Nova Launcher · v1.2.5-beta
Get up and running in
minutes, not hours
The Nova Launcher handles Docker, configuration, and updates — so you can focus on the night sky, not the terminal.
Platforms
3
macOS · Windows · Linux
Min. RAM
4 GB
8 GB recommended
Disk Space
2 GB
5 GB recommended
Before you begin
System Requirements
Docker Desktop is the only prerequisite — the Launcher takes care of everything else.
All Platforms (Required)
Docker Desktop — installed and running (latest version recommended)
Internet connection — needed for the initial image download (~500 MB)
4 GB RAM minimum, 8 GB recommended
2 GB free disk space minimum, 5 GB recommended
macOS
macOS 10.15 Catalina or later
Intel or Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3)
Windows
Windows 10 (v1903) or Windows 11
64-bit operating system
WSL 2 (installed via Docker Desktop)
Linux
Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 10+, Fedora 34+, Arch — or any modern distro
systemd support for Docker service management
Docker Engine (see install steps — no Docker Desktop required on Linux)
Installation
Step-by-step setup
Select your operating system below.
1
Install Docker Desktop
Download Docker Desktop from docker.com and run the installer.
After launch, wait for the whale icon in the menu bar to stop animating — that means Docker is ready.
2
Download Nova Launcher
Download Nova DSO Tracker.zip from the
Releases page on GitHub.
Unzip it — you’ll find
Nova DSO Tracker.app inside.
3
Move to Applications
Drag Nova DSO Tracker.app into your Applications folder — or keep it wherever you prefer.
4
First Launch — allow in macOS Security
Double-click the app to launch it. Because Nova Launcher is an unsigned app,
macOS will block it on first run.
Important: Right-click → Open no longer works on recent macOS.
Instead, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security,
scroll down to the security message about “Nova DSO Tracker”, then click
“Open Anyway”. You may be prompted for your password. This only needs to be done once.
5
Install & launch Nova
The Launcher will check your Docker status automatically. Click Install Nova
to download the Docker image and set everything up. Once done, click Open Dashboard
to open Nova in your browser at
http://localhost:5001.
1
Install Docker Desktop
Download Docker Desktop for Windows from docker.com.
Run the installer and enable WSL 2 when prompted. Reboot if required, then launch Docker Desktop and wait for it to become ready.
2
Download Nova Launcher
Download Nova DSO Tracker.exe from the
Releases page on GitHub.
If only a .zip is provided, extract it first to find the .exe inside.
3
Run the Application
Place the .exe in a convenient location (e.g.
C:\Program Files\Nova Launcher).
Right-click → Run as administrator is recommended for first launch.
You can create a desktop shortcut via Right-click → Send to → Desktop (create shortcut).
Windows SmartScreen: If a blue warning screen appears, click More info
then Run anyway. This is expected for unsigned apps.
4
Install & launch Nova
The Launcher checks Docker status on startup. Click Install Nova
to pull the image and start the container. Once active, click
Open Dashboard to open Nova at
http://localhost:5001.
1
Install Docker
Choose the commands for your distribution:
# Ubuntu / Debian
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-compose-plugin
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
# Fedora
sudo dnf install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-compose-plugin
sudo systemctl enable –now docker
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S docker docker-compose
sudo systemctl enable –now docker
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
Log out and back in after running the usermod command.
2
Verify Docker is running
docker –version
docker info # should return server information
3
Download Nova Launcher
Download the Linux executable or AppImage from the
Releases page on GitHub.
4
Make executable & run
chmod +x “Nova DSO Tracker”
./”Nova DSO Tracker”
5
Install & launch Nova
The Launcher verifies Docker on startup. Click Install Nova,
wait for the Docker image to download, then click Open Dashboard
to open Nova at
http://localhost:5001.
After installation
What happens next
The Launcher guides you through three simple steps automatically.
1
Docker Check
The Launcher verifies Docker is installed and running. If not, it offers to start it for you — no terminal needed.
2
Install Nova
Click Install Nova. The Launcher creates ~/nova/, downloads the Docker image, and starts the container. Takes 2–5 min depending on your connection.
3
Open Dashboard
Once the status dot turns teal and shows “Nova Tracker is Active”, click Open Dashboard. Nova opens at localhost:5001.
Troubleshooting
Common questions
Quick answers to the most frequent issues.
Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down to find the security
message about Nova DSO Tracker, and click “Open Anyway”. Enter your password if prompted.
The right-click → Open method no longer works on recent macOS versions.
The first-time web UI initialisation takes up to 2 minutes. Wait until the Launcher shows
“Nova Tracker is Active” before clicking Open Dashboard. Also check that nothing else is using port 5001.
The image is roughly 500 MB — download time depends on your connection. If it appears
stuck for more than 10 minutes, cancel and try again. Docker Hub may occasionally be rate-limiting;
waiting a few minutes before retrying usually helps.
All data lives in
~/nova/instance/ on your machine and is mounted as a Docker volume.
It is fully preserved across container restarts and updates. To back up, simply copy that directory.
Yes. Edit
~/nova/docker-compose.yml and change the ports: entry — for example,
"8080:5001" to use port 8080 instead. Restart the container afterwards via the Launcher or with
docker compose restart in your terminal.
Open an issue on the
GitHub Issues page.
Include your OS, the Launcher version shown in the footer, any error messages from the Log Viewer,
and the steps to reproduce the problem.