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Amazon Nova Act requires Python 3.10 or above and is available on PyPI. This guide will walk you through installing the SDK and setting up your development environment.

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System requirements

Operating system

  • macOS Sierra or later
  • Ubuntu 22.04 or later
  • Windows 10+ or WSL2

Python version

Python 3.10 or above
Amazon Nova Act currently supports English language prompts.

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Install Nova Act

Install the SDK using pip: 
pip install nova-act

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Verify installation

Verify that Nova Act is installed correctly: 
pip show nova-act
You should see output similar to: 
Name: nova-act
Version: 3.x.x
Summary: A Python SDK for Amazon Nova Act.
Location: /path/to/site-packages
Nova Act SDK versions older than 3.0 are no longer supported. If you have an older version installed, upgrade using:
pip install --upgrade nova-act

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Install from source

Alternatively, you can build Nova Act from source:
1

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/aws/nova-act.git
cd nova-act
2

Install with pip

pip install .

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Install Google Chrome (optional)

Nova Act works with both Google Chrome and Chromium. If you already have Chrome installed, you can skip this step.
Nova Act works best with Google Chrome but does not have permission to install it automatically. You can install Chrome manually: 
playwright install chrome
For more information, visit the Playwright documentation.

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Playwright installation

The first time you run Nova Act, it may take 1-2 minutes to start while it installs Playwright modules. Subsequent runs will only take a few seconds.
You can disable automatic Playwright installation by setting an environment variable: 
export NOVA_ACT_SKIP_PLAYWRIGHT_INSTALL=1

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Install CLI tools (optional)

If you plan to deploy workflows to AWS AgentCore Runtime, install the CLI tools: 
pip install nova-act[cli]
This includes additional dependencies for:
  • Workflow deployment
  • Container building
  • ECR management
  • IAM role creation
See the CLI documentation for more details.

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Development dependencies

For SDK development, install the dev dependencies: 
pip install nova-act[dev]
This includes:
  • Testing frameworks
  • Linting tools
  • Type checking utilities
It’s recommended to install Nova Act in a virtual environment to avoid dependency conflicts.
# Create virtual environment
python -m venv nova-env

# Activate (macOS/Linux)
source nova-env/bin/activate

# Activate (Windows)
nova-env\Scripts\activate

# Install Nova Act
pip install nova-act

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Docker installation

You can also run Nova Act in a Docker container: 
FROM python:3.10-slim

# Install system dependencies
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
    wget \
    gnupg \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

# Install Nova Act
RUN pip install nova-act

# Install Chrome (optional)
RUN python -m playwright install chrome
RUN python -m playwright install-deps chrome

WORKDIR /app
COPY . .

CMD ["python", "your_workflow.py"]

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Upgrade Nova Act

To upgrade to the latest version: 
pip install --upgrade nova-act
Check your current version: 
pip show nova-act

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Troubleshooting

This usually means Nova Act isn’t installed in your current Python environment. Verify that:
  • You’re using the correct Python interpreter (check with which python or python --version)
  • Nova Act is installed in your active environment (run pip list | grep nova-act)
  • If using a virtual environment, make sure it’s activated
If automatic Playwright installation fails:
  1. Install Playwright manually: python -m playwright install
  2. Install system dependencies: python -m playwright install-deps
  3. Set NOVA_ACT_SKIP_PLAYWRIGHT_INSTALL=1 to disable automatic installation
On some Linux systems, you may need to install additional dependencies:
sudo apt-get install -y libnss3 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libdrm2 libxkbcommon0 libgbm1
If Nova Act can’t find Chrome:
  1. Install Chrome manually: playwright install chrome
  2. Or use Chromium (installed automatically with Playwright)
  3. Verify Chrome is installed: playwright list

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IDE extensions

Accelerate your development with the Nova Act IDE extension for VS Code.
The Nova Act extension provides:
  • Automated environment setup
  • Chat-to-script generation
  • Browser session debugging
  • Step-by-step testing
Visit the extension repository or website for installation instructions.

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Next steps

Authentication

Set up API key or IAM authentication

Quickstart

Build your first workflow

Core concepts

Learn about workflows and automation

Examples

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