Welcome to Inkweld
Inkweld is a collaborative creative writing platform designed for authors, worldbuilders, and storytellers. Whether you're writing a novel solo, collaborating with co-authors, or building an expansive fictional universe, Inkweld provides the tools you need to bring your stories to life.
What You'll Learn
This user guide covers everything you need to know to use Inkweld effectively:
Getting Started
- Choosing Your Mode - Browser, Cloud Sync with your own storage, or an Inkweld Server
- Cloud Sync with Nextcloud - Mirror projects to your own Nextcloud
- Creating Your Account - Sign up with a passkey and log in
- Dashboard Overview - Navigate your project library
- Creating Your First Project - Set up a new writing project
Writing & Editing
- The Editor - Master the rich text editor
- Keyboard Shortcuts - Speed up your workflow
- Formatting Text - Apply styles and structure to your prose
- Snapshots - Save and restore named versions of a document
Organizing Your Work
- Project Structure - Folders, documents, and hierarchy
- Managing Documents - Create, rename, move, and delete content
- Scenes, Corkboard & Outline - Plan and rearrange scenes visually
- Using Tags - Categorize and filter your elements
- Navigation - Move around the project tree and tabs
- Project Search - Search every document at once
- Quick Open - Jump to any file with Ctrl/Cmd + P
- Local-First Design - Your work saves locally first, then syncs when connected
- Backups, Export & Import - Archive projects, restore them, and move between instances
Worldbuilding
- Elements & Templates - Create structured worldbuilding entries with custom schemas
- Element Types - The built-in templates and how to make your own
- Element References - Link elements with @mentions
- Relationships - Define connections between elements
- Relationship Charts - Visualise the web of connections
- Canvas - Draw, sketch, and lay out ideas on an infinite canvas
- Interactive Maps - Pin locations and regions to map images
- Timelines - Custom calendars, events, and eras
- Generators - Roll random names, places and prompts from your own tables
Collaboration
- Real-Time Collaboration - Write together simultaneously with presence and cursors
- Comments - Leave notes on passages and discuss them
- Sharing Projects - Invite collaborators and manage access
- Activity & Writing Stats - See what changed and track your word counts
Media & Images
- Media Library - Manage project assets
- Cover Images - Add visual identity to projects and documents
- AI Image Generation - Create images with AI (when enabled)
Publishing & Export
- Export Formats - EPUB, PDF, HTML, and Markdown
- Publish Plans - Save export configurations
- Customizing Output - Control metadata, styling, and structure
Account & Settings
- User Settings - Configure your preferences
- Project Settings - Customize project-level options
AI & MCP Integrations
- MCP Clients - Connect Claude and other AI assistants to your projects
Glossary
Inkweld uses these terms consistently, in the app and in this guide:
- Profile: one author identity in one place. You can have several.
- Browser profile: projects stored only in this browser. No account needed.
- Cloud Sync profile: projects stored in this browser and mirrored to your own Dropbox or Nextcloud.
- Server profile: projects stored on an Inkweld Server, with collaboration and sharing (Realtime Sync).
- Offline: a temporary loss of connection to the server. Your changes are kept and sync later.
See Choosing Your Mode for how to pick one.
Quick Start
Ready to dive in? Here's the fastest path to writing:
- Create an account or log in at your Inkweld instance (or choose a Browser profile)
- Click + Create in the top bar, then New Project
- Pick a template, enter a title and create your project
- Add a document from the project tree and start writing
That's it! Inkweld saves automatically on your device, and when you are connected to a server your work syncs across all your devices.
Need Help?
If you encounter issues or have questions not covered in this guide:
- Check the Troubleshooting section in the main documentation
- Visit the GitHub Discussions for community support
- Report bugs on the GitHub Issues page