Norn

Norn is an open-source, local-first workspace designed for advanced pull request reviews on Bitbucket Cloud and GitHub.

It keeps sensitive credentials safe on your machine, stores review context locally, and gives reviewers a structured path from suggestions to published comments.

Key features

• Unified browsing: navigate Bitbucket and GitHub pull requests in the same workspace.
• Diff-first interface: switch between unified and side-by-side views, preview images, and move quickly between files.
• Multiple interfaces: use Norn as a headless CLI, a Terminal UI, or a desktop app.
• Reviewer-owned drafts: keep comments local until you choose to publish them.
• Integrated AI Assist: run reviews with Claude or Codex and retain results and evidence locally.
• Local Git operations: sync branches, apply fixes, create commits, and publish changes from the workspace.

Three ways to use Norn

Norn is available through three interfaces built around the same local-first review workflow:

Headless CLI

Use norn review in a terminal, an AI-agent workflow, or CI. The headless CLI can review working-tree changes, branches, and pull requests, and can return Markdown or structured JSON output. It is the best fit for automation and pre-push quality gates.

Terminal UI

Run norn without a subcommand—or launch norn-tui directly—to browse and review pull requests in an interactive terminal interface. The TUI is designed for developers who want a complete review workspace without leaving the terminal.

Desktop app

Use the native Tauri/React app for the richest visual experience: unified and side-by-side diffs, image previews, local drafts, AI-assisted review, and publication controls. The app can be built from source, with a macOS Homebrew cask as the packaged distribution path.

Quick installation

Install Norn with Homebrew on macOS:

brew tap delaudio/tap
brew install norn

This installs the headless CLI and Terminal UI. When a packaged desktop release is available in the tap, install it with:

brew install --cask norn

Initialize Norn in a repository and validate its configuration:

cd /path/to/repo
norn init --quick --repo-path . --yes
norn doctor --repo-path .
norn config validate --repo-path .

Review your local changes:

norn review --repo-path . --scope working-tree

The documentation below covers installation, the everyday review workflow, and integration with AI assistants.