Everything you need to know about Kindling — the free, open-source writing app built for plotters and outliners.
Yes. Kindling is completely free and open-source under the MIT license. There are no premium tiers, no subscriptions, and no feature gates. It is free forever.
Kindling is available for Windows 10+, macOS 12+ (universal binary — Apple Silicon and Intel), and Linux (x86_64 AppImage). It's a native desktop application built with Rust and Tauri — about 10MB total. The macOS build is signed and notarized by Apple.
Scrivener excels at manuscript management, compilation, and long-term project organization. When you open a new scene in Scrivener, you get a blank page. Kindling pre-populates your drafting space with your synopsis beats and character context, so you never face a blank page.
Many writers use Kindling alongside Scrivener — drafting scenes in Kindling, then exporting to Scrivener for revision and compilation. Scrivener costs $49 one-time; Kindling is free.
Yes. Kindling imports Plottr (.pltr) files directly and turns your beats into expandable writing prompts. It also imports from yWriter (.yw7), Obsidian Longform, and Markdown outlines. Your character and location cards surface automatically while you write.
Import: Plottr (.pltr), yWriter (.yw7), Obsidian Longform, and Markdown outlines.
Export: DOCX, Markdown, and Obsidian Longform format.
This lets you bring in your existing outline and export finished work to the tools you already use.
No. Kindling provides structure and context, not generated text. Your writing is 100% yours — Kindling never suggests, autocompletes, or generates prose. There are no subscription fees, no API costs, and no data sent to external servers.
Kindling is built for writers who want to write, not outsource their creativity.
Yes. Kindling is a desktop application that works completely offline. Your projects are stored as SQLite files on your hard drive — no cloud accounts, no internet connection required, and no data collection. Your words stay on your computer.
No. Kindling doesn't require an account, doesn't phone home, doesn't collect analytics, and doesn't upload your manuscripts. Your projects are stored as SQLite files on your hard drive — just like a Word document. Back them up however you want. Move them between computers with a USB drive. They're yours.
Yes. Kindling is fully open source under the MIT license. The complete source code is available on GitHub. Anyone can inspect, modify, and redistribute the code. If the project ever stopped being maintained, the community could carry it forward.
Rust and Tauri 2.x for the backend, providing fast performance and a small ~10MB application size. The user interface is built with Svelte 5. Project data is stored in SQLite databases. It launches in under a second and uses a fraction of the memory of Electron-based writing tools.
Free, open source, no account required.