The local-first novel-writing app expands into full manuscript planning, with a visual timeline, a redesigned story Codex, goal and streak tracking, footnote support, and multi-language spellcheck.

Deckle, the local-first writing and formatting app for novelists, today announced version 1.5, its largest release since launch. The update turns Deckle into a full manuscript command center: a visual story Timeline and a redesigned story Codex for planning, plus writing goals, streak tracking, footnotes, and multi-language spellcheck for carrying a draft through to submission-ready.

Most novelists end up stitching together two or three separate tools to plan, write, and stay accountable to a deadline: a Scrivener-style binder, a timeline tool like Aeon, a story bible, and a habit tracker. Deckle 1.5 replaces all of it with one local file.

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A Visual Timeline for Plotting Complex Stories

Multi-POV, dual-timeline, and research-heavy stories are hard to hold in your head. Deckle’s new swim-lane Timeline view lays every event out visually, so authors can see a story’s full chronology at a glance instead of guessing whether a subplot actually lines up. Events can be nested, tagged, and linked directly to research documents, and authors can bulk-add a project’s existing chapters and scenes straight from the draft into the Timeline in one step, instead of rebuilding it by hand.

Codex: A Full Story Bible System

The Codex, Deckle’s story bible for characters, locations, and lore, has been rebuilt so it bends to how each author actually organizes a cast and world, not the other way around. Statuses, badges, and entry templates are fully customizable, sections can be added, renamed, or removed per entry, and any entry can be duplicated to speed up building out a large cast or setting.

Writing Goals, Streaks, and Sprints

Deckle now tracks whether an author is actually on pace to hit a deadline, not just how many words they’ve typed. A redesigned stats view shows weekly progress toward a goal, a sprint timer with a completion chime and shared best-streak tracking builds writing-session habits, and typed words are tracked separately from pasted ones so progress reflects real writing, not padding.

Built for Serious Manuscripts

Deckle 1.5 adds footnotes and endnotes, with export to DOCX, EPUB, and Typst-based PDF. Smart quotes and em-dashes apply automatically as authors type and carry through export, and spellcheck now covers seven languages, including Spanish. A new Standard Manuscript Format export produces submission-ready DOCX files in the format agents and publishers expect, and trim sizes now cover EU and metric standards, including BoD Pocket and A5.

Faster to Navigate, Easier to Customize

Everyday friction has been sanded down across the app: keyboard-first arrow-key navigation through the Binder and Research tree, a rebuilt Outliner with custom, renamable, recolorable fields, and style presets that can be saved, shared, and bundled with fonts inside templates. Deckle also adds a native macOS application menu, Markdown import from single files and Obsidian vaults, and the option to start a new project straight from a template file.

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About Deckle

Deckle is a local-first writing and book-formatting application for Windows and Mac. It combines manuscript organization, research management, and professional-quality EPUB, PDF, and DOCX export in a single one-time purchase, with no subscription and no cloud dependency. Every project lives as a file on the author’s own machine.

Media Contact:
hello@deckle.studio
Screenshots and brand assets available on request.

Deckle’s early access price of $107 will end on August 8th, after which new purchases will be $197. This is a one-time note for anyone considering Deckle who hasn’t picked it up yet — current owners are unaffected and continue to receive every future update for free, as always.

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What’s Included at Either Price

Every purchase, at $107 or $197, includes the full app — writing, organising, styling, and exporting a book to EPUB, DOCX, Typst, and InDesign-ready files — plus all future updates, forever. No subscription, no add-ons, no separate purchase required to unlock formatting or export features later.

Why the Price Is Moving

Deckle has grown substantially since early access opened. In the time since, the app has added full Scrivener project import, a built-in spellchecker, native Linux support, the Codex world-building system, DOCX and InDesign export, comment import/export, custom and variable font support, automatic backups, and a redesigned Outliner, among other things — all of which are included in the same one-time price. $197 reflects where the app stands today, not where it started.

For Anyone Comparing Options

A common workflow for independent authors right now is Scrivener for drafting plus Vellum for formatting and export — two separate purchases, on top of learning two separate pieces of software, with your manuscript passing between them by hand. Deckle handles drafting, organising, styling, and export in one app, at one price, with no ongoing subscription either way.

If you’ve been meaning to try Deckle, now through August 8th is the last window at $107.

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About Deckle

Deckle is a desktop writing and publishing app built for independent authors — one place to write, organise, format, and publish a book, for one price, with no subscription. deckle.studio

Media Contact

Ezzy, co-founder
hello@deckle.studio
deckle.studio

Automatic Backups, a Redesigned Outliner, and More Editor Polish

Deckle today released version 1.4.5, a focused update centered on peace of mind for your manuscript, along with a redesigned Outliner and a handful of editor refinements. As always, the update is free for everyone who already owns Deckle.

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What’s New in 1.4.5

Automatic Backups

Deckle now backs up your project automatically, in addition to the existing manual “Back Up Now.” You can set how many backups are kept and how often they’re triggered, so your work is protected without you having to think about it.

Outliner Redesign

The Deck (Outliner) view has a reworked card/list interface, making it easier to see and organise your project at a glance.

Text Color in the Editor

A new toolbar button lets you color text as you write, with a color picker and eight quick presets. This is an editor-only tool — it’s automatically stripped from every export format (EPUB, DOCX, Typst, InDesign), so it never leaks into your shipped book.

Comment Shortcut

Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+C now inserts a comment at the cursor, so you can leave yourself or a collaborator a note without leaving the keyboard.

Fixed Column Count for Deck Grid View

A new dropdown next to the Grid/List toggle lets you pin the grid to 2–6 columns, instead of it always auto-fitting to your window size.

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Availability

Version 1.4.5 is available now as a free update for everyone who owns Deckle. New writers can get early access for $107 (a one-time payment, rising to $197 at full launch on August 8th), which includes every feature above and all future updates, forever. Deckle now runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux, and comes with a 30-day, no-questions-asked refund.

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About Deckle

Deckle is a desktop writing and publishing app built for independent authors — one place to write, organise, format, and publish a book, for one price, with no subscription. deckle.studio

Media Contact

Ezzy, co-founder
hello@deckle.studio
deckle.studio

The Biggest Update Yet — Every Part of Your Scrivener Project Now Imports, Your Spellchecker Learns Your Words, and Deckle Now Runs Natively on Linux

Deckle today released version 1.4, its most substantial update since launch. The release brings full Scrivener project import — not just the manuscript, but Research, Notes, web pages, and nested folders — alongside a built-in spellchecker that learns your personal vocabulary, native Linux support, and a significant set of editor improvements. As always, the update is free for everyone who already owns Deckle.

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From the Co-Founder

“Full Scrivener import and a proper spellchecker were the two things authors asked for most. Both are in this release, and we’ve shipped them the right way — import that actually brings everything across, and a spellchecker that remembers every word you add, forever. Linux support is a bonus that’s been quietly requested since day one.”

Ezzy, co-founder, Deckle

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What’s New in 1.4

Full Scrivener Import — Your Whole Project, Not Just the Draft

Deckle now imports the complete Scrivener project — Draft, Research, Notes, web pages, and nested folders all come across in one step. For authors who have spent years building out their projects in Scrivener, switching to Deckle no longer means leaving anything behind.

Built-In Spellcheck — Smarter, and Actually Yours

Deckle now ships with its own built-in spellchecker — wavy underlines, right-click suggestions, and a persistent personal dictionary. Add a word once and Deckle remembers it forever, across every project. Character names, invented words, technical terms — they’re yours to keep.

Native Linux Support

Deckle now ships native packages for Linux — a .deb for Debian and Ubuntu-based systems, and an .rpm for Fedora and RHEL-based systems. Linux authors now have a first-class native desktop writing and publishing app with no workarounds required.

Unified Binder — Research and Draft, One Place

Research and Draft now live in a single unified binder. Drag documents freely between sections, apply colour labels to any folder, and keep your whole project — manuscript and research together — exactly where you need it.

Hyperlinks

Insert and edit links directly in the editor. They render correctly in the editor and carry through to every export format. Click to open.

Web Pages in Research

Save web pages directly into your Research folder and read them inside Deckle, right alongside your manuscript. No switching to a browser to check your sources.

Split-Pane Editor

Open two documents side by side — write Chapter 22 with Chapter 3 open beside it, or keep your outline visible while you draft. Drag the divider to set exactly how much space each pane gets.

Editor Appearance Controls

New controls in Preferences let you set your preferred line height and text column width. These are purely editor-side settings — they have no effect on your exported book, only on how comfortable the page feels while you write.

Variable Font Support

Deckle now fully supports variable fonts — the format used by most Google Fonts. Upload a variable font and Deckle automatically generates real Bold, Italic, and Bold Italic variants from the font’s own named instances. The bundled font library has also been overhauled with complete, genuine variants throughout.

Bold and Italic in Special Blocks

Bold and italic now work correctly inside every block type — blockquotes, verse, epigraphs, and insets. Format anything, anywhere in your manuscript.

Export Preflight

Before every export, Deckle runs a preflight check of your manuscript. External images are fetched and embedded automatically. Any other issues are surfaced clearly before export — nothing fails silently.

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Availability

Version 1.4 is available now as a free update for everyone who owns Deckle. New writers can get early access for $107 (a one-time payment, rising to $197 at full launch on August 8th), which includes every feature above and all future updates, forever. Deckle now runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux, and comes with a 30-day, no-questions-asked refund.

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About Deckle

Deckle is a desktop writing and publishing app built for independent authors — one place to write, organise, format, and publish a book, for one price, with no subscription. deckle.studio

Media Contact

Ezzy, co-founder
hello@deckle.studio
deckle.studio