neo README

The project's README from github.com/hughhowey/neo. As one markdown file: README.md.

NEO

A distraction-free word processor for authors, by a wannabe author.

NEO understands from the moment you install it that you are writing books and nothing else. No bloat, no distractions, with manuscripts that look like books as you write them.

NEO runs locally. WIPs are saved in plain files on your disk. No accounts or subscriptions. And it's free!

Download

Get the latest installer from the Releases page:

Why NEO?

The bookshelf

Your library looks like a bookshelf, not a file list. Labeled shelves you organize however you like — by series, by status, by pen name. Progress bars on the covers show how far you are from your word goals. You can drag-and-drop books anywhere. You can also drag shelves around and put cover art on your titles.

Just a blank page

There's a white page by default or a dark mode (which I now prefer!). Controls fade until you mouse over them. Chapters number and renumber themselves automatically. Drop caps mark chapter openings, because I'm a sucker for drop-caps. Em dashes, true ellipses, and curly quotes sort themselves out as you type. Spellcheck exists only when you invoke it — no more red squiggles mid-sentence triggering your imposter syndrome.

Enter, Enter, Enter

One Enter: new paragraph. Two: a *** section break. Three: a new chapter. The goal is to KEEP WRITING.

Darlings

The writing advice is "kill your darlings" — but I say: keep the bodies. Drag any beautiful-but-in-the-way passage onto the Darlings tab. It leaves your manuscript but isn't lost. Darlings restore to the exact spot it came from. More like zombies than darlings.

Placeholders

Mid-flow and need a name, a fact, a date? ⌘⇧X drops a mark and a sticky note. The left panel shows a red dot on every chapter that you need to get back to. The right panel will list all these to-do items.

Outlining for plotters

Outline chapters and sections in the Outline tab; section notes appear in the manuscript as gray ghost paragraphs, ready to be overwritten. Pantsers can ignore all of it or learn to draw a freakin' map for the first time. Try it. You might like it!

Cover Art

Every book gets a cover! New books are dressed in a seeded abstract (six art styles, six type templates, typefaces bundled with NEO) so no two stories on the shelf look alike. Once a story passes 1,000 words, NEO can read it and paint an abstract cover from the text. This is a bit more work but totally worth it. Get an OpenAI API key from their website and paste it into Goals & Settings. The art is generated in the background for about a penny a picture. (These are not meant for publication, just writing inspiration!) The API key is stored encrypted in NEO's own settings, never in your library folder. The title and author are always set in real type on top, so the lettering is never left to a gen-AI model. The ↻ on any book re-rolls its type and colors, or paints it again. And you can always switch back and forth from the seeded modern look to the painted variety.

Goals and momentum

Daily word goals, word sprints, and a NaNoWriMo-style progress chart. Needs more testing, but I think it works okay!

Exports

EPUB 3 with a proper table of contents built to KDP's guidelines, Word .docx, PDF, HTML, markdown, and plain text. Email a timestamped PDF snapshot to yourself with a SHA-256 fingerprint of the text in the body. Might come in handy someday.

Import

Bring in existing .docx, .txt, and .md manuscripts; chapters and scene breaks are detected automatically. This is still a bit rough and might require you to tweak things. It will try to grab your title and remove that from the body, and it seems to be working okay.

Backups

Continuous autosave, daily zip backups kept for two weeks, everything stored as plain files. Set up your NEO library folder on your iCloud if you want for extra safety. You can also email copies of your WIP to yourself with a keystroke: ⌘E.

Your files

Everything lives in ~/Documents/NEO Library — one folder per book, chapters as readable HTML, metadata as JSON. Open them in your favorite text editor.

Building from source (for the eggheads):

Requires Node.js.

git clone https://github.com/hughhowey/neo.git
cd neo
npm install
npm start

To build installers: npm install electron-builder --save-dev, then npm run package (macOS), npm run package:win (Windows), or npm run package:all. Output lands in dist/.

The app is very simple: an Electron shell (main.js), a preload bridge (preload.js), and a renderer (app.js + styles.css + index.html). If you know JavaScript, you can change NEO. Have at it.

Roadmap (things I'm dreaming up but may never get to):

Chapter version history · manuscript format for agent submissions (Times New Roman, double-spaced, address block, just to make Kristin Nelson happy) · global end matter that updates every book at once (same for copyright pages, bios, etc).

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome — see CONTRIBUTING.md. Fair warning: NEO is opinionated by design, and bloat killed every writing app I've ever tried. If you want complex, try Scrivener. It really is a great application beloved by many! There are so many wonderful writing apps out there! Nobody needs to use this but me.

License

MIT — free to use, free to modify, free to share.

Philosophy

If you didn't know, I opened up the Silo universe to fan fiction years ago. And not just to put on fan fiction sites, but you can charge money for the things you write and keep every penny of the income! Lots of incredible Silo Stories out there. But readers are forever looking for more.

neo (hughhowey/neo)

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1.5K ·GitHub
Neo
What is this?NEO is a distraction-free word processor built specifically for writing novels, made by novelist Hugh Howey. It runs locally, saves manuscripts as plain files on disk, and needs no accounts or subscriptions.
Is this a general word processor, or something more specialized for novelists?It is a purpose-built desktop app for novelists rather than a general editor: books are organized like a bookshelf, chapters auto-number themselves, and the README itself points people wanting more complex features toward Scrivener instead.
Do I need Node.js or anything else to just run it?No — just download and run the installer. Node.js is only required if you want to build the installers yourself from source using electron-builder.
Does importing existing manuscripts work perfectly?Importing .docx, .txt, and .md files with automatic chapter/scene-break detection is still a bit rough and may need manual tweaking. The optional AI cover-art feature also requires your own OpenAI API key and costs about a penny per image.
Where does my writing and API key actually go?Everything is stored as plain files in ~/Documents/NEO Library on your own disk. If you add an OpenAI key for cover art, it's stored encrypted in NEO's own settings, never inside your library folder.
What happens when I press Enter multiple times?One Enter starts a new paragraph, two create a section break, and three start a new chapter — a shortcut designed to keep you writing without reaching for menus.
What are 'Darlings'?A tab where you can drag any cut passage instead of deleting it; the text leaves the manuscript but can be restored to its exact original spot later.
Can NEO generate book covers for me?Yes — every book gets a seeded abstract cover by default, and once a story passes 1,000 words NEO can use your own OpenAI API key to paint an AI cover from the text. The title and author lettering is always set in real type, never AI-generated.
What formats can I export to?EPUB 3 with a KDP-compliant table of contents, Word .docx, PDF, HTML, Markdown, and plain text, plus you can email yourself a timestamped PDF snapshot with a SHA-256 fingerprint.
What are similar projects?Zettlr, qiaomu-book-reader-legacy, easyread, ai-aug-edu, oryx, flyingmouse-format, koodo-reader, get-it
Which topics is it in?writing-tools, docx, epub, text-editor, writing, backup, email, image-generation, book, electron, pdf, offline
Creator
hughhowey
Size
17.4 MB
Stars
1.5K
Updated
CommitOct 17Releasev1.5.8Oct 17
Age
2mo
Commits · 90 Days