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Nova Technical Overview

Nova is an Android client with a Moonlight-compatible streaming core and a Kotlin layer for Nova-specific product behavior. The README stays focused on what users can do; this page keeps the source layout, build commands, and architecture details in one place.

Architecture

block-beta
  columns 1

  block:kotlin["com.papi.nova - Kotlin"]:1
    columns 4
    api["api/\nREST + SSE"]
    manager["manager/\nRuntime tasks\nPolaris startup"]
    ui["ui/\nHUD, Themes\nLibrary, Menu"]
    preferences["preferences/\nSettings\nProfiles"]
  end

  block:java["com.papi.nova - Java (Moonlight core)"]:1
    columns 5
    PcView["PcView\nServers"]
    AppView["AppView\nGames"]
    Game["Game\nStream"]
    nvstream["nvstream/\nProtocol"]
    binding["binding/\nDecode + input"]
  end

  block:native["moonlight-common-c - C / NDK"]:1
    columns 3
    enet["enet\nTransport"]
    fec["Reed-Solomon\nFEC"]
    opus["Opus\nAudio"]
  end

  kotlin --> java --> native

  style kotlin fill:#7c73ff22,stroke:#7c73ff,color:#d4dde8
  style java fill:#4c526522,stroke:#687b81,color:#a8b0b8
  style native fill:#1a1a2e,stroke:#4c5265,color:#687b81
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All new Nova-specific behavior lives in the Kotlin layer where practical. The Java core stays close to Moonlight and is changed surgically.

Source Layout

Path Purpose
app/ Shipping Android client
app/src/main/java/com/papi/nova/api/ Polaris REST and SSE integration
app/src/main/java/com/papi/nova/manager/ Runtime helpers and Polaris startup coordination
app/src/main/java/com/papi/nova/preferences/ Kotlin settings model, repository, profile override, and Compose UI
app/src/main/java/com/papi/nova/ui/ Nova Library, quick menu, HUD, themes, and Compose surfaces
app/src/main/jni/moonlight-core/ Moonlight native streaming submodule
baselineprofile/ Baseline Profile generation for release performance coverage
docs/ Packaging, performance, and technical notes

Android is the only public release target today.

Build Requirements

Tool Version
JDK 17
Android SDK compileSdk 36
Android NDK 27.0.12077973
Git with submodule support

Clone

git clone --recursive https://github.com/papi-ux/nova.git
cd nova

If the repo was cloned without submodules:

git submodule update --init --recursive

Android native builds run a preflight check for app/src/main/jni/moonlight-core/moonlight-common-c before invoking ndk-build. If that tree is missing, run the submodule command above instead of chasing downstream C compiler errors.

Nova currently builds the checked-out native streaming tree directly. Prebuilt native artifacts or AAR packaging may be useful later, but that should be a separate release-engineering decision with its own review and provenance checks.

Build

# Release APKs
./gradlew assembleNonRoot_gameRelease

# Debug APKs, installed as com.papi.nova.debug
./gradlew assembleNonRoot_gameDebug

By default, local source builds produce split APKs for arm64-v8a, armeabi-v7a, and x86_64.

To override the ABI set locally:

./gradlew assembleNonRoot_gameDebug -PnovaAbis=arm64-v8a,armeabi-v7a,x86,x86_64

Install A Local Build

Use the ABI-specific APK that matches your device from app/build/outputs/apk/nonRoot_game/<buildType>/.

Example for a real ARM64 device:

adb install -r app/build/outputs/apk/nonRoot_game/debug/app-nonRoot_game-arm64-v8a-debug.apk

Build Flavors

Flavor Package Notes
nonRoot_game com.papi.nova Standard release build
nonRoot_gameDebug com.papi.nova.debug Debug build, installs alongside release

Official GitHub releases ship signed APKs for ARM64 devices, 32-bit ARM Android TV devices such as Chromecast with Google TV and Google TV Streamer, and x86_64 devices.

Tests

./gradlew :app:testNonRoot_gameDebugUnitTest

For release readiness, pair focused unit coverage with a release assemble:

./gradlew :app:testNonRoot_gameDebugUnitTest :app:assembleNonRoot_gameRelease

Release Performance Notes

Nova includes Baseline Profile generation infrastructure for startup and library flows. Release-performance evidence and current limitations are tracked in Video Baseline Evidence.