The Norn desktop app is a native Tauri application with a React interface. It combines provider-hosted pull requests with local review state and local Git operations.
Install and launch
When the desktop artifact is published in the Homebrew tap, install it with:
brew install --cask nornWhen developing Norn from source, launch the full Tauri app with:
pnpm install
pnpm tauri devConnect repositories
Open Settings to configure GitHub or Bitbucket credentials and add the repositories you want to review. Norn can associate a provider repository with a local clone, enabling repository policy, local evidence, branch operations, and fix workflows.
Credentials are stored in the operating-system keychain. They are never written
to .norn.yaml or exposed to the webview.
Review pull requests
Select a repository and pull request to open its review workspace. You can:
- inspect pull-request metadata and existing discussions;
- switch between unified and side-by-side diffs;
- navigate changed files and preview supported image changes;
- create, edit, and remove local comment drafts;
- run an AI-assisted review and inspect normalized findings and evidence;
- publish an individual draft or submit the selected review comments together.
Drafts remain local until you trigger a publication action.
Local repository operations
When a local clone is configured, Norn can synchronize branches and support fix, commit, and push flows from the review workspace. Review state remains separate from remote publication, so applying a code change does not publish a comment automatically.
Local preferences
The app stores non-secret preferences in its local settings.json, including:
- tracked repositories and local clone paths;
- theme and default diff view;
- preferred review terminal;
- AI provider, model, and effort;
- optional Jira URL and sync or notification preferences.
Shared review rules belong in .norn.yaml, not in the app settings file.