CLI Reference

Complete documentation of all commands available in the NovaType CLI.

Overview

$ nova --help

NovaType - Modern typesetting system

Usage: nova <COMMAND>

Commands:
  compile   Compile a Typst document to PDF/SVG/PNG
  init      Initialize a new NovaType project
  watch     Watch files and recompile automatically
  validate  Validate document metadata
  template  Manage templates
  font      Manage fonts (Google Fonts integration)

Options:
  -h, --help     Show help
  -V, --version  Show version

nova compile

Compile a Typst document to PDF, SVG, or PNG.

Syntax

nova compile <INPUT> [OPTIONS]

Arguments

Argument	Description
`<INPUT>`	Path to the source file `.typ`

Options

Option	Description	Default
`-o, --output <PATH>`	Output file path	`<input>.pdf`
`-f, --format <FORMAT>`	Output format : `pdf`, `svg`, `png`	`pdf`
`--open`	Open the document after compilation	`false`
`--root <PATH>`	Root directory for relative paths	Current directory
`--font-path <PATH>`	Additional directories for fonts	-
`-v, --verbose`	Enable detailed logs	`false`
`-q, --quiet`	Suppress non-error messages	`false`
`--no-python`	Skip Python figure generation	`false`

Examples

# Simple compilation
$ nova compile main.typ

# Compile and open
$ nova compile main.typ --open

# Export to SVG
$ nova compile main.typ -f svg -o output.svg

# Export to high-resolution PNG
$ nova compile main.typ -f png -o figure.png

# With custom fonts
$ nova compile main.typ --font-path ./fonts/

# Skip Python figures (use cached)
$ nova compile main.typ --no-python

nova init

Initialize a new NovaType project with the recommended structure.

Syntax

nova init <NAME> [OPTIONS]

Arguments

Argument	Description
`<NAME>`	Project name (will be the folder name)

Options

Option	Description	Default
`-t, --template <TEMPLATE>`	Template to use	`article`
`--no-git`	Do not initialize a Git repository	`false`

Available templates

article - Simple article (default)
ieee-article - Format IEEE
nature-article - Format Nature
report - Technical report
book - Book with chapters
presentation - Slides
cv - Curriculum vitae

Examples

# New project with default template
$ nova init mon-article

# Project with IEEE template
$ nova init conference-paper --template ieee-article

# Without Git
$ nova init draft --no-git

Created structure

mon-article/
├── main.typ        # Main document
├── nova.toml       # Project configuration
├── references.bib  # Bibliography
└── .gitignore      # Files ignored by Git

nova watch

Watch for source file changes and recompile automatically.

Syntax

nova watch <INPUT> [OPTIONS]

Options

Option	Description	Default
`-o, --output <PATH>`	Output file path	`<input>.pdf`
`-f, --format <FORMAT>`	Output format	`pdf`
`--debounce <MS>`	Delay before recompilation (ms)	`300`
`--clear`	Clear terminal before each build	`false`
`--font-path <PATH>`	Additional directories for fonts	-

Examples

# Simple watch
$ nova watch main.typ

# With terminal clearing
$ nova watch main.typ --clear

# Custom recompilation delay
$ nova watch main.typ --debounce 500

Tip

Use Ctrl+C to stop watching.

nova validate

Validate document metadata (frontmatter) against a JSON schema.

Syntax

nova validate <INPUT>... [OPTIONS]

Options

Option	Description	Default
`--schema <PATH>`	Path to a custom schema	Template schema
`--strict`	Strict mode (frontmatter required)	`false`

Examples

# Validate a document
$ nova validate main.typ

# Validate multiple documents
$ nova validate chapter1.typ chapter2.typ chapter3.typ

# With custom schema
$ nova validate main.typ --schema my-schema.json

# Strict mode
$ nova validate main.typ --strict

nova template

Manage NovaType templates.

Subcommands

Command	Description
`nova template list`	List all available templates
`nova template info <NAME>`	Show template details
`nova template install <SOURCE>`	Install a template from a package or path
`nova template new <NAME>`	Create a new custom template

Examples

# List templates
$ nova template list

Available templates:
  article        Simple article for general documents
  ieee-article   IEEE journal article format
  nature-article Nature journal formatting
  report         Business/technical reports
  book           Book with chapter support
  presentation   Slide presentations
  cv             Curriculum vitae/resume

# Template information
$ nova template info ieee-article

Template: ieee-article
Description: IEEE journal article format
Required fields: title, authors
Optional fields: abstract, keywords, bibliography

# Create a custom template
$ nova template new mon-template

nova font

Manage fonts with Google Fonts integration. See the Fonts page for a full guide.

Subcommands

Command	Description
`nova font search <QUERY>`	Search Google Fonts by name
`nova font search --category <CAT>`	Search by category (`serif`, `sans-serif`, `display`, `handwriting`, `monospace`)
`nova font install <NAME>`	Install a font (all variants)
`nova font install --variants <LIST>`	Install specific variants only
`nova font uninstall <NAME>`	Remove an installed font
`nova font list`	List installed fonts
`nova font info <NAME>`	Show detailed font information
`nova font bundle <NAME>`	Install a curated font bundle (`academic`, `modern`, `monospace`, `classic`, `minimal`)
`nova font bundle list`	Show available bundles
`nova font cache info`	Show cache size and location
`nova font cache clear`	Clear font cache

Examples

# Search and install a font
$ nova font search inter
$ nova font install "Inter"

# Install only regular and bold
$ nova font install "EB Garamond" --variants regular,bold,italic

# Install a bundle
$ nova font bundle academic

# List what's installed
$ nova font list

Environment variables

Variable	Description
`NOVA_FONT_PATH`	Additional paths for fonts (separated by `:`)
`NOVA_TEMPLATE_PATH`	Additional paths for templates
`NOVA_LOG`	Log level (`error`, `warn`, `info`, `debug`, `trace`)

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
`0`	Success
`1`	Compilation error
`2`	Validation error
`3`	File not found