Chronicle – Local-first, open-source authoring software for writers

Hacker News

About a year and a half ago I started my writing journey by beginning to work on my first novella. During this time, I felt the need for different tools, like a timeline editor, a character sheet and so on, features that were not available on normal text editors. Later I discovered that I needed an Epub exporter, cover designer and more. I also wanted something AI-free, something private. It is important for me as a debut author to know that it is my writing, not an AI's and that it wont be used for AI training. So most cloud services were an instant "NO" from me. Being a software engineer by day, I decided that instead of paying hundreds of dollars for the needed tools, I could just make them the way I wanted them to be. Eventually I decided to bundle them together, polish them and add more feature. So, this is how Chronicle was born. Chronicle is a complete writing and authoring tool for writers. It offers features that other companies charge tens or even hundreds of dollars, while delivering (in my opinion) and inferior experience. I also wanted Chronicle to work fully offline, not use Gen AI in the writing process, and provide a privacy-first experience. Among the features are: - full-featured text editor with comments supports - timeline editor - character sheet - locations codex - Epub reader and exporter (including editing Epub Metadata) - Cover designer - Fully-local TTS using KokoroJS Text-to-Speech for help in proofreading - Themes - Private Cloud-storage support with WebDAV - and many more And I made Chronicle not only free, but fully open-source. You can check the source code on Github, launch the online editor which supports almost all features, or download the app for both Windows and MacOS. I would love to hear feedback. Disclaimer: In the development process I did use AI. The app is NOT made entirely by AI, but being a back-end developer mostly, I did use AI for parts related to the user interface, themes, fix some bugs and to bridge knowledge gaps I had.

Visit product View on Hacker NewsSep 15, 2026

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Indie HackersFits the IH revenue-focused audience · Strong signals: supports, started, including · Missing: reddit linkedin, podcasting, created

98%98% predicted probability of success on Indie Hackers, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

best fitHighest predicted score across all platforms for this description.

Product HuntOn track for Day 1 leaderboard · Strong signals: mac, macos, user · Missing: agents, agent, cursor

85%85% predicted probability of success on Product Hunt, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

Hacker NewsStrong engagement from HN community · Strong signals: ide, io, including · Missing: https docs, excited, just released

75%75% predicted probability of success on Hacker News, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

nativeThis product was originally launched on this platform.

TrustMRRLess likely to generate early MRR · Strong signals: way · Missing: mobile apps, ios, personal

42%42% predicted probability of success on TrustMRR, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

AppSumoMay struggle as an AppSumo deal · Strong signals: interface · Missing: plus, platform, intuitive

33%33% predicted probability of success on AppSumo, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

Acquire.comPre-revenue stage for this audience · Strong signals: training · Missing: arr, mrr, revenue

13%13% predicted probability of success on Acquire.com, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

BetaListMay not resonate with beta-testers · Missing: web3, chat, crypto

0%0% predicted probability of success on BetaList, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

Incorrect prediction on native model

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