Frequently Asked
Questions.

GrimoireScribe is a local-first novel writing studio for Windows. It combines a full manuscript management system (books, acts, chapters, scenes), automatic character tracking, world building tools, and optional AI writing assistance. Everything runs entirely on your machine. Nothing is stored in the cloud.

Anyone writing long-form fiction who wants a serious manuscript tool without the learning curve of traditional software, or a cloud-based tool with privacy concerns. It's particularly well-suited to genre fiction writers, world-builders, and authors who want AI assistance on their own terms.

Yes. GrimoireScribe includes a 14-day free trial. No payment required to start. If you purchase and decide it isn't right for you, we offer a 30-day no-questions-asked refund on top of that.

Windows 10 and 11 at launch. Mac (macOS Sonoma/Ventura) and iPad are planned as subsequent platform versions, included in your license at no extra cost.

No. GrimoireScribe runs entirely offline. The only internet calls happen when you actively trigger an AI feature, and every single one requires your explicit action. Those requests go directly from your device to your chosen AI provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, xAI, Google, or Mistral). Never to us. When V2 launches, our fine-tuned local model ships pre-packaged, so you can go fully offline without losing AI features. Free for all V1 license holders.

Current (no local AI): Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit). 4 GB RAM minimum, 8 GB recommended. ~300 MB disk space for the application. No GPU required. Additional disk space for your manuscripts (plain files on your drive).

Future (local/offline AI, V2 roadmap): 8 GB RAM minimum, 16 GB recommended. A modern CPU with AVX2 support. An NVIDIA GPU with 4 GB+ VRAM will significantly improve local AI performance but is not required. 5–15 GB additional disk space per local model. Local AI is a V2 feature. The current release has no such requirements.

Your manuscripts are stored as a folder structure on your hard drive. By default this is your AppData folder, but you can configure any directory you prefer, including an external drive or a synced folder (Dropbox, OneDrive, etc.). GrimoireScribe never uploads your writing anywhere.

Yes. GrimoireScribe imports Scrivener .scriv projects natively, preserving your book structure, chapters, scenes, synopses, and front matter. Your Scrivener Research folder imports as world reference documents. You can also import individual DOCX, TXT, PDF, and EPUB files directly into scenes or as world reference documents.

Yes. GrimoireScribe reads native .scriv project files. You can import your Scrivener projects and export back to Scrivener at any time. The live resync feature re-reads a linked .scriv file and updates existing content, so you can migrate gradually without losing work in either tool.

GrimoireScribe auto-saves your prose 1.5 seconds after you stop typing. You will never lose a scene to a crash. If a crash does occur before an auto-save, GrimoireScribe detects the unsaved content on next launch and offers to restore it.

Yes, in multiple ways. Your manuscripts are plain files on your hard drive, so any backup method you already use (OneDrive, Dropbox, manual copy) works automatically. GrimoireScribe also includes a built-in auto-backup system that runs on a schedule you configure and keeps a rolling archive of zip backups. You can also export any book as a zip manually at any time.

No. All AI features are completely optional. GrimoireScribe is a full manuscript studio without them: character tracking, world building, manuscript hierarchy, and all export formats work with no AI configured.

Five: Claude (Anthropic), GPT (OpenAI), Grok (xAI), Gemini (Google), and Mistral. You can configure a different model for each of the five AI modes independently. For example: Claude Sonnet for prose generation, Haiku for quick character scans, and Mistral for cost-sensitive editing passes.

Go to Settings AI Models, enter your API key for your chosen provider, and select your preferred model. Your keys are stored locally in your settings file and never transmitted to us. GrimoireScribe includes a guided model picker if you're not sure which provider to choose.

No. Your API keys are stored on your machine. When you use an AI feature, your content travels directly from your device to your chosen provider. GrimoireScribe is not in that conversation. We never see your keys, your prompts, or the responses.

Each AI request automatically includes your book summary, writing style guide, character profiles, relevant world notes (retrieved semantically if you've indexed them), and the prose from your prior scene for continuity. You don't have to paste any of this manually.

No. Every piece of AI-generated content is a proposal. You read it, revise it, and explicitly accept it before it touches your manuscript. Nothing is ever auto-inserted.

It means you sign up directly with your chosen AI provider, get your own API key, and enter it in GrimoireScribe's settings. You pay those providers directly at their published per-token rates. GrimoireScribe takes no cut and has no markup. This is privacy-preserving and typically far cheaper than tools that resell AI access.

Yes. GrimoireScribe has a built-in Usage & Costs modal that logs every API call with estimated dollar costs, broken down by provider, model, and AI mode. Filter by date range, drill into per-call logs, and export to CSV or JSON. If you're on a custom API rate, you can set your own per-token prices per model.

Series Chat lets you discuss multiple books simultaneously with an AI that has context from every book in your series at once. Ask it to check for continuity errors across volumes, plan the next book with full series context, or trace a character's arc across the entire story.

No personally identifiable data is collected by the application. The only data we have is your email address if you purchased. There are no analytics inside the app and we never see your writing.

Only when you actively use an AI feature. In that case it goes directly from your device to your chosen AI provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, xAI, Google, or Mistral). Not to us. Your manuscripts at rest are stored entirely on your hard drive.

The GrimoireScribe website uses Cloudflare Web Analytics (no cookies, no personal tracking). If you purchase, we store your email address. See our Privacy Policy for full details.

$79. One-time purchase. This is the early adopter founding price. It includes V1, all V1 updates, V2 when it ships, and all future major versions of GrimoireScribe, forever.

One license covers personal use on your own machines. Windows at launch, with Mac and iPad support included in your license at no extra charge when those versions release.

30 days, no questions asked. If you purchase and decide GrimoireScribe isn't the right tool for you within 30 days, email hello@grimoirescribe.com and we'll issue a full refund promptly.

No. Your license covers all platforms. When Mac and iPad launch, you'll download those versions as part of your existing license.

Payment is handled by Paddle. They accept major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover), PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and many regional payment methods. Paddle handles VAT and sales tax collection globally.

Your local copy continues to work. The app does not require a connection to our servers to function. Your manuscripts are plain files on your drive. The worst-case scenario is that you stop receiving updates, not that the software stops working.