Your files, your folder
Plain text. Open format. Readable on any computer, with or without Trove.
Offline by default
The editor needs no account and no connection. Sign-in is only for sync and Circles.
End-to-end encrypted
When you sync or join a Circle, your work is encrypted on your device — only you and the people you choose to share with can read it.
The editor
A page, not a dashboard.
Pick a typeface, set your line height and column width, and the chrome gets out of the way. Focus mode keeps the current paragraph lit and dims everything else.
- Typewriter scroll holds the active line centred while you draft
- Focus mode dims everything except the current paragraph
- Per-document column width, drop-cap, and cursor blink settings
- Session word counts and writing minutes — kept on this machine
Manuscript, Folio & Board
Three ways to see the same book.
Nest Folders and Documents however you want. Read it as a manuscript tree, scroll it as a Folio, or pin it to a Board. The files on disk are the same; only the view changes.
- Each scene is its own plain-text file — back it up, search it, sync it anywhere
- Folio renders a folder of Documents as one continuous read
- Board switches between cards, outline, and POV-lane timeline
- Compile any folder, file, or selection to DOCX, EPUB, PDF, or Markdown
Codex & the Relationship Map
A codex that holds together.
Entities are typed records — characters, locations, factions, whatever your story needs. Link them together, group them into a Codex, and reuse that Codex across as many Manuscripts as you like.
- Custom Entity types with their own fields, icons, and colours
- Typed Relationships, visualised on a graph
- Mention any Entity in the editor; an Appears-in panel tracks every reference
- Codexes live outside any single Manuscript — link as many manuscripts as you like
On the desk, on the sofa, on the train
On your laptop. On your phone.
Draft on the laptop. Capture a scene on your phone walking the dog. Read the chapter back on the iPad in bed. Same files, same library, same Trove.
- Native apps on macOS, Windows, Linux, iPhone, and iPad
- The real editor on the phone — jot the line that arrives between stops
- iPad reading layout for revising in long form away from the desk
- Pair devices once; your Manuscripts, Codexes, and Tome notes follow
Sync across your devices
Start on the laptop, finish at the desk.
Pair a second machine once and your Manuscripts, Codexes, drafts, and Tome notes stay in step. Sync is opt-in and end-to-end encrypted — leave it off and Trove behaves exactly as it always has.
- Pair a device with a one-time code — no file shuffling, no shared cloud folder
- Manuscripts, drafts, Entities, and notes all travel together
- Encrypted on your device before it leaves — we never see your writing
- Opt-in. Switch it off and Trove still works exactly the same
Circles
A writing group that respects the work.
Circles are small, private groups of writers. Share a passage for honest critique, run a sprint together, compare notes on the craft. Your manuscript stays on your machine — only the excerpt you choose to post ever leaves it.
- Share an Excerpt for feedback; threaded comments stay inside the Circle
- Group sprints and challenges with a shared word-count goal
- Join by invite link, or find a listed Circle in Discover
- Only the people in the Circle can read what is posted — not even Trove can
Security, ownership, and the writing
What Trove keeps that the others can't.
Nine honest rows against Scrivener, Ulysses, Obsidian and Atticus — plus Word and Google Docs, the status quo most writers start from. Plain Markdown on disk, end-to-end encrypted sync, and a pay-once licence are the things you stop renegotiating once you switch.
Security, ownership, and cost
- Plain Markdown library you own — readable in any editor, no proprietary database
Obsidian and Trove both store plain Markdown on disk. Ulysses uses Markdown inside its own library; Scrivener wraps RTF inside .scriv; Atticus is a browser app; Word saves OOXML; Google Docs is cloud-native.
- Lifetime app works without an account or hosted service
Trove keeps the writing app separate from Guild. Scrivener and Obsidian also work locally. Ulysses defaults to iCloud; Atticus and Google Docs are account-led; Word can run offline but Microsoft 365 pushes sign-in.
- Pay-once writing app — subscription not required to keep drafting
Trove is £49 lifetime, with a lower founders window. Guild is optional for hosted sync, Society for the community surface. Ulysses is subscription-only. Obsidian is free for personal use; sync and Publish are paid add-ons. Scrivener and Atticus are one-off purchases. Word is sold mainly through Microsoft 365, with a perpetual Office licence as the minority path. Google Docs is free for personal use; Workspace is subscription.
- Optional end-to-end encrypted sync — only you can read it
Trove Guild is the paid relay layer; the app still works without it. Ulysses syncs via iCloud. Obsidian Sync stores plaintext on Obsidian servers. Scrivener and Atticus have no first-party encrypted sync. Word/OneDrive and Google Docs encrypt in transit and at rest, but the provider holds the keys.
- Novelist structure built in — manuscript tree, board, folio, snapshots
Obsidian has community plugins (Longform, Novel Plugin) but nothing first-party. Ulysses is a Markdown writing app without project/novel structure. Word and Google Docs are general-purpose word processors with no novelist scaffolding.
- Worldbuilding — typed entities, codex, relationship graph
Scrivener has character/place sheets. Obsidian can model anything via plugins but is not novelist-aware. Atticus has light character/setting fields. Word and Google Docs have no worldbuilding features.
- Cross-platform — Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad
Scrivener: Mac/Win/iOS, no Linux. Ulysses: Mac/iOS only. Obsidian: Mac/Win/Linux/iOS/Android. Atticus: browser, so works anywhere but no offline desktop app. Word: Mac/Win/iOS plus web, no Linux desktop. Google Docs: web + iOS/Android, no offline desktop binary.
- soon Live encrypted co-writing in a private writers group
This is the Society hero feature after 1.0: live sessions, presence, and private group context without server-readable drafts. Word and Google Docs both have mature live co-editing, but Microsoft and Google can process plaintext on the server.
- No telemetry on your work
Trove sends no telemetry. Scrivener, Ulysses and Obsidian collect minimal usage data at most. Atticus, Word and Google Docs all collect or process content under their respective terms — read the current TOS for your tier.
Sources: vendor docs and current shipping behaviour as of 2026-05-11. Tap or hover a cell for the qualifying note.
Pricing
Pay once for the app. Encrypt for a few quid more.
Trove is yours for a single payment — the editor, your library, every feature that works on your hard drive. Guild adds encrypted sync between your own devices; Society adds the writers — Circles, messages, shared sprints — and includes Guild underneath it. Founders pricing on the lifetime tier runs until 1 January 2027.
Founders price: £39 until 1 January 2027.
Same lifetime app, same five-machine licence, same v1 updates. After that it returns to £49.
Trove
Pay once. Yours forever. Your library stays on your machine — no server to depend on, no account to lose, no subscription clock running.
14-day trial first if you want it · activate up to 5 machines
- Editor with focus mode, typewriter scroll, configurable typography
- Manuscript tree — parts, chapters, scenes, drag-to-reorder
- Folio — composite continuous-scroll across selected scenes
- Board — cards, outline, and POV-lane timeline
- Tome — global notes graph with backlinks
- Codex — typed Entities with Relationship Map
- Maps and family trees, pinned to your own places and people
- Codexes you can link from any Manuscript
- Reference graph — rename-safe [[links]] across scenes, entities, and notes
- Time — invented calendars and a story-time timeline
- Canvas — freeform plotting boards
- Read aloud — offline narration, generated on your machine
- Snapshots, drafts, and version history per Document
- Compile to DOCX, EPUB, PDF, and Markdown
- Templates, Sprints, Sessions
- Command palette and full-text search
- 14-day refund · No subscription · No tracking
Trove Guild
Sync your own devices over the open internet. Encrypted on your machine before it leaves — only you can read it.
Optional. The app works fully without it. Cancel anytime.
- Encrypted sync between your own machines — only you can read it
- Every device you write on kept in step — desktop, laptop, phone, tablet
- Stop mid-sentence on one machine, carry on from another
- Hosted storage for your encrypted sync traffic
- Cancel anytime — the app keeps working offline, on disk
Trove Society
Everything Guild does, plus the writers. Private Circles, direct messages, and shared sprints — encrypted end to end, between people you choose.
Includes Guild. One subscription, not two. Cancel anytime.
- Everything in Guild, including sync across your own devices
- Private writing Circles — small groups with excerpt critique built in
- Direct messages with other writers, encrypted end-to-end
- Shared sprints and a reading room for work in progress
- Profile and discovery on the Trove network
- Live co-writing sessions with another writer (coming soon)
14-day refund on Trove · VAT calculated at checkout · educator and student discount on request.
A note from the maker
Why this exists.
I wanted to be a writer before I wanted to be anything else. It was the first thing that held my ADHD brain longer than five minutes, and it never let go. I went to university for it. It has been my ambition ever since. It still is.
I am also a software engineer, and writing code scratches many of the same itches as writing prose. I love that I get to do it for a living.
This app was always going to exist. There are other great tools out there. I use some of them. But I love building and I love writing too much to let the chance to craft my own workflow pass me by.
It was built for me. I think it might be for you too. Try it. Buy it if you like it. Tell me what's broken.
FAQ
Questions, answered plainly.
On your hard drive. Trove writes plain text files into a folder you choose — usually Documents → Trove. Nothing locked in a proprietary format, no database to escape if you ever move on. Sync and Circles are opt-in extras; switch them off and your writing never leaves the folder.
Get the app
Native, signed, and yours to keep.
Notarised on macOS, code-signed on Windows, and packaged as an AppImage for Linux. Older desktop versions and mobile availability are on the download page.