Prosaic
A minimal, open-source, writer-first terminal writing app
60 followers
A minimal, open-source, writer-first terminal writing app
60 followers
Prosaic is a minimalist writing environment for writers who want to focus on their craft, not their tools. Built for the terminal, Prosaic gives you everything you need and nothing you don't. Features: Markdown editor with live outline and word count. Focus mode strips away everything but your words. Daily writing metrics to track progress. Git-ready. Your files are plain markdown. No accounts, no costs, no cloud lock-in, no telemetry. Just you and your words. For macOS, Linux, and Windows.
Prosaic
Hello! I wanted to shed some light on the motivation and why I am using and will use this myself!
I write on multiple devices (an iPad, a laptop, even more), and I wanted a quick way to start every day, get some frontmatter ready for my daily pieces on journal.coffee, jot down notes and even work on books. I have tried several software, some stellar, some half-assed, some bloated, some minimal, but I felt like I needed something of my own.
So, I decided that the best way to go about it is to have a TUI. I can access it from anywhere, and mostly, it will do the job. This way, I can access it from a terminal app on the iPad or Windows (cue: Termix on a browser) and on the Macbook. Hence, Prosaic was born!
The idea of Prosaic is simply to have as many anti-features as there are features for no writer wants to be married to the tool. Prosaic has no subscriptions, no costs, no lock-ins, no AI, no telemetry or tracking. It does have markdown, a focus mode, outline with headings, different writing modes (books, pieces, free drafts), Git-readiness. That is all anyone needs to write their best work.
On top of that, Prosaic will always be open-source.
Who is Prosaic for (and who is it not for)? I'm thinking if I should use it :)
Prosaic
@andrzej_bialas Fantastic question! Prosaic is for writers who are tired of fighting their tools and want to avoid getting them in the way. If you're even remotely comfortable with a terminal and markdown, you'll feel right at home. Open a terminal, type prosaic, and write. That's it. Your files are plain markdown: yours to keep, version with git (or not!), open anywhere. No lock-in, no subscriptions, no telemetry. That said, it's opinionated and not for everyone. If you need cloud sync, rich formatting, or AI assistance, Prosaic isn't the right fit. But if you just want to write without the noise of bells and whistles, it might fit like a glove.
A list of features and anti-features are on the landing page as well for you to check it out. And, of course, the app is open-source.
Love this.
Terminal + plain markdown + no lock in is honestly all I need. Feels refreshing to see a writing tool that just focuses on writing.
Going to give this a try.
Prosaic
@jonasmeuleman I am so glad you share the sentiment. This is precisely why I built it for myself. It has been such a booster in my focus while writing too so I can personally attest to its usefulness (biases included haha). Appreciate you!
Paste
Congrats on the launch!
Prosaic
@protsenkoalexandra Thank you so much! I am excited for people to try this out!