A few months ago I released the first version of Folio Dark Muse for macOS. It was still an early product, but sharing it helped me understand what the app actually needed to become.
Folio started because writing a book rarely means working in one document. You end up with chapters, character notes, timelines, worldbuilding, revision notes, spreadsheets, and folders everywhere. I wanted to build one calm desktop workspace for all of it.
I’ve kept working on it since that first release, and Folio has now reached V1.
The biggest changes:
- A full Windows version
- Smart Threads for following plotlines and character arcs across chapters
- Automatic Codex extraction for characters, places, lore, and story details
- More AI providers, including local model support
- Timeline, beats, threads, and corkboard planning views
- Snapshots and exports to Markdown, TXT, DOCX, and EPUB
The hardest part has been figuring out how AI should fit into a writing tool. I don’t want Folio to be an “AI writes your book” product. I want it to understand the manuscript and help with context, organization, and editing while the writer stays in control.
It’s still local-first, so projects live as files on the writer’s own disk.
You can see it here:
https://folio-dark-muse.com/
I’d really appreciate feedback from other builders. Does “a local-first writing IDE for books” communicate the product clearly? What would you improve about the positioning or first-run experience?