StoryShape 1.0.1

StoryShape 1.0.1

Deadlines, a to-do list and a little friendly competition with yourself. Free, like every desktop version, and it opens the same projects as 1.0.

Downloads

• Mac (Apple silicon, macOS 12 or later): open StoryShape-1.0.1-darwin-arm64.dmg and drag StoryShape to Applications.
• Windows (most PCs): extract StoryShape-1.0.1-win32-x64.zip and run StoryShape.exe.
• Windows on ARM: extract StoryShape-1.0.1-win32-arm64.zip and run StoryShape.exe.
• Linux x64: extract StoryShape-1.0.1-linux-x64.tar.gz and run StoryShape.

If Windows asks whether to run StoryShape the first time, choose More info, then Run anyway. Or get it from the Microsoft Store, which installs and updates it for you: https://storyshape.app/download/windows

SHA-256 checksums are attached beside each file.

What's new

• Deadlines. Goals has a new Deadlines tab. Give your book, chapters, scenes and revision passes a due date and a word target, and see how many words a day keep you on track. The inspector now shows a one-line summary with an Edit in Deadlines button, instead of a page of goal settings.
• To-do list. A new To-do button beside Projects:
  • Today's words are pinned at the top, against what your deadlines need today (or your daily goal). The row turns green once you've written enough, and stays at the top.
  • Below them are your deadlines and your own to-dos, each with a due date and an importance, soonest first.
  • Overdue items are red and this week's are amber. The button's badge counts what's due today or overdue.
• Badges. Mark a chapter, scene, book or revision pass Complete by its due date to earn deadline badges. Progress also counts the deadlines you've met. Missing a deadline never takes anything away.
• Edit cards in place. In a chapter's Cards view, double-click a card's synopsis or title to edit it right on the card.

Fixed

• Redoing typed text no longer counts its words twice in Progress.
• The Windows build's in-app help now matches Windows.

Updating

Your projects open in 1.0.1 as they are. The Mac App Store and iPad apps keep everything 1.0.1 adds, and will show it in their next updates. Store copies are updated by their stores.

Support

Email support@ironcandleinteractive.com, or report an issue at https://github.com/IronCandleInteractive/StoryShape-Feedback/issues.

StoryShape 1.0

StoryShape 1.0

StoryShape 1.0 is a writing studio for novelists and worldbuilders, free forever on Windows, macOS and Linux. Plan your story, draft it, revise it, keep its world in one place, and publish the finished book. It needs no account, has no subscription, and your projects stay on your computer.

Downloads

• macOS (Apple silicon, macOS 12 or later): open StoryShape-1.0.0-darwin-arm64.dmg and drag StoryShape to Applications. Signed and notarized.
• Windows x64: extract StoryShape-1.0.0-win32-x64.zip and run StoryShape.exe.
• Windows ARM64: extract StoryShape-1.0.0-win32-arm64.zip and run StoryShape.exe.
• Linux x64: extract StoryShape-1.0.0-linux-x64.tar.gz and run StoryShape.

The Windows ZIPs aren't code signed, so SmartScreen may warn: choose More info → Run anyway. For a signed Windows copy that updates itself, use the Microsoft Store version.

SHA-256 checksums are attached beside each file.

What's in 1.0

• Seven connected workspaces:
  • Ideas for loose thoughts.
  • Plan for books, chapters and scenes, with plot cards, timelines, threads and word targets.
  • Board for notes, groups and images.
  • Write for the draft itself: rich text, continuous chapters, page view, focus and typewriter modes, and references beside your draft.
  • Revise for revision passes, markup, snapshots and writing observations.
  • World for a linked Wiki, a connections graph and maps.
  • Publish for turning the manuscript into a book.
• Publish:
  • Paperback interior PDF for KDP Print and IngramSpark:
    • seven trim sizes and four interior themes;
    • mirrored margins and running headers;
    • drop caps, a small-caps opening line, and hyphenation in about 80 languages;
    • a body font and a separate heading font.
  • EPUB 3 ebook for Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play and Draft2Digital.
  • Front and back matter.
  • A checklist before you upload, including ISBN check digits and KDP's page-count and margin minimums.
• Writing progress: words per session and per day, streaks, levels and achievements. Deleting and revising never cost you progress.
• A library of 23 bundled fonts, plus the fonts installed on your computer. Use them for drafting, paragraph styles, Word, RTF and PDF exports, and Publish.
• Import and export:
  • Import Word, RTF, Scrivener, text and Markdown.
  • Export Word, RTF, PDF, text, Markdown and a complete readable copy.
• Local backups and recovery points. The Wonderland demo shows every workspace.

Since 0.0.6

• The bundled font library.
• The Mac download checks for updates: Help → Check for Updates, only when you ask.
• "Preview" is gone from the app.

Store copies (Mac App Store, Microsoft Store) are updated by their stores.

Support

Email support@ironcandleinteractive.com, or report an issue at https://github.com/IronCandleInteractive/StoryShape-Feedback/issues.

StoryShape desktop development preview 0.0.6

StoryShape desktop preview 0.0.6

Early preview builds of the desktop app for Windows, Linux and, new in this release, macOS. They are free to test with copies of your projects. The signed Mac beta remains available as a separate download.

• macOS (Apple silicon): open the DMG and drag StoryShape to Applications. It is signed and notarized, needs macOS 12 or later, and installs beside the Mac beta.
• Windows x64 (most PCs): extract the ZIP and run StoryShape.exe inside StoryShape-win32-x64.
• Windows ARM64 (Surface Pro X, Snapdragon laptops): extract the ARM64 ZIP and run StoryShape.exe inside StoryShape-win32-arm64.
• Linux x64: extract the tarball and run StoryShape inside StoryShape-linux-x64.

The Windows and Linux builds are not code signed, so Windows shows a SmartScreen warning: choose More info → Run anyway. Keep independent backups, start with the demo project or a copy, and report issues at https://github.com/IronCandleInteractive/StoryShape-Feedback/issues.

What's new since 0.0.5

Publish

A new Publish tab, after World, turns a book into files you can upload:

• Paperback interior PDF for KDP Print and IngramSpark:
  • seven trim sizes and four interior themes;
  • left and right page margins that mirror each other, and running headers;
  • page numbers starting at 1, with chapters starting on right-hand pages;
  • drop caps and a small-caps opening line;
  • hyphenation in about 80 languages.
  • EB Garamond and Literata are included, so the PDF looks the same on every computer.
• EPUB 3 ebook for Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play and Draft2Digital. It has a table of contents and an optional cover image.
• Book details, front matter and back matter:
  • title page and copyright page;
  • dedication and epigraph;
  • table of contents;
  • acknowledgments, about the author, and also-by.
• A checklist before you upload:
  • ISBN check digits;
  • KDP's page-count and inside-margin minimums;
  • placeholder text and open revision tasks.

StoryShape doesn't design covers: add the finished cover from your designer.

Writing progress

A Progress button beside Goals shows:

• a year of writing days;
• words per day against your goal;
• words per session against your average;
• the hours you write.

It also has levels, writing streaks and achievements. Words you add count; deleting and revising never cost you progress. Streaks, levels and achievements follow the goals setting.

Images on the Board

Add pictures to a Board with + Image…, by dropping image files, or by pasting. PNG, JPEG, GIF and WebP up to 32 MB are supported. The Mac beta and the iPad app show them as linked originals.

Faster on long projects

On a book-length test project with a year of saved writing (118,000 words, 300 scenes, 96,000 writing records):

• typing responds in about 24 ms per key, down from 200 ms;
• Progress opens in under 0.1 s, down from 5 s;
• a Board with 250 images loads in about 0.1 s.

macOS

• Native Mac menus and Command shortcuts.
• Double-click a .storyproj in Finder to open it.

License

StoryShape is now proprietary software, still free to download and use. Each download includes the StoryShape license, NOTICE and the full third-party license texts (Help → License & Notices).

Verification

• Automated tests: all 353 pass on macOS against these builds' code. On Windows 11 ARM64, 350 pass and 3 are skipped because they only run on macOS.
• Scripted runs: eleven scripted runs passed on the Windows ARM64 release candidate, including the new one for Publish, Progress and Board images. The final builds add the performance changes above, which are covered by the automated tests and a stress run on macOS.
• Mac preview: Apple notarized this DMG, and Gatekeeper accepts it.
• Not yet tested: the Linux build has not been tested on Linux. The EPUB has passed StoryShape's own structural checks but not Apple's or Amazon's validators yet.

SHA-256 files are attached. This preview doesn't replace the Mac beta or its updater feed.

StoryShape Windows and Linux development preview 0.0.5

StoryShape Windows and Linux development preview 0.0.5

These are early, unsigned portable preview builds of the desktop app, free for testing with copies of your projects. The signed and notarized macOS beta remains a separate release.

• Windows x64 (most PCs): extract the ZIP and run StoryShape.exe inside StoryShape-win32-x64.
• Windows ARM64 (Surface Pro X, Snapdragon laptops): extract the ARM64 ZIP and run StoryShape.exe inside StoryShape-win32-arm64.
• Linux x64: extract the tarball and run StoryShape inside StoryShape-linux-x64.

Requirements: Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit, x64 or ARM), or a current 64-bit Linux desktop. About 420 MB once extracted on Windows, 330 MB on Linux. No internet connection is needed after download.

Windows shows a SmartScreen warning because these previews are not code signed: choose More info → Run anyway. Keep independent backups, start with the demo project or a copy, and report issues at https://github.com/IronCandleInteractive/StoryShape-Feedback/issues.

One-time reset: coming from 0.0.4 or earlier, your interface preferences start fresh once:

• theme and interface scale;
• pane sizes;
• page setup;
• last export choices.

Your projects and their contents are not affected.

What's new since 0.0.4

Book-length projects

Tested on a 300-scene, 108,000-word novel written by the Mac app:

• Faster Book Draft: typing in a Book Draft of a whole book now keeps up, at 24 ms per key, the same as typing in a single scene. It was 64 ms.
• Round trip: projects survive Mac → Windows → Mac → Windows with every scene, title, link and chapter order intact. Both apps count the same words.

Fixes

• Replace: Find and replace in project is one Undo step. It's now also in the command palette.
• Word counts: the footer and Goals count only the included manuscript. Scenes in Trash or in chapters left out of the manuscript no longer count.
• World pages: a page with no type is filed under Person, as on the Mac. It no longer goes missing from the Wiki home.
• Book Draft saves: a Book Draft that can't save now shows Not saved, with Retry and Save into a new copy….
• Goals off: turning goals off hides targets, budgets, deadlines and pace everywhere.
• Saved plot templates: you can rename them and move them to Trash.

Windows integration

• Project icon: project folders show the StoryShape project icon in Explorer once StoryShape has opened them for editing.
• Animation: Windows' Animation effects setting is respected.

Security

The app can no longer be used to run other code: it ignores Node and debugger switches, and loads only its own integrity-checked files.

Verification

Built from the private Electron source.

• The 328 automated tests pass on macOS. On Windows 11 ARM64, 325 pass and 3 are skipped because they only run on macOS.
• Ten scripted runs pass on the extracted ARM64 build: setup and recovery, writing, the Book Draft, Plan, World, Revise, interaction, help, and the bug fixes above. The x64 build passes the setup, Plan and bug-fix runs under Windows 11's x64 emulation.
• The book-length timings are within budget on macOS and Windows 11 ARM64.
• The Linux build has not been tested on Linux.

SHA-256 files are attached. These previews don't replace the Mac app or its updater feed.

StoryShape Windows and Linux development preview 0.0.4

StoryShape Windows and Linux development preview 0.0.4

These are early, unsigned portable preview builds of the desktop app, free for testing with copies of your projects. The signed and notarized macOS beta remains a separate release.

• Windows x64 (most PCs): extract the ZIP and run StoryShape.exe inside StoryShape-win32-x64.
• Windows ARM64 (Surface Pro X, Snapdragon laptops): extract the ARM64 ZIP and run StoryShape.exe inside StoryShape-win32-arm64.
• Linux x64: extract the tarball and run StoryShape inside StoryShape-linux-x64.

Windows shows a SmartScreen warning because these previews are not code signed: choose More info → Run anyway. Keep independent backups, start with the demo project or a copy, and report issues at https://github.com/IronCandleInteractive/StoryShape-Feedback/issues.

What's new since 0.0.3: Plan, redesigned

Plan is now a board of index cards you arrange freely, like a corkboard.

• Start a plot from a gallery of structures (Three-act, Save the Cat, Hero's Journey, Story clock, Branching, Blank, or your own templates).
• Guiding prompts: each card of a built-in structure asks a question, such as "What event knocks the hero's life off course?". It shows until you write your own notes and is never saved as your notes.
• Write cards in place: double-click the board to add a card, or double-click a card to edit it. Enter saves; Esc cancels.
• Connect by clicking the dot on a card's edge, then the card it leads to.
• Turn a card into a scene: select a card and choose Create scene. The scene is added to your chapter, linked to the card, and opens in Write.
• One clear toolbar: the plot picker, Cards · Timeline · Clock · Threads · Manuscript, + Card, and More for everything else.
• The panel beside the board shows the selected card and saves as you go. With nothing selected, it shows the four planning steps and which cards still need a scene.

The Mac app reads these plots unchanged. Its own Plan screen keeps its current design for now.

Verification

Built from the private Electron source.

• The 323 automated tests pass on macOS. With this ARM64 build on Windows 11 ARM64, 320 pass and 3 are skipped because they only run on macOS.
• The scripted Plan run (49 checks) passes on Windows 11 ARM64 and with the x64 build under Windows 11's x64 emulation.
• The Linux build has not been tested on Linux.

SHA-256 files are attached. These previews don't replace the Mac app or its updater feed.

StoryShape Windows and Linux development preview 0.0.3

StoryShape Windows and Linux development preview 0.0.3

These are early, unsigned portable preview builds of the desktop app, free for testing with copies of your projects. The signed and notarized macOS beta remains a separate release.

• Windows x64 (most PCs): extract the ZIP and run StoryShape.exe inside StoryShape-win32-x64.
• Windows ARM64 (Surface Pro X, Snapdragon laptops): extract the ARM64 ZIP and run StoryShape.exe inside StoryShape-win32-arm64.
• Linux x64: extract the tarball and run StoryShape inside StoryShape-linux-x64.

Windows shows a SmartScreen warning because these previews are not code signed: choose More info → Run anyway. Keep independent backups, start with the demo project or a copy, and report issues at https://github.com/IronCandleInteractive/StoryShape-Feedback/issues.

What's fixed since 0.0.2

Fixes from the first real writing session on Windows:

• Themes: about 600 interface colors that were fixed to StoryShape Premium now follow the chosen theme, including the New beat form.
• Alignment: toolbar icons and dropdown arrows line up in Windows' Segoe UI font.
• Board: note color swatches show their colors.
• Write: the font and paragraph controls stay available while you type and in an empty scene. The word count no longer overlaps the bottom bar's buttons.
• Revise: markup uses the Mac's page layout, a narrower column with taller rows to draw in, and the selected ink color shows correctly. Marks saved in 0.0.2 may sit slightly off; check them.
• Plan: right-click the empty plot canvas for New beat here…, Fit every beat in view, and Cancel connection.

Verification

Built from the private Electron source.

• The 321 automated tests pass on macOS. With this ARM64 build on Windows 11 ARM64, 318 pass and 3 are skipped because they only run on macOS.
• Scripted runs of the real app pass on Windows 11 ARM64, and the x64 build was checked under Windows 11's x64 emulation.
• The Linux build has not been tested on Linux.

SHA-256 files are attached. These previews don't replace the Mac app or its updater feed.

StoryShape Windows and Linux development preview 0.0.2

StoryShape Windows and Linux development preview 0.0.2

These are early, unsigned portable preview builds of the desktop app, free for testing with copies of your projects. The signed and notarized macOS beta remains a separate release.

• Windows x64 (most PCs): extract the ZIP and run StoryShape.exe inside StoryShape-win32-x64.
• Windows ARM64 (Surface Pro X, Snapdragon laptops): extract the ARM64 ZIP and run StoryShape.exe inside StoryShape-win32-arm64.
• Linux x64: extract the tarball and run StoryShape inside StoryShape-linux-x64.

Windows shows a SmartScreen warning because these previews are not code signed: choose More info → Run anyway. Keep independent backups, start with the demo project or a copy, and report issues at https://github.com/IronCandleInteractive/StoryShape-Feedback/issues.

What's new since 0.0.1

Much closer to the Mac app, across every workspace:

• Safety: Mac projects open and save in place, with project locking, checkpoints, backups and restore.
• Write: a Find & Replace dialog, keyboard shortcuts and menus, Undo across saves, project-wide Undo for structural changes, Continuous Draft editing across scenes, merging scenes, resizable panes, draft appearance settings, read aloud with local Windows voices, and a spelling review.
• Plan, Board and World: the plot structure tools, the Board canvas, World relationships, maps, and "World in this passage" while writing.
• Revise: writing observations, snapshot comparison and passage restore, and revision goals.
• Files: DOCX, RTF, PDF and Markdown export with a preview, Scrivener import, and Export Readable Project.
• Help: the offline guide.

Verification

Built from the private Electron source.

• The 321 automated tests pass on macOS. On Windows 11 ARM64, 318 pass and 3 are skipped because they only run on macOS.
• Scripted runs of the real app pass on Windows 11 ARM64.
• The x64 build passed its tests and two scripted app runs under Windows 11's x64 emulation. It has not yet been tested on native x64 hardware.
• The Linux build has not been tested on Linux.

SHA-256 files are attached. These previews don't replace the Mac app or its updater feed.

StoryShape Windows and Linux development preview 0.0.1

StoryShape Windows and Linux development preview 0.0.1

These are early, unsigned portable preview builds of the desktop app. They are free and intended for testing with copies of projects. Feature parity, platform fit and finish, and native Windows/Linux verification are still in progress. The signed and notarized macOS beta remains a separate release.

• Windows x64: extract the ZIP and run StoryShape.exe inside StoryShape-win32-x64.
• Windows ARM64: extract the ARM64 ZIP and run StoryShape.exe inside StoryShape-win32-arm64.
• Linux x64: extract the tarball and run StoryShape inside StoryShape-linux-x64.

Windows may show a SmartScreen warning because these previews are not code signed. Linux packages have not been verified against a distribution support matrix. Keep independent backups, start with the bundled/demo project or a disposable copy, and report specific issues at https://github.com/IronCandleInteractive/StoryShape-Feedback/issues.

The archives were produced from the current private Electron source, passed its 125 active automated tests and production build on macOS, and passed archive-integrity checks. They have not yet passed live Windows or Linux acceptance testing. SHA-256 files are attached for verification. These previews do not replace the Mac app or its updater feed.

StoryShape 0.1.22 beta

StoryShape 0.1.22 beta (build 23)

StoryShape is a free Mac beta for writers building books, plots, and connected worlds. It works locally without an account or an internet connection for ordinary writing.

This update focuses on the everyday flow of organizing a manuscript:

• Books and chapters open as scene cards by default. You can rearrange cards and use the library's contextual actions to add or rename manuscript items.
• Plan makes it easier to switch plots, choose a template, create a named beat, connect beats, and move around the canvas.
• World opens to a Wiki home with topics, recent entries, and author-featured starting pages. Entry pages put relationships and backlinks beside the lore, with a path back to the home page.
• The bundled Wonderland tour features key World pages to demonstrate the new Wiki navigation.

The DMG is for Apple-silicon Macs running macOS 14 or later. The ZIP is for StoryShape's manual Check for Updates command; there are no automatic update checks. Existing local projects remain yours. As this is a beta, keep an independent backup of important work.

StoryShape's current first-party source is maintained privately by Iron Candle Interactive. Earlier publicly released Apache-licensed source retains its historical license. Bug reports and feature requests are welcome at StoryShape Feedback.

Download verification

File	Bytes	SHA-256
StoryShape-Standard-0.1.22-23-arm64.dmg	16885992	8b2ade14291a971ac16b4dc384232bbcf76ba3af36c9c0e9e1163c9221dda717
StoryShape-Standard-0.1.22-23-arm64.zip	14308775	97cef4978cee6711ff5658d7fbb8d9ee2381d29d2ba14db1928fd10b303bfd79

StoryShape 0.1.21 beta

StoryShape 0.1.21 beta (build 22)

StoryShape is a free, local-first writing studio for Apple-silicon Macs. When this version was published, Mac source was available under Apache License 2.0. Those grants remain in force. The separate iPad application remains in development and closed source.

This release retains the expanded, editable Wonderland Chapter I tour: five scenes, linked plot beats, freely arranged Board notes, a connected World Wiki, revision examples, and a five-stop journey map. The chapter text is Lewis Carroll's public-domain work in the United States; planning and World notes are illustrative additions.

Write offers two editable scenes side by side, page and pageless views, margins and zoom, a centered focus view, and StoryShape Premium. Revise supports scene markup and numbered passes. World supports named links, an automatic or manually arranged connections graph, and a map you can consult while writing or planning.

Build 22 is a freshly signed and notarized Mac download aligned with the Mac App Store packaging and review build. The DMG is for drag-to-Applications installation; the ZIP supplies the same signed app for the manual Check for Updates command. StoryShape does not check for updates automatically or upload project data.

Beta caution: Keep independent backups of important work. Native macOS 14 GUI testing, physical 16 GB hardware testing, broader accessibility checks, and an independent writer pilot remain open. The Mac App Store and iPadOS editions are still in development.

Verify the downloads

Download	Bytes	SHA-256
StoryShape-Standard-0.1.21-22-arm64.dmg	16,516,743	23b0b553405918f46709cf190753a9372ac4054cd22f176e698af0d4645b121b
StoryShape-Standard-0.1.21-22-arm64.zip	14,043,779	e096411048eb8b6a676aff34155aa5cb667a000b9fd9eb29f36131c47c1a637c

Report bugs or feature requests in StoryShape-Feedback or email support@ironcandleinteractive.com.

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Distribution archive note: Originally published 2026-10-15; the original signed application files are being rehosted without modification. Historical Apache 2.0 source grants for the versions published under that license remain in effect. Use StoryShape-Feedback for current bug reports and feature requests.