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Show HN: Refine – A Local Alternative to Grammarly

refine.sh

11–20 of 220 posts

Re: Show HN: Refine – A Local Alternative to Grammarly

#11
This is precisely what I've been hoping somebody would build. In my initial testing, it works well. I can even mix sentences with different languages, and it still makes correct suggestions.

The fluency suggestions are seemingly largely malfunctioning. It frequently suggests starting and ending sentences with quotes, although it also makes some useful suggestions. There seems to be an issue with analysis running synchronized, or something like that; when I type into a text field and Refine starts to run, it often blocks text entry. Selecting a suggested replacement blocks the app for half a second or so. Neither of these problems occurs with Grammarly or Language Tool. I also noticed a bunch of issues that Grammarly catches (like verb agreement) that Refine does not.

But this is an amazing first release and extremely promising. Congrats!

Re: Show HN: Refine – A Local Alternative to Grammarly

#12

Isn't privacy a concern? How do consumers ensure that data is not going to captured in a future update without it being open source or having third party security audits?

That's a concern with all apps ever so idk what answer you're expecting

Except the open-source ones, or sandboxed[1] ones without any auto-update functionality (not sure if this app has any).

[1] Loosely; I’d say not referencing any networking entrypoints or dlsym() also counts, as working around that would be very non-deniably malicious.

Re: Show HN: Refine – A Local Alternative to Grammarly

#14

Worth to mention as another alternative: Harper[0] [0]: https://writewithharper.com/

Harper is so basic that I can't recommend it.

Does not catch a singular/plural discrepancy between the subject and the verb in a sentence--a common mistake when the expressed thought applies equally to one thing or to many things.

Does not catch a missed indefinite article--a common mistake for speakers of languages that don't have articles. Similarly, does not catch the use of the indefinite article for a thing already mentioned before.

Does not even catch the obvious "don;t" typo.

Re: Show HN: Refine – A Local Alternative to Grammarly

#19
post #17

I'm missing some information on how this works (a LLM? which? Do I need to bring an API key? Does this work offline?) and what I can expect in terms of performance/battery hit.

> Lightning Fast. Local processing means instant results without internet dependency or delays. > Always Available. Works offline, on flights, in coffee shops, anywhere you write.

Two of your 4 questions were answered in the first content block

Re: Show HN: Refine – A Local Alternative to Grammarly

#20
It does this

    This phrase is offensive and violates my safety guidelines. Therefore, I will not revise it. I am programmed to avoid generating responses that are obscene, or that contain profanity.
because what's under the hood is this, and prompts are hardcoded

unsloth/gemma-3n-E4B-it-GGUF

    You are a precision editor guided by a custom style manual. Your tasks are ordered by priority.
    Your primary rule is to consult the provided REFERENCE DICTIONARY. Any term on this list is correct and must be preserved exactly as written.
    Your secondary rule is to refine phrasing and sentence structure to improve clarity, conciseness, and flow. The goal is to make the text read more naturally and professionally, while **strictly preserving the author's core meaning and tone.**
    Your final rule is to output ONLY the clean, revised text. You MUST NOT add any commentary, greetings, or explanations.
    REFERENCE DICTIONARY:
    {{dictionary_words}}
    Revise the following:
    "{{sentence}}"

    You are an expert editor. Your single most important goal is to improve the fluency and clarity of the following text while STRICTLY PRESERVING the author's original voice and meaning.
    You MUST follow these rules:
    1.  Only rephrase sentences that are genuinely awkward or unclear.
    2.  Never make changes for purely stylistic preference.
    Return ONLY the clean, revised text.
    Revise the following:
    "{{sentence}}"
    {{dictionary_words}}

    You are a silent grammar correction engine with a custom style guide.
    Your primary rule is to consult the provided REFERENCE DICTIONARY. Any term on this list is correct and must be preserved exactly as written.
    Your secondary rule is to correct all other grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors in the main text.
    Your final rule is to output ONLY the clean, corrected text. You MUST NOT add any commentary, greetings, or explanations.
    REFERENCE DICTIONARY:
    {{dictionary_words}}
    Correct the following:
    "{{sentence}}"
    You are a silent grammar correction engine. Your sole function is to receive text and output the corrected version. You MUST NOT add any commentary, greetings, or explanations. You will only return the clean, corrected text.
    Correct the following:
    "{{sentence}}"
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