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Step 5: Deploy Nova

Step 5: Deploy Nova

Let’s put Nova on the internet so you can access it from anywhere.

Push to GitHub

First, create a GitHub repository for your project. Go to https://github.com/new and create a repo (e.g., nova-assistant).

Then push your code:

Terminal window
git init
git add -A
git commit -m "Nova personal assistant"
git remote add origin https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/nova-assistant.git
git push -u origin main

Login to Kernova Cloud

If you haven’t already:

  1. Go to https://kernova-cloud.vercel.app
  2. Sign up / sign in
  3. Go to Settings → Create Key
  4. Copy the key
Terminal window
kernova login --key kn_live_your_key_here

Add Environment Variables

Go to the Kernova Cloud dashboard:

  1. Settings → Connect GitHub (if you haven’t)
  2. After your project is created, go to Projects → your project → Environment
  3. Add: OPENAI_API_KEY = your OpenAI key

This ensures the deployed service has access to OpenAI.

Deploy

Terminal window
kernova deploy

You’ll see:

  ✅ Deployed successfully


  URL:     https://kn-nova-assistant.onrender.com
  Status:  QUEUED

Wait 2-3 minutes for the build to complete on Render.

Test the Live App

Visit your URL: https://kn-nova-assistant.onrender.com

You should see:

  • The landing page with Nova’s branding
  • Click “Start chatting” → the chat interface
  • Send a message → Nova responds

What’s Running in Production

Render Container:
├── Next.js (port 10000) ← serves the frontend + proxies to agents
└── Agent Backend (port 4555) ← runs KernovaKernel, handles AI requests

Render exposes port 10000 to the internet. When someone visits your URL:

  • / → Next.js serves the landing page
  • /chat → Next.js serves the chat UI
  • /api/agents/assistant → Next.js proxies to the agent backend

Making Changes

Want to update Nova? Just push to GitHub:

Terminal window
# Edit agents/assistant.agent.ts
git add -A
git commit -m "Updated Nova's personality"
git push origin main

Render auto-deploys when you push (it watches your main branch).

Congratulations! 🎉

You’ve built and deployed a personal AI assistant with:

  • ✅ Custom personality and behavioral rules
  • ✅ Persistent memory (remembers across sessions)
  • ✅ Web search capability
  • ✅ Streaming chat interface with Tailwind
  • ✅ Live on the internet

What to Do Next

  1. Add more tools — a to-do list tool, a calendar tool, a weather tool
  2. Add scheduling — “Give me a morning briefing every day at 8am”
  3. Add channels — Connect a Slack bot so you can talk to Nova from your phone
  4. Share it — Give the URL to friends or colleagues

Full Project Recap

nova-assistant/
├── app/
│   ├── layout.tsx           # Root layout
│   ├── providers.tsx        # KernovaProvider
│   ├── page.tsx             # Landing page
│   ├── globals.css          # Custom colors
│   └── chat/page.tsx        # Chat UI
├── agents/
│   └── assistant.agent.ts   # Nova's definition
├── agents/tools/
│   └── web-search.ts        # Web search
├── memory/
│   └── conversations.ts     # Memory schema
├── kernova.config.ts        # Config
└── .env.local               # Secrets

Key commands:

Terminal window
kernova dev          # Local development
kernova build        # Production build
kernova deploy       # Ship to cloud

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