In this communication, bidirectional flow of Casson nanomaterial driven by an unsteady moveable surface in the region of boundary layer is analyzed. Moreover, the significances of porous space, magnetic field, prescribed surface temperature (PST), and prescribed surface heat flux are also incorporated. Furthermore, the aspects of Brownian motion and thermophoresis are also comprised through Buongiorno nanofluid model. Governing equations are firstly transformed into system of ordinary differential equations by using a suitable combination of variables, and then computational assessment is made through Keller-Box method. Graphical illustrations for temperature distribution, concentration distribution, local Nusselt number and local Sherwood number against escalating amounts of pertinent parameters are presented. It is observed that escalating amounts of unsteady parameter and temperature controlled indices reduce the temperature distribution, as well as the concentration distribution. It is also observed that increasing amounts of Casson parameter enhances the rate of heat transfer, and reduces the rate of mass transfer for PST case. Finally, a comparison benchmark for limited case has been presented to validate the present methodology. Keywords Casson nanofluid • Eckert number • Keller-Box method • MHD • Porous medium • Prescribed heat sources • Unsteady bi-directional stretching List of symbols a, b, c Stretching rates (s −1) B o Magnitude of magnetic force (kg s −2 A −1) C Concentration (kg m −3) c f Specific heat of liquid (m 2 s −2 K −1) c p Specific heat of nanomaterial (m 2 s −2 K −1) C ∞ Ambient concentration (kg m −3) C w Surface concentration (kg m −3) C fx , C fy Skin-friction coefficients (-) D B Brownian coefficient (m 2 s −1) D T Thermophoresis coefficient (m 2 s −1) Ec x , Ec y Eckert numbers (-) f , g Similarity functions for velocity (-) h j Step size for grids (m) j Suffix (-)