Nova Micro
Nova Micro delivers text-only inference at high throughput with per-token pricing below multimodal Nova models in the same generation, purpose-built for latency-sensitive applications at scale.
View API reference- Input and output price
- Input $0.04, Output $0.14, Per 1M tokens
- 24h uptime
- Loading AI Gateway uptime
import { streamText } from 'ai'
const result = streamText({ model: 'amazon/nova-micro', prompt: 'Why is the sky blue?'})Copy link to headingPlayground
Try out Nova Micro by Amazon. Usage is billed to your team at API rates. Free users (those who haven't made a payment) get $5 of credits every 30 days.
Nova Micro
Nova Micro
Copy link to headingProviders
Route requests across multiple providers. Copy a provider slug to set your preference. Visit the docs for more info. Using a provider means you agree to their terms, listed under Legal.
Copy link to headingUptime24 hours
Direct request success rate on AI Gateway and per-provider. Visit the docs for more info.
Copy link to headingThroughput24 hours
P50 throughput on live AI Gateway traffic, in tokens per second (TPS). Visit the docs for more info.
Copy link to headingLatency24 hours
P50 time to first token (TTFT) on live AI Gateway traffic, in milliseconds. View the docs for more info.
Getting started
Call Nova Micro through AI Gateway with the AI SDK generateText and streamText functions, or through the OpenAI Chat Completions, OpenAI Responses, and Anthropic Messages APIs by changing the base URL. AI Gateway authenticates the request and routes it to an available provider.
Install the AI SDK (pnpm add ai dotenv), create an API key from the API Keys page, and set it as AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY in your environment. Full setup is covered in the text generation quickstart.
import { generateText } from 'ai';import 'dotenv/config';
async function main() { const result = await generateText({ model: 'amazon/nova-micro', prompt: 'Why is the sky blue?', });
console.log(result.text);}
main().catch(console.error);Top-level parameters
The same Nova Micro request in each API format AI Gateway supports.
import { generateText } from 'ai';import 'dotenv/config';
async function main() { const result = await generateText({ model: 'amazon/nova-micro', system: 'You are a concise technical assistant.', prompt: 'Summarize the tradeoffs between static generation and SSR.', maxOutputTokens: 1024, temperature: 0.5, });
console.log(result.text);}
main().catch(console.error);Standard parameters like prompt, messages, temperature, and tools work as documented in the AI SDK docs. These are the parameters with model-specific behavior.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
model | string | Yes | Model ID in the form creator/model, e.g. amazon/nova-micro. AI Gateway routes the request to an available provider. |
maxOutputTokens | number | No | Hard cap on generated tokens. Nova Micro supports up to 8,192 output tokens. |
providerOptions | Record<string, JSONValue> | No | AI Gateway routing options under gateway, plus any provider-native options under the provider’s own namespace — see the table below. |
Input limits
| Input | Formats | Sources | Max count | Max size | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Text | — | — | — | — | Prompt and response share the 128K-token context window |
Provider options
Set AI Gateway routing options under providerOptions.gateway. For provider-specific options, pass them under the provider’s namespace as documented by the AI SDK.
Learn more in the AI SDK amazon-bedrock provider docs.
import { generateText } from 'ai';import 'dotenv/config';
async function main() { const result = await generateText({ model: 'amazon/nova-micro', prompt: 'Why is the sky blue?', providerOptions: { gateway: { only: ['bedrock'], }, }, });
console.log(result.text);}
main().catch(console.error);These AI Gateway routing options apply to every model. Provider-specific options pass through under the provider’s own namespace (for example providerOptions.anthropic) exactly as documented by the AI SDK.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
providerOptions.gateway.only | string[] | No | Restrict routing to these provider slugs. Requests fail over only within the listed providers. |
providerOptions.gateway.order | string[] | No | Preferred provider order. Listed providers are tried first; unlisted providers remain available as fallbacks. |
providerOptions.gateway.sort | 'cost' | 'ttft' | 'tps' | No | Rank candidate providers by price, time to first token, or tokens per second instead of the default routing order. |
providerOptions.gateway.zeroDataRetention | boolean | No | Route only to providers with a zero-data-retention policy for this model. |
Routing across providers
AI Gateway serves the same model through multiple providers and fails over automatically. order expresses a preference while keeping every provider eligible; only is a hard allowlist — if none of the listed providers are available the request fails instead of falling back.
Options under a provider's own namespace (for example providerOptions.anthropic) are forwarded to that provider with the request. Providers ignore option namespaces that don't apply to them, so it is safe to set provider options alongside gateway routing options.
Tool calling
Expose tools the model can call. Define each tool’s inputs with a Zod schema.
import { generateText, tool } from 'ai';import { z } from 'zod';import 'dotenv/config';
async function main() { const result = await generateText({ model: 'amazon/nova-micro', prompt: 'What is the weather in San Francisco?', tools: { getWeather: tool({ description: 'Get the current weather for a location', inputSchema: z.object({ location: z.string() }), execute: async ({ location }) => ({ location, temperatureC: 18 }), }), }, });
console.log(result.text);}
main().catch(console.error);Copy link to headingMore models by Amazon
| Model |
|---|
| 1M | 0.4 s | 204 tps | $0.30/M | $2.50/M | Read$0.08/M | — | +1 |  | 12/02/2025 | |||||
| 300K | 0.3 s | 134 tps | $0.06/M | $0.24/M | — | | 12/03/2024 | |||||||
| 300K | 0.4 s | 140 tps | $0.80/M | $3.20/M | — | | 12/03/2024 | |||||||
| — | $0.02/M | — | | 04/30/2024 |
Copy link to headingAbout Nova Micro
Nova Micro launched alongside the rest of the first-generation Nova family, but its design philosophy differs. Nova Lite and Nova Pro layer in image and video understanding. Nova Micro drops multimodal support entirely. The result is a model that does one thing, text processing, at high speed and low cost.
The tradeoff is intentional. Removing vision processing frees up architecture for generation throughput within a context window of 128K tokens. Even high-volume classification or tagging pipelines have low per-request costs.
Many teams deploy Nova Micro as the default tier in a routing architecture. Straightforward text requests (classification, entity extraction, simple Q&A, short summaries) go to Micro. Only when a request involves images, requires deep reasoning, or exceeds the context of 128K tokens does it escalate to Lite, Pro, or a second-generation model. This pattern keeps average cost per request low while covering the full range of task complexity.
Copy link to headingWhat To Consider When Choosing a Provider
- Configuration: If streaming throughput matters, test Nova Micro early. It's built for high text throughput within AI Gateway.
- Zero Data Retention: Zero Data Retention is available for this model. It is offered on a per-provider and model basis. See the documentation for details.
- Authentication: AI Gateway authenticates requests using an API key or OIDC token. You do not need to manage provider credentials directly.
Copy link to headingWhen to Use Nova Micro
Best for
- Chatbots and conversational interfaces: Interactive experiences where response speed affects UX
- Text classification at scale: Sentiment analysis and entity extraction across high request volumes
- Autocomplete and suggestions: Inline features where generation speed matters
- Default routing tier: Handle routine text requests at minimal cost in a model-routing architecture
Consider alternatives when
- Multimodal inputs required: Switch to Nova Lite or Nova Pro when inputs include images, documents, or video
- Structured multi-step reasoning: Nova 2 Lite is better equipped for agentic tool use and deeper reasoning
- Context beyond 128K tokens: Long documents or extended conversations require a model with a larger context window
Copy link to headingConclusion
Nova Micro is the speed specialist of the Nova family. By focusing exclusively on text, it achieves throughput and pricing that suit many text-only workloads where response latency matters. Pair it with a routing layer that escalates to multimodal or reasoning-capable models when needed.
Copy link to headingFrequently Asked Questions
Why would I choose Nova Micro over Nova Lite for text tasks?
Nova Micro is priced below Nova Lite's multimodal rate and is tuned for speed on pure text. If you never send images or video, Micro is usually the cheaper fit.
Can Nova Micro handle long documents?
Keep the prompt within 128K tokens. If you exceed that, split the document, summarize in chunks, or switch to Nova 2 Lite for a 1M-token window.
Is Nova Micro good for structured output like JSON?
Yes. It follows instructions well for classification, tagging, and structured extraction. Its speed makes it especially efficient for pipelines that process many short requests.
What is the maximum output length?
Nova Micro generates up to 8.2K tokens per response.
How does Nova Micro perform on reasoning benchmarks?
Nova Micro isn't designed for complex reasoning. It excels at speed and cost efficiency for routine language tasks. For reasoning-heavy workloads, consider Nova 2 Lite or Nova Pro.
Do I need separate AWS credentials?
No. AI Gateway handles authentication with Amazon Bedrock. You only need a gateway API key or OIDC token.