Welcome to nenva. This guide walks you through the first steps after installing the app.
Install the app
Download the latest build from the Download page and drag nenva into your Applications folder. On first launch, macOS will ask for permission to run the app; approve it in System Settings if prompted.
Plan your first project
Projects live in Tasks, the one door that holds the whole framework. Open Tasks (press Cmd+K and type its name), then open the Projects page and click "Help me plan a new project": the assistant walks you through it one question at a time: what you want to accomplish, what done looks like, by when. Then it proposes the first steps as tasks with dates for you to approve. You can also add a project by hand with + New project.
Good projects are specific, finishable outcomes with a date, not vague wishes:
- "Run a 10K on October 18"
- "Ship v1 of the mobile app by end of Q2"
- "Save a 6-month emergency fund by December"
- "Finish the machine-learning course by August"
Less useful: "Work on the app", "Get healthier". You can never check those off.
Group your projects
Each project carries a plain Group label (Health, Work, Finance, Learning) and the Projects page shows projects grouped by it. There is nothing to manage: type a group name on a project (the field suggests existing ones) or drag a project onto a group in the sidebar. Three or four groups is plenty.
Break projects into tasks
Tasks are the day-to-day actions that move a project forward. For "Run a 10K on October 18" that might be: "Sign up for the October 10K" (one-time, this week), "Run" repeating Mon/Wed/Sat at 7am, "Buy running shoes Saturday". The project interview proposes these for you; you can also type them into the quick-add box in plain language, "Run every mon wed sat 7am", or open the project and click Suggest tasks. For recurring behaviors, a repeating task comes back on the days you choose and tracks your streak.
The Tasks app is the front door. It opens to Today, a short finishable list merging today's tasks, action items pulled from email, and your calendar, so you always know what to work on next. Tomorrow, This Week, This Month, Later, and each project group are one click away in its nav.
Connect your tools
nenva can optionally connect to external services to bring their data into your dashboard:
- Gmail: priority emails are analyzed by your own model, and action items are extracted directly into your task list.
- Google Calendar: see events alongside your tasks.
Open Settings → Accounts to connect. Services can be toggled off any time.
Enable AI
A new install starts on nenva Cloud: hosted open-weight models, a free monthly allowance, no key, and prompts are never logged or stored. nenva also has local AI built in: open Settings → AI Assistant to download a model sized to your Mac's memory (offered on Macs with 8 GB or more), and with a local model nothing leaves your machine.
For other options, use + Add model: another nenva Cloud model, your own OpenAI-compatible server, or an OpenAI/Anthropic model with your own API key. Switching is always your choice, and nenva never falls back from the model you set to another. Your traffic goes only where you pointed it.
That's the basics. Everything else (Notes, Journal, Bookmarks, Portfolio) is optional; use only the parts that fit how you work.
Every feature page has a small ? in its header that opens that page's guide in place.