Getting Started: Build Your First Workflow in 3 Minutes

Before You Start

You do not need any technical background to follow this tutorial. If you can drag and drop files on your computer, you can build an AI workflow. The entire process takes about three minutes for your first pipeline, and under a minute once you are familiar with the interface.

All you need is a free Nova account. No credit card required for your first workflows.

Step 1: Open the Editor

After signing in, click the New Workflow button on your dashboard. This opens the visual editor -- an infinite canvas where you will build your pipeline. The left side has a node library, and the center is your workspace.

Take a moment to zoom in and out (scroll wheel or pinch) and pan around (click and drag the background). The canvas is infinite, so you never run out of space.

Key takeaway: The editor is a blank canvas. Nodes go on the canvas, connections go between nodes, and the run button makes everything execute.

Step 2: Add a Prompt Node

In the node library on the left, find the Prompt node and drag it onto the canvas. This is where you write the text that describes what you want to generate.

Click on the node to open its settings. Type something descriptive:

"A cozy coffee shop interior with warm lighting, vintage furniture, and rain on the windows, photorealistic, 8K resolution"

The more specific you are, the better your results will be. Include details about lighting, mood, style, and quality. Do not worry about getting it perfect on the first try -- you can always edit and re-run.

Step 3: Add an Image Generation Node

Drag an Image Generation node onto the canvas, to the right of your prompt node. This node takes a text prompt and turns it into an image using an AI model.

You will see a model selector dropdown. For photorealistic results, Flux is an excellent default choice. For more artistic or stylized outputs, try experimenting with other options.

Set your preferred aspect ratio. For social media posts, 1:1 (square) works well. For blog headers and desktop wallpapers, 16:9 is a good choice.

Step 4: Connect the Nodes

Here is where the magic happens. You will see a small circle (called a handle) on the right side of your prompt node and another on the left side of your image generation node. Click and drag from the prompt's output handle to the image generation node's input handle.

A connection line appears between them. This tells Nova to send the text from your prompt node directly into the image generation model. Data flows left to right through your pipeline.

Step 5: Run Your Workflow

Click the Run button in the toolbar. You will see activity indicators on each node as they process. The prompt node resolves instantly, and the image generation node will take a few seconds as the AI model works.

When the image generation node finishes, a preview of your generated image appears right on the node. Click it to see a full-size version. If you like it, download it. If not, adjust your prompt and run again.

Key takeaway: That is it -- three nodes, two connections, one click. You have just built a functioning AI pipeline. Everything from here is adding more nodes to do more things.

Next Steps: Expand Your Pipeline

Now that you have a working pipeline, try these additions:

Add an Upscaler

Drop an Upscale node after the image generation node and connect them. This takes your generated image and increases its resolution to 4K, sharpening details and improving quality.

Try Video

Replace or add a Video Generation node. Feed it your generated image as a starting frame, and it will create a 5-second animated clip with camera motion and natural physics.

Save as a Template

Click Save as Template in the menu. Give your pipeline a name and description. Now you can open it from your templates library anytime you want to generate similar content with a different prompt.

Browse the Template Library

Visit the template library to see pre-built pipelines for common use cases. Open a template, customize the prompt, and run. It is the fastest way to discover what is possible.

Tips for Better Results

• Be specific in your prompts. "A cat" produces generic results. "An orange tabby cat sitting on a velvet cushion, soft studio lighting, shallow depth of field" produces stunning ones.
• Iterate quickly. Each run takes seconds. Try five variations of a prompt rather than spending ten minutes perfecting one.
• Start simple. A two-node pipeline teaches you the mechanics. Add complexity only when you need it.
• Save your best work. Templates let you reuse successful pipelines without rebuilding them.

Key takeaway: Your first workflow is just the beginning. The same principles -- drop nodes, connect them, run -- scale to workflows with ten, twenty, or fifty nodes handling complex multi-model pipelines.