Your book on this Mac. Cloud optional. CoAuthor when online.
Typewriter.app is local-first. Manuscripts live in SQLite on the machine. Login is for sync and AI, not for the privilege of opening chapter one.
The mess
Web-only tools punish flights and flaky cafes
Some authors need offline. Some refuse to rent their drafts from a login. Desktop-only tools punish multi-device life. You want both paths honest.
- Hostage login just to open a file
- Cloud-only anxiety on planes
- Desktop tools that hate your second machine
- AI that requires the whole book to live online always
What you get
Local core. Optional cloud. Optional AI.
Three layers, never mixed into one confusing plan: free local desk, optional cloud sync, CoAuthor subscription online.
- Offline write on Mac
- SQLite on your machine
- Push to cloud when you want multi-device
- CoAuthor online when you invite it
How
Do this in order
Not a feature tour. The actual path.
- 1
Open the local desk
In Typewriter.app, use the local library. Create a book. No account required to draft.
- 2
Write like it is a real binder
Chapters, bible, cards, map foundations live locally. Autosave is the machine, not a spinner over a dead wifi icon.
- 3
Push to cloud when you need multi-device
Sign in. Push the pack to your web workspace. Pull paths expand as the product hardens. Dual-path is intentional.
- 4
Pack context for CoAuthor when stuck
Local can pack chapter and bible context for online CoAuthor. Live dock deepens over time. Help is still optional.
Positioning
Not another cloud hostage
Login-gated web tools
- No network, no draft
- Account required to open
- AI bundled as the product
Typewriter Mac
- Local-first free core
- Cloud optional
- CoAuthor optional online
Questions
Straight answers
Do I need an account on Mac?
Not to write locally. Account is for cloud sync and online CoAuthor.
Is the Mac app free?
Local core is free. CoAuthor is a subscription. Typewriter Pro web craft tools are a separate desk plan. See Pricing.
Where do local files live?
On your Mac in the Typewriter local SQLite store under Application Support. Your machine. Your draft.
Write on the plane. Sync when you land.
Local-first Mac. Cloud optional. AI optional.