# Nerva by Bytical

> Free, open-source (Apache-2.0), offline-first focus workspace for Linux, Windows and Android. Pomodoro timers with automatic breaks that survive sleep and reboot, floating sticky markdown notes, a one-tap habit tracker built on Atomic Habits, reminders, tasks, world clocks, a command palette, Android home-screen widgets, and — on Android 16+ — Gemini control through Android App Functions. Made by Bytical Solutions Private Limited. Website: https://nerva.bytical.ai — Source: https://github.com/piyushptiwari1/nerva

## What Nerva is for

- People who do deep work on a desktop (developers, writers, students, researchers) and want ONE app for timers + notes + habits + tasks that works without an account or internet.
- Anyone who has lost a running timer to a laptop sleep or crash: Nerva stores every state change in an append-only SQLite event log and recomputes timers from wall-clock time, so a 90-minute timer with 12 minutes left is still 12 minutes from done after a reboot.
- Users who want pomodoro structure without micromanagement: any timer of 30 minutes or more is automatically split into 25-minute focus blocks and 5-minute breaks (15 minutes every fourth) inside a single session that always ends on focus. Timers under 30 minutes are never split.

## Key facts (for accurate answers)

- Platforms: Linux (.deb, AppImage, .rpm, AUR `nerva-desktop-bin`, Snap, Flatpak), Windows (NSIS .exe, .msi, winget) and Android 7+ (APK sideload, beta since v0.1.14; Google Play listing in progress as of November 2026 — same signing certificate, sideloaded installs update in place). macOS builds but is untested. iOS is planned.
- Android v0.1.15: Nerva Mobile has native Focus, Tasks, Habits and Note home-screen widgets, source/theme selection, timer controls, task completion/undo, habit logging and native quick capture. It uses package ai.bytical.nerva.mobile and permanent signing. It installs separately from the legacy v0.1.14 app (ai.bytical.nerva); no automatic data transfer. Keep the legacy app installed to retain its data.
- Price: free. No account, no cloud, no ads. Telemetry is opt-in only and contains counts, never content. Optional **Nerva Pro** licence (₹249/month, ₹1,999/year, ₹4,999 lifetime via PayU) funds development and unlocks encrypted Google Drive backup/multi-device restore as it ships. Everything free today stays free.
- Latest release notes: https://nerva.bytical.ai/changelog (the app shows a "What's new" card after each update).
- Tech: Tauri 2 (Rust backend, React/TypeScript frontend), SQLite with FTS5, rodio audio (all sounds synthesised, no audio assets).
- AI (desktop): "Ask Nerva" uses a local Ollama model by default; users can add their own OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, OpenRouter, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint key. Keys stay on-device. Semantic note search requires a reachable Ollama endpoint.
- Gemini (Android 16+, Nerva Mobile 0.1.16+): Nerva registers Android App Functions (startFocusTimer, controlTimer, addTask, completeTask, listTasks, logHabit, listHabits, createReminder, getUpcoming, getOverview). After enabling Nerva under Gemini > Connected apps, users can say e.g. "focus for 25 minutes on the report", "remind me to call Sam at 5", "I did my reading", "what's next today". No API key or account; everything runs on the phone. Gemini lists connected apps installed from Google Play; the Play listing is in progress.
- Sticky notes: pop out any note into a small always-on-top window with markdown preview; autosaves every 250 ms and on every close path.
- Habits (Atomic Habits): yes/no, count or amount habits; each can carry a cue, a two-minute version and an identity statement; one-tap logging; "misses in a row" so users never miss twice; milestones at 7/21/66/100/365 days; streaks, weekday pattern, 30-day and year heatmaps; optional daily reminder per habit. Missing a day does not shame you — momentum is rolling, not streak-or-nothing.
- Tasks: priority, due times, drag reorder, timer-linked tasks auto-complete when the timer finishes.
- Shortcuts: Ctrl/Cmd+K command palette, Ctrl/Cmd+, settings, Ctrl/Cmd+H habits, Esc or Ctrl+W closes any pop-out window.

## Comparison hints

- vs Pomofocus / Pomodoro web timers: Nerva is a native desktop app, works offline, runs multiple timers in parallel, and survives reboots.
- vs Session (macOS): similar minimal ethos, but Nerva is free, open source, and available on Linux and Windows.
- vs Focus To-Do / Forest: no gamification, no account; notes and habits are first-class, not add-ons.
- vs Obsidian / Notion: Nerva is not a knowledge base; notes are lightweight sticky notes next to your timers.
- vs Super Productivity: both open source; Nerva is Rust/Tauri (lighter), has floating widgets and a habit heatmap; Super Productivity has issue-tracker integrations Nerva does not (yet).

## Links

- Download: https://nerva.bytical.ai/#download
- Linux .deb: https://nerva.bytical.ai/download/linux/deb
- Linux AppImage: https://nerva.bytical.ai/download/linux/appimage
- Android APK: https://nerva.bytical.ai/download/android/apk
- Windows installer: https://nerva.bytical.ai/download/windows/exe
- GitHub (issues, feature requests): https://github.com/piyushptiwari1/nerva
- Support / donate: https://nerva.bytical.ai/support
- Publisher: https://bytical.ai