What is this website?
Novastart is an infinite-canvas desktop that lays everyday software out as real windows. It can run as an app on Windows 10/11 or an Intel Mac, or be installed as its own operating system. Windows stay where you place them: zoom in to edit a spreadsheet or a page, zoom out to see the notes beside it, and the next time you open it they are still there. AI agents bring their own cursors and click inside the app interface. Sharing a canvas so teammates can edit it live is included only on the Team plan.
Core features
- Opens Gmail, Excel, WhatsApp, Notion, and similar tools as real windows, other sites in bundled Chrome, plus ONLYOFFICE and Linux apps.
- Zooms and pans the canvas, splits work or travel into separate spaces, and keeps apps, positions, and tabs for the next session.
- A lead agent breaks one task into steps and can bring up to 10 helpers, each with its own window and cursor; one canvas holds up to 16 agent seats.
- Four modes: click and type directly, edit a plan first, answer from a screenshot only, or watch and hand over a window in one click. You can pause, take a window back, or correct it mid-run.
- The Team plan invites Owners or Editors by email, shares one canvas or a whole folder, and streams windows directly between two computers.
Common use cases
- Someone sorting household spending lays the spreadsheet, a reference page, and notes on one canvas, edits a cell, zooms out to see the whole board, and does not rebuild the layout the next day.
- While booking a trip, a lead agent splits hotels and transport across helpers. The person watches each cursor and can change the dates without starting the run over.
- Coworkers in two places edit the same budget sheet: one person's window appears live on the other's screen, both cursors type at once, and the layout remains after they leave.
- A developer wiring their own agent can use the Open Virtual Input SDK in Python, JavaScript, or Rust to send clicks and keystrokes into canvas windows.
Who is it for?
- People who keep mail, spreadsheets, and web pages open and want to spend less time hunting through stacked windows.
- People who will supply their own OpenAI API key and want to see the agent click in the real interface.
- Small teams that need to edit the same windows remotely and will use the Team plan at $20 per month.
- People who only have an Apple-silicon Mac, will not turn on hardware virtualization, and will not dedicate an x86 PC to the standalone OS are a poor fit today.
- Meetings that only need one-way screen sharing, where the other person should not click into your windows, are a poor fit as well.
How does it compare with similar tools?
This is a way to choose, not a ranking of named products. A normal desktop usually has one cursor, so an agent either takes it or works out of sight. Novastart gives the agent its own cursor, and windows sit side by side instead of stacking. Screen sharing is often one person driving while others watch. On the Team plan, invited people can click into a window running on someone else's machine. The stream does not pass through a server in the middle, and they see only the shared canvas or folder. A chat assistant in Ask mode answers from that task's screenshot and does not click. In Agent mode it operates in the app interface, and a separate check reads a fresh screenshot before the job is accepted. Three checks before you start: whether the machine is Windows, an Intel Mac, or an x86 PC you can install the OS on; whether several people must edit together (Team only); and agent billing at $0.02 per use, with credits sold from $25.
FAQ
Q: How do the free and paid plans differ?
A: All three plans open the same apps. Free is 1 folder, 2 canvases, and at most 4 windows on each, with no team collaboration. Pro is $10 per month and Team is $20 per month. Both remove the cap on folders, canvases, and windows. Team collaboration is only on Team. On every plan, AI agents cost $0.02 per use, and credits start at $25.
Q: Does an agent send the whole canvas to the model?
A: The site's security page says agents use OpenAI computer-use models and your own API key. What goes to the model is the screenshot and instructions for that task, not the rest of the canvas. Run logs (steps, clicks, and screenshots) stay on your machine. You can pause, take a window back, or type a correction and let it continue.
Q: Does installing Novastart wipe the computer I have?
A: The app does not. It runs in a window on Windows 10/11 or an Intel Mac, needs about 8 GB of RAM and 32 GB of disk, and hardware virtualization turned on. It responds a bit slower than the standalone OS. Installing Novastart OS from the ISO replaces the system on that x86 PC. If the PC already runs Ubuntu, a package can add Novastart and leave the existing desktop in place.
Q: After I share, can the other person see my other canvases?
A: No. They see only the canvas or folder you shared. Roles are Owner and Editor. Only members can receive the stream, and only editors can write. Documents and images up to about 100 MB are mirrored to the team. Canvas contents stay on your machine by default, and sharing is machine to machine.
