Nova AI

Privacy-focused Android AI chat client with tool calling, vision & web search

A fast, lightweight, open-source AI chat app for Android that connects to OpenCode Zen free models out of the box — no API key required. Also works with any OpenAI-compatible API. No tracking. No ads. No telemetry. No proprietary SDKs.

Multi-model · Streaming · Tool calling · Image vision · Web search · Markdown

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Features

Chat

• Multi-model support — switch between Big Pickle, DeepSeek V4, MiMo V2.5, Nemotron 3 Ultra, North Mini Code, GLM 5.2, MiniMax M3, and Kimi K2.7 Code on the fly
• Browse 80+ providers from models.dev — pick any OpenAI-compatible provider, auto-fill API URL, fetch available models
• Free models work with no API key — OpenCode Zen is pre-configured
• Streaming responses — answers appear token by token as they generate
• Collapsible reasoning display — see the model's thinking process with a tap
• Conversation history — persistent chat storage, rename, delete, search
• Per-message actions — copy, regenerate, share (AI), copy, edit (user)

Tool Calling

The AI can autonomously call tools to answer questions:

Tool	Description	Visible?
web_search	Real web search via self-hosted SearXNG	Shows source badges
calculate	Math expression evaluator (sqrt, trig, log, etc.)	Silent
get_current_time	Current date/time	Silent

Image Vision

• Attach images from your gallery and ask questions about them
• Supported models: Big Pickle, MiniMax M3, Kimi K2.7 Code
• Auto-prompts to switch to a vision-capable model if needed

Web Search

• Self-hosted SearXNG integration — no API key, no rate limits, no tracking
• Aggregates results from Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and Wikipedia
• Smart junk filtering removes dictionary/calendar/irrelevant results
• Source badges show where info came from (up to 3, "+N" if more)

Markdown Rendering

• Tables with aligned columns
• Fenced code blocks with syntax highlighting
• Headings (H1/H2/H3)
• Bold, italic, inline code
• Bullet lists and numbered lists

Privacy

• No tracking — zero analytics, zero telemetry
• No ads — no ad SDKs
• No proprietary dependencies — all libraries are Apache 2.0
• Your API key stays on your device — stored in SharedPreferences, never transmitted anywhere except the API endpoint you configure
• No Google Play Services required

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Installation

Option 1: Install via F-Droid (recommended)

1. Install F-Droid on your Android device
2. Open F-Droid → Settings → Repositories
3. Tap + and add this URL:

   https://loak7993-code.github.io/nova-ai-fdroid/repo
   

4. Wait for the repo to sync
5. Search for Nova AI and tap Install

Option 2: Download APK directly

1. Go to releases
2. Download the latest app-release.apk
3. Enable "Install unknown apps" in Android settings
4. Open the APK file to install

Option 3: Build from source

git clone https://github.com/loak7993-code/nova-ai.git
cd nova-ai
./gradlew assembleRelease

The APK will be at app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release-unsigned.apk.

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Setup Guide

1. Start chatting (no setup needed!)

Nova AI comes pre-configured with OpenCode Zen free models. Just open the app and start chatting — no API key required.

2. (Optional) Browse providers from models.dev

Nova AI can browse 80+ OpenAI-compatible providers from models.dev:

1. Open Settings → tap Providers next to the API base URL
2. Search and pick a provider (auto-fills the API base URL)
3. Enter your API key
4. Tap Fetch Models to load available models from the provider
5. Pick a model from the list

You can also manually enter any OpenAI-compatible API base URL and key.

3. (Optional) Use a different provider manually

3. Configure Nova AI

1. Open Nova AI
2. Tap the ☰ menu → Settings
3. Enter the API base URL from your provider (or keep OpenCode Zen default)
4. Paste your API key (leave empty for free Zen models)
5. (Optional) Change the model, system prompt, or temperature
6. Tap Save

4. (Optional) Enable Web Search

Nova AI uses SearXNG — a privacy-respecting metasearch engine. You can self-host one or use a public instance.

Self-host with Docker (recommended, 2 minutes):

docker run -d \
  --name searxng \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -p 8888:8080 \
  searxng/searxng:latest

Then in Nova AI → Settings → Search Engine URL:

http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:8888

Or find a public instance at searx.space and use its URL.

Without SearXNG configured, web search tool calls will return a helpful message telling the user to set up a SearXNG URL.

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Supported Models

Model	ID	Free?	Vision	Description
Big Pickle	big-pickle	Yes	Yes	General-purpose, vision + reasoning + tools
DeepSeek V4 Flash	deepseek-v4-flash-free	Yes	No	Fast reasoning + tools
MiMo V2.5	mimo-v2.5-free	Yes	No	Reasoning + tools
Nemotron 3 Ultra	nemotron-3-ultra-free	Yes	No	Reasoning + tools
North Mini Code	north-mini-code-free	Yes	No	Coding + reasoning + tools
GLM 5.2	glm-5.2	No	No	Strong general reasoning, 40B-744B MoE
MiniMax M3	minimax-m3	No	Yes	Coding, agentic, vision, 23B-428B MoE
Kimi K2.7 Code	kimi-k2.7-code	No	Yes	Long-horizon agentic coding, vision, 32B-1T MoE

Free models run on OpenCode Zen with no API key. All models support tool calling and reasoning/thinking display.

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Tech Stack

Component	Technology
Language	Java 17
Platform	Android (minSdk 24, targetSdk 35)
UI	Material Components, custom views
HTTP	OkHttp 4.12
JSON	Gson 2.10
Font	Geist (SIL Open Font License)
Build	Gradle 8.10, AGP 8.7
Dependencies	AndroidX, Material, OkHttp, Gson — all Apache 2.0

No proprietary SDKs. No Google Play Services. No analytics. No ads.

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Project Structure

nova-ai/
├── app/src/main/java/com/nova/ai/
│   ├── MainActivity.java          # Chat screen, message flow
│   ├── SettingsActivity.java      # Settings screen
│   ├── NovaApp.java               # Application init
│   ├── data/
│   │   ├── ChatStorage.java       # Persistent chat history
│   │   ├── Conversation.java       # Conversation model
│   │   ├── Message.java           # Message model (user/AI/tool/error)
│   │   ├── ModelRegistry.java     # Available models
│   │   ├── ModelInfo.java         # Model metadata
│   │   └── Settings.java          # App settings (API key, model, etc.)
│   ├── net/
│   │   └── AiClient.java          # API client, tool calling loop
│   ├── tools/
│   │   └── Tools.java             # Tool implementations (search, calc, time)
│   ├── ui/
│   │   ├── MessageAdapter.java    # Chat message adapter
│   │   ├── ConversationAdapter.java # Drawer conversation list
│   │   └── MarkdownFormatter.java  # Markdown → Spannable renderer
│   └── util/
│       └── ImageLoader.java       # Image load + base64 for vision
├── app/src/main/res/
│   ├── drawable/                  # Icons, backgrounds, shapes
│   ├── font/                      # Geist font (4 weights)
│   ├── layout/                    # All XML layouts
│   ├── values/                    # Colors, strings, themes
│   └── xml/                       # Network security config
├── metadata/
│   └── com.nova.ai.yml            # F-Droid metadata
├── LICENSE                        # GPL-3.0
└── README.md

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Building

Prerequisites

• JDK 17
• Android SDK 35 (Platform + Build Tools 35.0.0)
• Gradle 8.10+ (wrapper included)

Build debug APK

./gradlew assembleDebug
# Output: app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk

Build release APK

./gradlew assembleRelease
# Output: app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release-unsigned.apk

Sign release APK

keytool -genkey -v -keystore nova.keystore -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 \
  -validity 10000 -alias nova
jarsigner -verbose -sigalg SHA256withRSA -digestalg SHA-256 \
  -keystore nova.keystore app-release-unsigned.apk nova
zipalign -v 4 app-release-unsigned.apk nova-ai-signed.apk

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Publishing a New Release

Update the F-Droid repo

# Build new APK
cd nova-ai
./gradlew assembleRelease
cp app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release-unsigned.apk /root/fdroid-repo/repo/com.nova.ai_VERSIONCODE.apk

# Regenerate index
cd /root/fdroid-repo
fdroid update

# Push (auto-deploys via GitHub Actions)
git add -A
git commit -m "Update to vX.X.X"
git push origin main

Tag a release on GitHub

cd nova-ai
git tag -a vX.X.X -m "Release vX.X.X"
git push origin vX.X.X

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Privacy & Permissions

Permission	Why
INTERNET	Connect to AI API + SearXNG
ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE	Check connectivity before requests
VIBRATE	Haptic feedback on actions

That's it. No camera, no microphone, no location, no contacts, no storage access beyond file picker.

Your API key is stored locally on your device using Android's SharedPreferences. It is only sent to the API endpoint you configure — nowhere else.

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License

GPL-3.0-or-later — see LICENSE

Geist font by Vercel is licensed under the SIL Open Font License.

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Contributing

1. Fork the repo
2. Create a branch: git checkout -b feature-name
3. Commit: git commit -m "Add feature"
4. Push: git push origin feature-name
5. Open a Pull Request

Guidelines

• Keep it FOSS — no proprietary dependencies
• No tracking/analytics
• Follow existing code style (Java, no tabs)
• Test builds before submitting

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Acknowledgments

• OpenCode Zen for the free AI models that power Nova AI out of the box
• SearXNG for the privacy-respecting search engine
• Geist by Vercel for the beautiful font
• OkHttp by Square for HTTP
• F-Droid for the free software ecosystem

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Install via F-Droid · Source Code · Report Issue

Made with care for privacy. No tracking. No ads. Just AI.