Nook
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Guide

How to download and install Nook on Windows

Nook is a free, open-source Dynamic Island for Claude Code agents. This guide takes you from the download to your first session, including the SmartScreen warning and a clean uninstall.

Last updated · Nook 0.1.0 · Was this helpful? Report a problem

Install in six steps

  1. Check the requirements. You need Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit), Claude Code, and the WebView2 runtime, which comes with Windows 11 and with current Windows 10.
  2. Download the installer. Open the latest release on GitHub and download Nook-Windows-0.1.0-setup.exe and SHA256SUMS.txt.
  3. Verify the SHA256 hash. In PowerShell run Get-FileHash .\Nook-Windows-0.1.0-setup.exe -Algorithm SHA256 and compare the result with the installer line in SHA256SUMS.txt.
  4. Run the installer. Double-click the installer. If Windows shows “Windows protected your PC”, choose More info, then Run anyway. The installer is not code-signed yet.
  5. Let Nook start. The installer works for your user account and needs no administrator rights. When it finishes, Nook starts: look for the thin island at the top of your screen and the Nook icon in the notification area.
  6. Install the Claude Code hooks. Open Settings → Claude Code → Install hooks…, read the preview, and click. Then start a new Claude Code session.

The sections below explain each step. If anything goes wrong, see troubleshooting.

Requirements

  • Windows 10 or Windows 11, 64-bit (x64).
  • Claude Code, installed and working. Nook shows Claude Code sessions, so it has nothing to show without it.
  • WebView2. This is the Microsoft component that draws Nook’s window. It ships with Windows 11 and with current Windows 10, so you usually have it already. If Nook does not start, see Nook does not start.
  • No administrator rights. Nook installs for the current user.

Download

Get the files from the latest release on GitHub. Download two files:

  • Nook-Windows-0.1.0-setup.exe, the installer.
  • SHA256SUMS.txt, the SHA-256 hash of the installer and of the two programs inside it (nook.exe and nook-hook.exe).

Only download Nook from the official release page linked above. You can also build it from source; the README lists the tools you need.

The latest release page on GitHub with the installer and SHA256SUMS.txt highlighted

Verify the download

A checksum proves the file you have is the file that was published. Open PowerShell in the folder with the download and run:

Get-FileHash .\Nook-Windows-0.1.0-setup.exe -Algorithm SHA256

The hash PowerShell prints must be the same as the one on the installer’s line in SHA256SUMS.txt. Compare them letter by letter, or paste both into a text editor and search for one in the other. If they differ, delete the file and download it again from the release page. The same check works for an installed nook.exe or nook-hook.exe.

The SmartScreen warning

The first time you run the installer, Windows may show Windows protected your PC.

  1. Choose More info. A second button appears.
  2. Choose Run anyway.
Windows SmartScreen with More info expanded and the Run anyway button visible

Why does this happen?

Releases are unsigned for now. SmartScreen does not know new programs that are not code-signed, so it warns about them, whatever they do. Only choose Run anyway if you got the installer from the official release and its hash matches. Code signing is planned through the SignPath Foundation’s free programme once the project qualifies. When that happens the warning should fade. Until then Nook is open source, so you can read the code or build it yourself.

Antivirus flagged nook-hook.exe? Small unsigned programs that other programs start often are sometimes flagged by heuristics. That is a false positive. You can report it to Microsoft at www.microsoft.com/wdsi/filesubmission as “Software developer” and “Incorrectly detected”. See troubleshooting.

Run the installer

The installer is a standard NSIS setup that installs for your user account, so Windows should not ask for administrator permission. When it finishes, Nook starts. You should see:

  • a thin island, folded to a pill, at the top of your screen (it rests there and opens when you point at it or when a session needs you);
  • a Nook icon in the notification area (tray) with Open Nook, Settings…, Pause and Quit.

Next, install the Claude Code hooks so sessions show up. The first-run guide walks through it.

The Nook island at the top of the screen after the first start

Where Nook keeps its files

WhatWhere
Relay (nook-hook.exe)%LOCALAPPDATA%\Nook\bin\nook-hook.exe, copied there when Nook starts
Log%LOCALAPPDATA%\Nook\nook.log
Preferences%APPDATA%\Nook\settings.json
Shelf data (to-dos, notes, reminders)%APPDATA%\Nook\shelf.json
Named pipe\\.\pipe\nook-<your user SID>
Claude Code settings Nook edits (only after your click)%USERPROFILE%\.claude\settings.json

The log records event names and decisions, never the content of your sessions. See the privacy page for everything Nook stores.

Uninstall

  1. Remove the hooks first. Open Nook’s Settings → Claude Code and click Uninstall hooks… (and Uninstall… for the usage status line if you installed it). Each shows a preview, takes a dated backup and waits for your click. Uninstalling the app does not edit ~/.claude/settings.json, so if you skip this the entries stay behind and point at a relay that is gone.
  2. Quit Nook from the tray icon.
  3. Open Settings → Apps → Installed apps, find Nook and choose Uninstall.

The uninstaller removes %LOCALAPPDATA%\Nook\bin and nook.log. Your preferences and Shelf data in %APPDATA%\Nook usually stay; delete that folder too if you want a clean slate.

Already uninstalled without removing the hooks? You can open Nook again, or remove the entries whose command contains nook-hook from ~/.claude/settings.json by hand. Take a copy of the file first.