each with its own palette, type pairing, and navigation.
Nova has 10 composite section types: navbar, hero, features, stats, logo cloud, testimonial, pricing, gallery, CTA, and footer.
I can drag blocks from a palette onto the canvas, with live drop indicators. Hit-testing finds the deepest valid container and exact insertion index in either a horizontal or vertical layout. I can also relocate existing nodes from the canvas or layers tree. The collapsible layers panel synchronizes selection and hover and supports hiding, duplicating, and deleting nodes; text can be edited inline.
The inspector covers layout, spacing, typography, colour, borders, effects, and per-block properties. Document-wide workflows include undo and redo, local-storage autosave, multi-page sites, a section library, a right-click context menu, and a command palette for blocks, pages, and actions.
Nova's command palette opens with ⌘K.
I can turn elements such as headers and footers into reusable components; editing an instance updates it across every page. Nova also has document-wide colour themes, curated font pairings, custom font uploads, and responsive overrides for desktop, tablet, and mobile. Uploaded font faces are embedded in exports.
Nova offers responsive overrides for desktop, tablet, and mobile.
I can download the current page as a single HTML file, export the whole site as a ZIP, or export React components as JSX. The ZIP is described as clean semantic HTML and scoped CSS without a runtime, framework, or build step. Nova can also publish a site to a live URL at /s/<slug>/ served from its backend.
Nova's whole-site ZIP export is described as having no runtime, no framework, and no build step.
The optional backend adds email-and-password accounts, cloud-saved projects that I can reopen from anywhere, publishing, and form submissions. Form blocks post to /api/f/:projectId; submissions are stored per project and readable from the editor. The editor remains usable without the server because projects autosave locally.
Nova uses bcrypt hashes for email-and-password accounts and JWT sessions.
Nova's backend port defaults to 8787 through PORT.
Nova's default NOVA_SECRET is nova-dev-secret-change-me, a development placeholder that should be replaced with a real secret before public deployment because anyone who knows the default can mint valid sessions.
Nova's SQLite data is stored in server/nova.db, created on first run and gitignored; I should back it up if the data matters.
In development I run the API and published sites on port 8787 and the editor on port 5199. Vite proxies /api and /s/ to the backend so development uses a single origin. The backend is optional for local editing: cloud accounts, projects, publishing, and form submissions depend on it.
Nova's development editor runs on port 5199.
Nova requires Node 18 or newer.
git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/nova.git
cd nova
npm install
# terminal 1 — API + published sites, on :8787
npm run server
# terminal 2 — editor, on :5199
npm run dev
# Open http://localhost:5199
better-sqlite3 compiles a native module during installation: macOS requires Xcode command line tools, while Linux requires build-essential and python3. I can build with npm run build, which type-checks and bundles to dist/, and preview the bundle with npm run preview.
The project separates shared document schema and rendering in src/core/; self-registering block definitions in src/blocks/; editor UI in src/editor/; drag-and-drop and pointer hit-testing in src/dnd/; document and auth stores in src/store/; templates and styling resources in src/templates/; and themes and custom fonts in src/theme/. HTML and React emitters live in src/export/, the typed backend client in src/api/, and the Express API, SQLite storage, and published-site hosting in server/index.mjs.
To author a block, I define its type, icon, default props and styles, and render function in a self-contained module, then list it in src/blocks/index.ts. The listed stack includes React 18, TypeScript, Vite 6, Tailwind CSS 4, zustand, zundo, @dnd-kit, Express 5, better-sqlite3, lucide-react, and JSZip. Nova is MIT-licensed; the repository points to LICENSE for details.
- I use ⌘Z / ⇧⌘Z for undo and redo (⌘Y also redoes); ⌘C / ⌘X / ⌘V for copy, cut, and paste across pages; ⌘D to duplicate; ⌥↑ / ⌥↓ to move a selected node among siblings; Backspace or Delete to delete; and Esc to clear the selection.
I host Nova in the nova repository on @namanjain24-sudo's GitHub.
Nova started 2026-09 and was last updated 2026-10.
Nova’s listed stack is React 18, TypeScript, Vite 6, Tailwind CSS 4, zustand + zundo, @dnd-kit, Express 5, better-sqlite3, lucide-react, and JSZip.
Nova is MIT-licensed; the repository’s LICENSE file has the details.
Nova’s layers panel has a collapsible tree, select/hover synchronization, and per-node hide, duplicate, and delete controls.
Nova supports custom font uploads in .woff2, .woff, .ttf, and .otf formats; font faces are embedded in exports.
- Nova’s starter templates are Aurora — SaaS; Horizon — SaaS; Noir — Agency; Folio — Portfolio; Pulse — Mobile app; Bloom — E-commerce; Gazette — Blog; Saffron — Restaurant; Haven — Real estate; Summit — Event; Forge — Fitness; Ledger — Fintech; Mediva — Medical; Scholar — Education; Wander — Travel; Vows — Wedding; Lumen — AI; Atelier — Luxury; Cobalt — Enterprise; Halo — Personal; Verdant — Nonprofit; Aperture — Photography; Cadence — Podcast; and Monarch — Architecture.
Nova’s project files place the document schema and shared renderer in src/core/, block definitions in src/blocks/, editor UI in src/editor/, and drag-and-drop context and pointer hit-testing in src/dnd/.
Nova’s project files place document and auth stores in src/store/, starters and styling resources in src/templates/, and themes and custom font handling in src/theme/.
Nova’s HTML and React emitters are in src/export/, its typed backend client is in src/api/, and its Express API, SQLite storage, and published-site hosting are in server/index.mjs.
To add a Nova block, I write one self-contained definition and list it in src/blocks/index.ts.
Nova’s block definitions provide a type, an icon, default props and styles, and a render function.