uScribe

uScribe is your personal AI-powered writing assistant that helps you draft and refine content seamlessly - wherever you type.

What uScribe does

• Rich note editor for writing and organizing notes
• AI autocomplete while you type
• Inline text revision with accept/reject preview
• Global revision shortcuts that work outside the app
• Configurable providers: OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Claude, Ollama, LiteLLM
• Custom revision shortcuts (local or global)

How “revise anywhere” works

When uScribe is not focused and you trigger a global shortcut, it:

1. Copies your selected text from the active app
2. Sends it to your active AI provider for revision
3. Pastes the revised text back into the original app

Built-in global shortcuts:

• Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + 1: Revise Text
• Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + 2: Quick Edit (prompts for a custom instruction)

In-app shortcuts

• Tab: Accept autocomplete suggestion
• Esc: Dismiss autocomplete suggestion
• Shift + Tab: Toggle autocomplete on/off

Tech stack

• Electron + Vite + React + TypeScript
• Lexical editor for rich text editing
• robotjs + Electron global shortcuts for cross-app revision

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ (recommended)
• npm
• For local models: Ollama (optional, install from https://ollama.com/download first)

Platform support note

uScribe has been mainly tested on macOS. Windows and Linux support is available but has not been fully tested yet.

Getting started

npm install
npm run dev

Then open Settings in the app and:

1. Add at least one AI provider
2. Save/select an active provider
3. (Optional) Add custom shortcuts and set their scope (local or global)

Provider notes

• OpenAI / Claude / Azure / LiteLLM: API key required
• Ollama: no real API key required (ollama is used internally)
• Azure: endpoint/base URL is required

Build and package

npm run build

Useful scripts:

• npm run dev – run in development
• npm run build – production build + packaging
• npm run build:dir – unpacked build output
• npm run typecheck – TypeScript check
• npm run lint – ESLint
• npm run rebuild:native – rebuild native deps (e.g., robotjs)

Data and security

uScribe stores:

• Notes as JSON files in your Documents folder under Documents/uscribe
• Config in Electron app userData (config.json)
• API keys encrypted with Electron safeStorage in userData (keys.json)

If run outside Electron (browser-only fallback), localStorage is used instead.

Troubleshooting

• macOS global shortcuts not triggering:
  • Grant uScribe access in Privacy & Security → Accessibility
• Notes not saving/loading on macOS:
  • Allow uScribe access to the Documents folder (notes are stored in Documents/uscribe)
• Global shortcuts not triggering:
  • Ensure uScribe is running and has registered shortcuts
  • Check if another app already owns the same shortcut
• Background revision says no provider:
  • Set an active provider in Settings
• Native module issues (robotjs) after install/update:
  • Run npm run rebuild:native

License

See LICENSE.