Amazon Nova Act SOP

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Install ​

Prerequisites ​

  • Python 3.10 or above
  • macOS Sierra+, Ubuntu 22.04+, WSL2, or Windows 10+
  • A Nova Act API key from https://nova.amazon.com/act, or AWS IAM credentials for production deployments

Step 1: Install the SDK ​

bash
pip install nova-act

To stay current (SDK versions below 3.0 are unsupported and receive no security updates):

bash
pip install --upgrade nova-act

Step 2: Set Your API Key ​

Generate an API key at https://nova.amazon.com/act, then export it:

bash
export NOVA_ACT_API_KEY="your_api_key"

Add this to your shell profile (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, etc.) to persist it across sessions.

Nova Act works best with Google Chrome. If you do not already have Chrome installed, run:

bash
playwright install chrome

Skip this step if Chrome is already installed or if Chromium is acceptable. Nova Act installs Playwright browser modules automatically on first run (takes 1 to 2 minutes the first time).

Alternative: Build From Source ​

Clone the SDK repository and install locally:

bash
git clone https://github.com/aws/nova-act.git
cd nova-act
pip install .

IDE Extension (Optional) ​

The Nova Act IDE Extension automates environment setup and adds chat-to-script generation, browser session debugging, and step-by-step testing directly inside your IDE.

IAM Authentication (Production) ​

For production AWS deployments using IAM credentials instead of an API key, configure your AWS credentials in the environment (aws configure or environment variables), then use the Workflow constructs from the SDK. The SDK instantiates a default boto session when AWS credentials are already present. See the Nova Act User Guide for full IAM setup.