Nova supports a small set of OSC (Operating System Command) sequences.

Some are standard-ish (OSC 7, OSC 8), and one is a Nova-private channel used by nova CLI commands.

Private Nova OSC Channel

Nova uses a private OSC code 777.

Format:

ESC ] 777 ; <command> [ ; <arg> ... ] BEL

Where:

• ESC is \x1b
• Terminator is BEL (\x07)

Command: ask_ai

nova ask sends:

ESC ] 777 ; ask_ai [ ; <preset_b64> ] BEL

If a preset is provided, it is base64-encoded (standard base64, no newlines).

Examples:

No preset:

\x1b]777;ask_ai\x07

With preset "hello" (base64: aGVsbG8=):

\x1b]777;ask_ai;aGVsbG8=\x07

OSC 7: Current Working Directory

Nova parses OSC 7 to track a working directory string.

It expects a file:// URL or ssh:// host-like value.

This is used for display/state and may differ from your shell’s own concept of PWD.

OSC 8: Hyperlinks

Nova parses OSC 8 URIs and stores the “current” URI while rendering.

This enables link hover behavior.