Local-first · Clear boundaries · No account required

A private writing app built around a local-first manuscript.

Awthor starts with a simple boundary: your draft stays in this browser unless you choose a feature that crosses it. That makes private writing the default while leaving sync and trusted tool access available when you want them.

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IndexedDB by default
On-device proofreading
Explicit first sync

Awthor proofreading drawer beside a Markdown novel chapter — Harper checks the open chapter locally in the browserPlate i

What you get

Privacy comes from understandable choices.

Awthor avoids vague promises. These are the practical boundaries that determine where a manuscript lives, when it can leave the device, and what the writer should still protect.

Browser-local by default

Books, chapters, character notes, settings, and writing preferences are stored locally, primarily in IndexedDB. You can use the writing workspace without an account.

Explicit first sync

Opening Awthor or merely signing in does not upload a manuscript. The first transfer happens only after you deliberately choose Sync.

Local proofreading

Harper proofreading is loaded in a browser worker and checks the chapter on-device instead of sending its prose to a remote proofreading API.

Backups you can hold

Download a restorable Awthor ZIP for the workspace, or export a book as Markdown, PDF, or EPUB. Keep copies outside the browser.

Clear external boundaries

A remote image URL in a cover or manuscript can contact the server that hosts it when the browser loads the image. Use hosts you are comfortable contacting.

Intentional tool access

WebMCP can expose device-local writing actions to compatible browsers; remote MCP works with synced data. Enable either only through clients you trust.

What local-first means in Awthor

When you create a book, Awthor writes the workspace to browser storage on the current device. IndexedDB holds the main repository; small bootstrap and preference values use local browser storage. The application can be opened and used without an account.

Signing in prepares optional account features, but it is not consent to upload a manuscript. Awthor waits for the writer to choose Sync. After that first explicit sync, later synchronization can run when the local workspace changes, the browser reconnects, or a previously synced workspace is reopened.

Opening the application does not upload your manuscript to Awthor sync.
Signing in alone does not start the first manuscript upload.
Sync is useful across devices, but it changes the storage boundary by design.

Proofreading stays beside the draft

Awthor uses Harper for spelling, grammar, and style suggestions. The proofreading engine runs locally in a browser worker, so the text being checked is not sent to an external proofreading service as part of that workflow.

Suggestions remain suggestions. Writers should review each change in context, especially dialogue, invented terms, historical language, and intentional fragments. Local processing improves the privacy boundary; it does not make automated feedback infallible.

Browser storage needs a backup plan

Local-first does not mean indestructible. Browser data belongs to the browser profile and device. Clearing site data, resetting the browser, losing the device, storage eviction, or hardware failure can remove work that exists only there.

Awthor can export a portable workspace backup and reminds writers to make one regularly. A book can also leave the application as combined Markdown, PDF, or EPUB. Keep versioned backup copies outside the browser—ideally in more than one physical location or storage service you trust.

Download an Awthor backup before clearing site data or changing browsers.
Test that important exports open correctly before relying on them.
Treat optional sync as convenience, not as your only backup.

Know when another system is involved

Some choices necessarily contact another service. Sync sends selected workspace records to Awthor's configured sync backend. Publishing creates a separate read-only snapshot at an unlisted URL. A cover or manuscript image that points to a remote URL can cause the browser to request that image from its external host.

Awthor also supports browser-scoped WebMCP tools for local actions and an authenticated remote MCP boundary for data a writer has already synced. MCP clients can act with meaningful access, so review their permissions and enable these capabilities only in clients you trust.

Explore Awthor

No setup ceremony

Begin anywhere

Start writing before the setup becomes another project.

Open Awthor in your browser, create a book, and keep the first draft on this device. No account or payment step stands between you and the page.

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