Essedeum - Digital Typewriter + Wiki Story Manager

A local-first Story Manager application (Scrivener alternative) built with Tauri v2, React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, and SQLite.

Features

• Multi-Project Support: Create and manage multiple stories/worlds independently
• 3-Pane Layout: Chapters sidebar, writing environment, and wiki/lore panel
• Digital Typewriter: Distraction-free writing experience with TipTap editor
• Hierarchical Document Management: Organize chapters into folders and subfolders
• Chapter Versioning: Create and restore snapshots of your writing at any time
• Chapter Synopsis: Add brief summaries to chapters for quick reference
• Advanced Wiki & Lore System: Keep track of characters, locations, and other story elements per project
  • Lore Relationships (link lore entries, e.g., "Mentor of")
  • Rich Lore Entries with Images
  • Lore Templates (Character, Location, Item, Faction, Concept)
• AI Story Assistant System:
  • 6 Specialized Personas: The Co-Author, The Ruthless Editor, The Plot Architect, The Lorekeeper, Character Simulator, Brainstorming Partner
  • 4-Layer Context System: Builds prompts using Persona Identity, Story World Context, Project Memory, and Style Reference
  • Deterministic RAG: Injects relevant Wiki entries based on mentions in the text
  • Project Memory System: Save AI insights (plot points, world rules, character traits) as persistent project memories
  • Ghostwriter Engine (Style Mimicry): Learns your writing style using dynamic excerpts from your chapters
• AI Image Generation: Generate character portraits, landscapes, and items directly from lore descriptions using Gemini models
• Local-First: All data stored locally in SQLite database
• Auto-Save: Automatic saving with 2-second debounce
• Dark Theme: Modern, clean, and easy on the eyes
• Project Isolation: Each project has its own chapters and lore entries

Tech Stack

• Frontend: React 19, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS
• Editor: TipTap (rich text editor)
• Backend: Tauri v2 (Rust)
• Database: SQLite (via @tauri-apps/plugin-sql)
• AI Integration: Gemini API (gemini-3.1-pro-preview & gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview)
• Icons: Lucide React

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18 or higher)
• Rust (latest stable)
• npm or yarn

Installation

1. Install dependencies:

npm install

2. Run in development mode:

npm run tauri dev

3. Build for production:

npm run tauri build

Project Structure

essedeum/
├── src/
│   ├── components/
│   │   ├── Editor.tsx          # TipTap editor component
│   │   ├── WikiPanel.tsx       # Lore/wiki sidebar
│   │   └── ProjectSelector.tsx # Project management UI
│   ├── lib/
│   │   ├── ai.ts               # AI system and RAG implementation
│   │   ├── db.ts               # SQLite database service
│   │   ├── imageGen.ts         # AI Image generation
│   │   ├── templates.ts        # Lore entry templates
│   │   └── utils.ts            # Utility functions
│   ├── App.tsx                 # Main application component
│   ├── main.tsx                # Application entry point
│   └── index.css               # Global styles (Tailwind)
├── src-tauri/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── main.rs             # Rust entry point
│   │   └── lib.rs              # Tauri application setup
│   ├── Cargo.toml              # Rust dependencies
│   └── tauri.conf.json         # Tauri configuration
└── package.json                # Node dependencies

Database Schema

Projects Table

• id: INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT
• name: TEXT (project/story name)
• description: TEXT (project description)
• created_at: TEXT (ISO timestamp)
• updated_at: TEXT (ISO timestamp)

Chapters Table

• id: INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT
• project_id: INTEGER (foreign key to projects)
• title: TEXT (chapter/folder title)
• content: TEXT (chapter content in HTML)
• synopsis: TEXT (brief summary)
• sort_order: INTEGER (for ordering chapters)
• parent_id: INTEGER (for nested folders/documents)
• type: TEXT ('folder' or 'document')

Chapter Snapshots Table

• id: INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT
• chapter_id: INTEGER (foreign key to chapters)
• content: TEXT (snapshot content)
• label: TEXT (snapshot name/reason)
• created_at: TEXT (ISO timestamp)

Lore Table

• id: INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT
• project_id: INTEGER (foreign key to projects)
• title: TEXT (lore entry name)
• type: TEXT (Character, Location, Item, Faction, Concept)
• content: TEXT (lore entry content in HTML)
• image_data: TEXT (base64 image data)

Relationships Table

• id: INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT
• project_id: INTEGER (foreign key to projects)
• source_id: INTEGER (foreign key to lore)
• target_id: INTEGER (foreign key to lore)
• label: TEXT (connection type)

Chat Memories Table

• id: INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT
• project_id: INTEGER (foreign key to projects)
• content: TEXT (memory content)
• type: TEXT (plot_point, world_rule, character_decision, style_note, ai_insight)
• created_at: TEXT (ISO timestamp)

Usage

Managing Projects

1. On first launch, you'll see the project selector
2. Click New Project to create your first story/world
3. Enter a project name and optional description
4. Click on the project name in the top-left to switch between projects
5. Edit or delete projects from the project selector

Managing Chapters

1. Click the + button in the Chapters sidebar to create a new chapter or folder
2. Drag and drop items to organize your manuscript hierarchically
3. Click on a chapter to select and edit it
4. Double-click a chapter title to edit it inline
5. Use the Snapshot feature in the editor toolbar to save versions of your chapters
6. Delete a chapter by hovering over it and clicking the trash icon

Writing & AI Assistance

• The center pane provides a distraction-free writing environment
• Use the toolbar for basic formatting (Bold, Italic, Headings)
• Content auto-saves after 2 seconds of inactivity
• Invoke the AI Story Assistant to brainstorm, get editing feedback, or simulate character responses
• Select the appropriate Persona for your needs (Co-Author, Editor, Lorekeeper, Character Simulator, etc.)
• Save useful AI insights to Project Memory so the AI remembers them later

Managing Lore & Relationships

1. Click the + button in the Wiki panel to add a new lore entry using predefined templates
2. Enter a name and select a type (Character, Location, Faction, etc.)
3. Click on a lore entry to edit its content in the main editor
4. Upload images or generate them with AI directly from the lore descriptions
5. Create Relationships between entries to map out character dynamics and world connections
6. The AI automatically reads your lore when you mention these items in your text!

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Ctrl/Cmd + B: Bold
• Ctrl/Cmd + I: Italic
• Ctrl/Cmd + Alt + 1/2/3: Heading levels

License

MIT

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.