murmur

A local-first writing studio for long-form fiction.

murmur is a Progressive Web App (PWA) for novelists, screenwriters, and writers working on long-form projects. It provides a calm, distraction-free environment with strong organisational tools, while keeping your work fully local and portable.

No accounts. No cloud. No telemetry. Works offline after the first load.

Why murmur

Most writing tools fall into one of two camps:

• word processors with no real structure, or
• heavy, proprietary systems that lock your work behind databases and formats you don’t control.

murmur sits in between.

It gives you:

• Scrivener-like structure
• Obsidian-style internal links
• Markdown as the export format
• A typography-first interface designed for focus

🚀 Live Demo

Try murmur instantly in your browser: https://murmur-editor.netlify.app/

Features

📝 Manuscript Management

• Hierarchical structure: Organize your work into Chapters and Scenes
• Drag-and-drop reordering: Easily rearrange your manuscript
• Status tracking: Mark documents as Draft, Revised, or Final
• Word count: Track progress per document

📚 Character Bible

• Character profiles: Keep detailed notes on your characters
• Locations: Document settings and places
• Themes: Track thematic elements and style guides
• Quick insert: Add [[wikilinks]] to reference entities

🔗 Internal Links

• Wikilinks: Reference any document with [[Document Name]]
• Heading anchors: Link to specific sections with [[Doc#Heading]]
• Autocomplete: Get suggestions while typing [[
• Backlinks panel: See all documents that reference the current one
• Safe refactoring: Rename documents and all links update automatically

✍️ Markdown Editor

• CodeMirror 6: Fast, reliable markdown editing
• Syntax highlighting: Visual distinction for headings, emphasis, links
• YAML frontmatter: Structured metadata for each document
• Autosave: Changes saved automatically to IndexedDB

🧠 Prompt Studio

Generate copyable prompts for external AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.):

• Draft Next Scene: Continue your story
• Rewrite with Constraint: Improve prose with specific guidance
• Continuity Check: Identify inconsistencies
• Context selection: Include current doc, previous doc, character profiles

📦 Export

• ZIP download: Export entire project as organized markdown files
• Folder sync: Write directly to disk (File System Access API, where supported)
• Standard structure: /manuscript/, /bible/, /notes/

⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts

• Cmd/Ctrl + K: Quick search & command palette
• Cmd/Ctrl + S: Manual save
• Cmd/Ctrl + P: Open Prompt Studio

Local-First Architecture

murmur follows a local-first design:

1. All data in IndexedDB: Projects, documents, and indexes are stored entirely in your browser
2. No network calls: After initial load, works completely offline
3. No accounts or cloud: Your data stays on your device
4. Markdown as source of truth: Documents are stored with YAML frontmatter, easily exported

Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• Yarn

Setup

yarn install
yarn dev

Build

yarn build

Tests

yarn test

yarn test:watch

Privacy

• No telemetry: Zero analytics or tracking
• No network calls: After initial load, completely offline
• No accounts: No sign-up or login required
• Your data is yours: All content stays in your browser

License

Open source. See LICENSE file for details.

---

Built with care for writers who value simplicity, privacy, and focus.