How-to guide

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Install Nawa

Nawa runs on Windows 10 and 11 with its own engine, bundled runtimes and sandbox. Website and Microsoft Store editions share the same application code, with different remote-access and update behavior.

Choose an edition

	Website edition	Microsoft Store edition
First installation	Download directly from nawaagent.com	Get Nawa from the Microsoft Store
Models, chats, documents and local Desktop Control	Included	Included
Tailscale and remote browser access	Optional, configured separately	Disabled; listeners stay on this computer and remote pairing is blocked
Updates	Background checks and in-app installation	Install a newer Store-edition installer; the website update feed is disabled
Profile	Updates preserve settings, chats and artifacts	Updates preserve settings, chats and artifacts

Both editions are built and tested from the same source revision. A Store installation cannot re-enable remote access by importing website settings or receiving a website update. Desktop Control's Cua helper is a user-mode application, not a Windows device driver or service.

Nawa is available on the Microsoft Store as of 30 October 2026. The direct website download remains available; choose it if you need optional Tailscale remote access.

Install from the installer

1. For the website edition, run Nawa-Web-Setup-<version>.exe. This small first-install launcher downloads the full application and bundled runtimes, approximately 1.6 GB in version 1.0.108. Keep the network connected during that download. Nawa-Store-Setup-<version>.exe contains the Store edition and its runtimes in one larger installer.
2. It asks who to install Nawa for and where. Keep Only for me and the suggested folder: Nawa then installs under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Nawa without administrator rights and creates its Start-menu and desktop shortcuts.
3. Leave Run Nawa checked on the last page. On the first start Nawa shows its startup screen while the engine comes up. You do not need to reopen it; the chat window appears when the engine is ready.
4. The normal Windows desktop session creates its local user automatically. Connect a model provider in Settings; you do not need to register a separate Nawa account. Remote browser pairing and a separately hosted server have different authentication flows.

Nawa-Setup-<version>.exe is the update Nawa downloads for itself. It only updates an existing installation, and on a computer without one it says so and names the full installer.

Your profile is stored locally. Prompts, files and observations supplied to a cloud model or connected service are transmitted to that provider; local storage does not mean all processing stays on this computer.

Nawa keeps its files in two places. The application lives under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Nawa, with its runtimes beside it; your profile — settings, credentials, chats, artifacts, automations, memory — lives under %APPDATA%\Nawa. An update replaces the application and leaves the profile alone.

New profiles start with Nawa Dark and Automatic search. Automatic uses a configured search API, or background Web search (DDGS) when no search API is configured. Existing profiles keep their saved preferences. Setup can take several minutes; the progress window remains visible through unpacking and final setup.

Update

Website edition

Open Settings and, on the General tab, find Application updates at the top. The row shows the installed version and a Check for updates button.

• When an update exists, Nawa downloads it in the background and shows the progress both here and in the top update control of the window; you can keep working.
• Install starts immediately when Nawa is idle, or waits until active work finishes. It hands over to a small update window that stays visible while the installer runs, shows the unpacking progress, and relaunches Nawa when it is done. Other applications may come to the foreground meanwhile.
• After the relaunch, the startup screen appears again while the engine starts, and everything you had — settings, credentials, chats, artifacts, automations — is where it was.

If a check reports no update but you expect one, use Recheck after a minute: the release's metadata is published last, after its files.

Microsoft Store edition

The General tab shows the installed version and explains that updates require a newer Nawa Store-edition installer. Run that installer when available. Nawa does not download the website updater in this edition; this keeps remote access disabled after updates.

What is installed with Nawa

Nawa bundles what its tools need, so nothing else has to be on the machine:

• a Node.js runtime, Git and ripgrep, used by its commands and code tools;
• a headless Chromium, used by the built-in browser tools;
• a Windows sandbox runner that runs commands at low integrity in a workspace of their own (see Permissions).

A local language model server, a cloud provider key, plugins such as Chrome control or Desktop Control, and language-server toolchains for your projects are yours to add; the following pages say how.

Read this documentation from Nawa

Help → Nawa Help opens this documentation on nawaagent.com in your browser. It describes the newest release; the changelog says what each version added.

Remove

Uninstall Nawa from Windows Settings → Apps like any application. It removes the application and the runtimes beside it. Your profile under %APPDATA%\Nawa is not removed; delete it yourself if you want the chats and credentials gone.