  We present the results of data-mining the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer
(WISE) archive for data on classical and recurrent novae. We find that the
detections are consistent with dust emission, line emission, emission by a
stellar photosphere, or a combination of these. Of the 36 novae detected in one
or more WISE bands, 16 are detected in all four; thirty-one known novae are not
detected by WISE. We also searched for WISE data on post-WISE novae, to gain
information about nova progenitors. In this first paper we consider only the
WISE data. In future papers we will provide a more detailed modelling of the
WISE data, and discuss WISE data on post-WISE novae - including their
variability - and will complement the WISE data with data from other IR
surveys.
