Please note that documentation is in a draft state. It is being updated, and the latest version of this book can always be found at GitHub at User Guide at GitHub.
Welcome to Nocturne Writer
Thank you for taking the time to check out our new application, Nocturne Writer.
Nocturne Writer is a writing and thinking environment designed for people who want full ownership of their work. Your content lives on your computer in plain text Markdown files (see the Markdown Guide for more information). You can open your files, view them with a regular text editor, and move them, back them up, and delete them using the file manager on your computer. You don’t need an account, you’ll never be locked in, and your content isn’t hidden away in a database.
Nocturne Writer doesn’t try to tell you how to work. It is intended to provide you with a personalized and structured space to let you think, develop your ideas, and write - all while staying out of the way.
What Nocturne Writer Is Built For
Nocturne Writer is designed for:
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Articles and other short-form writing
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Long-form writing
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Research and note-taking
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Projects that evolve over time
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Writers who care about revision history
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People who want their tools to feel stable rather than noisy
It is equally comfortable handling a single essay, a series of articles, or a multi-year body of work.
Some Core Concepts
Your work is just files: Every document is a Markdown file in a folder you control on your computer. Nocturne Writer reads and writes those files directly.
Projects are called “books”: A book is simply a folder with some structure and metadata. You can have as many books as you want, and they can be stored where ever you want on your computer.
Pages are the core of your projects: A book is comprised of one or more pages. Each page is a separate markdown file in the Workspace that is tracked by version control.
Drafts can be messy: The Scratchpad exists so that you can write freely and take ephemeral notes without worrying about structure or version history. These are equivalent to fleeting notes in Zettelkasten.
History matters: When enabled, Nocturne Writer integrates Git directly into your writing workflow so you can always see what changed, when it changed, and how it changed.
About This Beta
Nocturne Writer is currently in beta.
This means:
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Features may change.
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Some edges may be rough.
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Your feedback is welcome and valuable.
It also means:
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Your content is yours.
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Nothing is sent anywhere.
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You aren’t locked into this tool.
If something feels confusing, fragile, or doesn’t work the way you expect, please contact us. Your feedback is the best way to make this product better.
Where to Go Next
| If this is your first time opening Nocturne Writer, the best next step is [[pages/your-first-hour-with-nocturne-writer | Your First Hour with Nocturne Writer]]. You don’t need to read everything, just enough to get comfortable. |