A VS Code extension for independent authors who write books in LeanPub-style markdown/git repositories. LeanQuill provides chapter-level project management, story intelligence organization (characters, settings, themes, threads, research), and AI-assisted editorial feedback — while enforcing strict manuscript immutability and keeping all project state local-first and git-native.
AI may advise, never author.
Authors working in LeanPub markdown repos lack the organizational tooling that apps like Scrivener provide. LeanQuill bridges that gap inside VS Code:
- See the status of every chapter at a glance
- Track and triage issues — both manually created and AI-detected
- Consult living story notes (characters, places, themes, threads, research)
- Never leave VS Code, and never worry about AI touching your manuscript
| View | Description |
|---|---|
| Setup | Welcome panel with initialization flow; detects existing manuscript markers |
| Outline | Scrivener-style hierarchical tree (Parts → Chapters → Beats) with drag-and-drop reordering, status icons, and context menus |
| Context | Selection-driven detail pane showing the selected node's status, traits, description, custom fields, and manuscript path |
| Research | Browse and create research documents; integrates with AI chat for research workflows |
| Characters | List and manage character profiles with automatic manuscript cross-referencing |
A tabbed editor panel with Themes, Outline, Cards, Characters, Threads, and Places (coming soon). Open it from the Outline view toolbar. Full tab descriptions: docs/planning-workspace.md.
- Hierarchical outline, drag-and-drop, status and active/inactive toggles, orphan detection, and automatic
Book.txtsync — see LeanPub integration - Characters, themes, threads, and research as markdown + YAML in your repo — see Data model
- Open your book folder (with or without an existing
manuscript/). - Click the LeanQuill activity bar icon and run Initialize when prompted.
- Use Outline to structure chapters; open Planning Workspace for themes, cards, and characters.
Full walkthrough: docs/getting-started.md
The following additional documentation sources may help answer additional questions on this repository:
| Doc | Contents |
|---|---|
| Getting started | Prerequisites, install, first-use steps |
| Architecture | System diagram and key src/ modules |
| LeanPub integration | Repo layout, Book.txt, chapter order, publishing |
| Planning workspace | Themes, Outline, Cards, Characters, Threads, Places tabs |
| Data model | .leanquill/, project.yaml, outline, characters, threads |
| Manuscript safety | SafeFileSystem and write boundaries |
| AI integration | VS Code LM API, philosophy, planned features |
| Development | Build, project layout, tests |
| AGENTS.md | Guide for AI coding agents |
| Principle | What it means |
|---|---|
| Manuscript immutability | AI and extension code never write to chapter files — enforced structurally, not by convention |
| Local-first | No cloud sync, no external database. All state in .leanquill/ as git-tracked files |
| Git-native | Markdown + YAML + JSON state files are diffable, portable, and survive tool uninstall |
| Human resolution | AI may classify and suggest; only the author opens, closes, or acts on recommendations |
| Organizer independence | Hierarchy, status, and reference views work fully with AI disabled or distrusted |
| Context scoping | Review agents receive manuscript-scoped context only; future chapters are never leaked to reader agents |
| VS Code native | Uses VS Code APIs exclusively — no external HTTP calls to AI providers |
LeanQuill is in active development. Track 1 (Author Workflow) delivers standalone value; Track 2 (AI Reviews) layers on top.