Available Now

Your stories live on your machine.

PlotForge Desktop is novel writing software built for privacy, speed, and full creative control. No cloud dependency. No subscription. Just your work, stored locally, with AI that never leaves your computer.

Email(we'll remember it for next time)

14-day free trial with full access. No credit card required.

14 days. Every feature unlocked. No usage caps.

Already decided? Purchase a license for $79

Use code LAUNCH for $10 off through July 2026.

Windows

macOS

Linux

Signed & notarized

Code-signed for Windows. Notarized for macOS. No SmartScreen or Gatekeeper warnings.

14-day refund

No questions asked. Email us within two weeks of purchase and you're done.

8 GB RAM minimum

16 GB recommended for larger Ollama models. Runs on most laptops made in the last five years.

~10 MB download

Current version v1.4.9. Built by Loophead Labs LLC.

PlotForge Desktop draft editor showing a binder of chapters and scenes on the left, a chapter open in the middle with manuscript prose, and AI writing tools in a distraction-free dark theme

Click to view full size

Why Desktop?

Everything the cloud can't give you.

We started as a web app with 800+ writers. They kept telling us the same thing: store our work locally. So we rebuilt PlotForge from the ground up as a native desktop app.

Your files. Your machine. Period.

Every word you write is stored in a local SQLite database on your computer. No servers, no syncing anxiety, no wondering who else can read your manuscript.

AI that stays private

Run AI writing assistance locally through Ollama or LM Studio. Your characters, your plot twists, your unpublished ideas never leave your machine. No API keys required, no per-word charges, and no usage caps. Even during the 14-day free trial.

Pay once. Write forever.

$79 one-time purchase. No monthly fees, no annual renewals, no feature gates. Free updates included. Use code LAUNCH for $10 off through July 2026.

Runs everywhere

Native apps for Windows (.msi), macOS (.dmg), and Linux (.AppImage, .deb). Built with Tauri for near-native performance without the bloat of Electron.

Built for Novelists

11 tools. One workspace.

A complete book writing app that ships with everything you need to go from first spark to finished manuscript, without juggling separate tools.

PlotForge Desktop Outline tab with drag-and-drop acts, chapters, and scenes

PlotForge Desktop Characters tab showing character cards, relationships, and arc tracking

PlotForge Desktop Worldbuilding tab with structured fields for locations, cultures, and magic systems

PlotForge Desktop Consistency checker flagging contradictions in character details and world rules

Idea Board

Capture and organize story ideas, what-ifs, and inspiration before they slip away.

Outline

Structure your novel with drag-and-drop scenes, acts, and chapters.

Characters

Track relationships, arcs, backstories, and keep everyone consistent.

Worldbuilding

60+ fields for locations, cultures, magic systems, and more.

Draft Editor

Distraction-free writing with custom fonts, inline notes, and focus mode.

AI Chat

Brainstorm with local AI, or chat in character to workshop dialogue and motivation.

Story Compass

Guided structure templates to keep your plot on track.

Consistency Checker

Catch contradictions in character details, timelines, and world rules.

Timeline

Map story events, historical background, and link them to chapters and characters.

Sessions

Track writing sprints with word count goals, streaks, and progress stats.

Export

Publish-ready output in standard manuscript format, EPUB, PDF, and DOCX.

AI in context

Targeted edits. Diffs you control.

Highlight a passage and Scene Surgery proposes targeted improvements with diffs you can accept or reject. Tighten prose, clarify motivation, sharpen pacing, all without a chat window, and without losing your voice.

The same review-before-commit principle applies everywhere AI touches your work. Regenerate a single act when only Act 2 feels off. Regenerate one scene without losing the rest. Rewrite just the Psychological section of a character with a note like “former Olympic fencer, lost an eye in a duel”. The AI uses the rest of the character as context so the regenerated section stays consistent.

Because your characters, world notes, and outline live in the same workspace, the AI edits respect the context of your book instead of treating every scene as a blank slate.

PlotForge Desktop Scene Surgery with a passage selected and an improvements panel showing inline diffs for tighter prose and clearer motivation — Click to view full size

PlotForge Desktop local AI configuration screen showing a detected Ollama model with parameter size and auto-scaling settings — Click to view full size

Private by default

Your AI runs on your machine.

Point PlotForge at an Ollama or LM Studio instance and it auto-detects what you have installed, then adjusts quality and scope to match your hardware. No API keys. No token meter. No manuscripts shipped to a cloud.

On an M-series Mac or a PC with a decent GPU, you can run models capable of solid prose. Lighter hardware gets smaller models that still do useful work on outlining, summaries, and targeted edits.

Your work, your formats

Binder in, publishable out.

Two clicks turn your scene-by-scene binder into a clean DOCX, PDF, or EPUB in standard manuscript format. No reformatting, no copy-pasting, no Word plugins.

The hierarchy you build in the binder (parts, chapters, scenes) is exactly the hierarchy that appears in your exported manuscript. Your structure is your structure.