What is novelWriter?

novelWriter is a free, open-source plain-text editor built specifically for writing novels and other large projects that span many smaller documents. It stores everything as plain text files and adds a markdown-like syntax for comments, synopses, and cross-references between files, so you get the robustness of plain text with lightweight structure for long-form work. It runs on Linux, Windows, and MacOS. It is a good fit if you want to organize a book-length project into many small files without locking your manuscript into a proprietary format.

What makes it different from a general text editor

Most editors treat a novel as one long document. novelWriter assumes the opposite: a project is a collection of many small plain-text documents plus notes, and the editor is designed around organizing and navigating that collection.

• Plain text as the storage format. Your writing lives in ordinary text files, which keeps the project readable and portable.
• Markdown-like syntax. Formatting is written as text rather than applied through hidden rich-text state.
• Metadata for structure. A dedicated syntax handles comments, synopsis, and cross-referencing between files, so notes and links stay inside the project rather than in a separate app.
• Built for many small documents. The design goal is easy organization of text files and notes rather than one monolithic file.

Who it suits

novelWriter fits writers who are comfortable working in plain text and want their manuscript organized as a set of linked files. If you prefer a word-processor view where the whole book is one scrolling document, or you need heavy layout and print design, a general word processor will likely serve you better. If you value portability, version-control friendliness, and keeping notes and manuscript together, this is the kind of tool built for that.

Platforms and how to get it

novelWriter runs on Linux, Windows, and MacOS. The latest release listed is Version 2026.2 Patch 1, released on September 26, 2026.

Note that as of release 2026.1, MacOS DMGs have been discontinued, and the only current method of running novelWriter on MacOS is to set up a Python environment and install the novelwriter package. The project notes it is working to bring back DMG releases.

Install commands from the project

Add the Linux repo provided by Cloudsmith:

curl -sLf \
  'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/saga-soft/stable/cfg/setup/bash.deb.sh' \
  | sudo bash
sudo apt update
sudo apt install novelwriter

Install from the Python Package Index:

pipx install novelwriter

Install on Fedora 41+:

sudo dnf install novelwriter

The Ubuntu PPA is deprecated and will soon stop receiving updates; the project recommends migrating to the Cloudsmith repository. The Fedora package is maintained by Fedora package managers and follows a delayed release cycle. For more download options, including pre-releases and checksum files, see the project's Downloads page.

Licensing

novelWriter is Free and Open Source.