Show HN: I'm working on an open source writing app

#1

Post by egonschiele » Wed, Apr 26, 2023, 1:07 PM UTC

Hey Hacker News, I'm a writer who sometimes misses the fancy features of a code editor, so I started building Chisel.

What can Chisel do?

- Command palette like VSCode

- Git-like history to keep track of your writing journey

- Writing feedback ala Hemingway or Grammarly

- And it even integrates with ChatGPT

I've tried out some other apps like Bear and Obsidian, but Chisel has been a better fit. It's more about writing and less about note-taking.

Head over to https://egonschiele.github.io/chisel-docs/ to check it out!

Re: Show HN: I'm working on an open source writing app

#2

Post by SpiralLibrarium » Wed, Apr 26, 2023, 1:12 PM UTC

The demo link doesn't work.

Re: Show HN: I'm working on an open source writing app

#3

Post by egonschiele » Wed, Apr 26, 2023, 1:23 PM UTC

SpiralLibrarium wrote: post #2

The demo link doesn't work.

Fixed, thanks!

Re: Show HN: I'm working on an open source writing app

#4

Post by jaggs » Wed, Apr 26, 2023, 1:27 PM UTC

Interesting. What would be more useful though, would be to let people add their own API key and have unlimited use. Also a local install version would be nice.

Re: Show HN: I'm working on an open source writing app

#5

Post by egonschiele » Wed, Apr 26, 2023, 1:32 PM UTC

jaggs wrote: post #4

Interesting. What would be more useful though, would be to let people add their own API key and have unlimited use. Also a local install version would be nice.

Local install is on the list! I’m wary of sites who tell their users “put in your API key, we promise to keep it safe”. That’s why I’m going the route where users can host their own instance. If you find yourself hitting the 50k limit though, I’m happy to increase it.

Re: Show HN: I'm working on an open source writing app

#6

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Apr 26, 2023, 2:24 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Show HN: I'm working on an open source writing app

#7

Post by chillbill » Wed, Apr 26, 2023, 3:07 PM UTC

You shouldn't need accounts to track usage.

Re: Show HN: I'm working on an open source writing app

#8

Post by egonschiele » Wed, Apr 26, 2023, 3:21 PM UTC

chillbill wrote: post #7

You shouldn't need accounts to track usage.

Just added guest users. Try it out!

Re: Show HN: I'm working on an open source writing app

#9

Post by chillbill » Wed, Apr 26, 2023, 6:12 PM UTC

egonschiele wrote: post #8

chillbill wrote: post #7

You shouldn't need accounts to track usage.

Just added guest users. Try it out!

You have a thing where the burger menu next to the + icon in the chapters sidebar show underneath the books sidebar, otherwise I like it! Nice work!

Re: Show HN: I'm working on an open source writing app

#10

Post by egonschiele » Wed, Apr 26, 2023, 6:29 PM UTC

chillbill wrote: post #9

egonschiele wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just added guest users. Try it out!

You have a thing where the burger menu next to the + icon in the chapters sidebar show underneath the books sidebar, otherwise I like it! Nice work!

Thank you! I'll fix that. Feel free to leave more feedback!