Download NovelForge, free for Windows 10 and 11
Version 2.2.0. There is no installer and no account: you install Python once, unzip a folder, and double-click one file. It takes about five minutes.
Install in four steps
Install Python
Free, from python.org. Choose 3.13 or newer and tick “Add python.exe to PATH” in the installer. Or, in a terminal: winget install Python.Python.3.13
Download the zip
Open the latest release, scroll to Assets and download Source code (zip). Unzip it anywhere: Desktop or Documents is fine.
Double-click Write.bat
The first time, it installs two small libraries (python-docx and Pillow). That needs the internet once, and takes under a minute.
Start a novel
In the app choose File → New Novel, give it a title and a word target, and press OK. Then open the first scene and type.
Want a shortcut on your Desktop with the NovelForge icon? Double-click Make Desktop Shortcut.bat in the folder.
What you need
- Windows 10 or 11. On Windows 11 the title bar also takes on the theme's colour. macOS and Linux are not supported yet; the engine is plain Python, but the interface has only been built and tested on Windows.
- Python 3.13 or newer.
- Two Python libraries,
python-docx(writes the Word files) andPillow(draws the map images).Write.batinstalls them for you; to do it yourself, runpython -m pip install -r requirements.txtin the folder. - The download itself is about 6 MB. A screen of 1366 × 768 or larger works well. No graphics card is needed, and no internet connection after the first run.
Where your work lives
Your novels are stored in the Projects folder next to Write.bat, one sub-folder per book, and your preferences in novelforge-settings.json. Everything inside a project is an ordinary file: scenes and reference sheets are Word documents, maps are images and small JSON files. Nothing is hidden in a database. Back the folder up any way you like, or use the built-in verified backup (Ctrl+B).
Upgrading to a new version
Download the new release, unzip it to a new folder, then copy your Projects folder and novelforge-settings.json from the old folder into the new one before you start it. Your novels and Word documents are never changed by an upgrade. Keep the old folder until you have checked that everything is there.
Troubleshooting
“Python was not found”
Install Python from python.org and, on the first screen of the installer, tick Add python.exe to PATH. Then double-click Write.bat again. If you already installed it without that box ticked, run the installer again and choose Modify.
Windows asks whether I trust the file
Windows marks files from the internet, and may show “Windows protected your PC” or an “Open File” warning for Write.bat. It is a short plain-text script; you can open it in Notepad and read it. If you are happy with it, choose More info → Run anyway (or Open). The whole program is Python source you can read on GitHub.
The libraries could not be installed
The first run needs an internet connection. Connect, then double-click Write.bat again. If a work network blocks it, download the libraries elsewhere or ask your IT department to allow pip.
Nothing appears when I double-click
Open a Command Prompt in the folder and run python -m novelforge. Any error is printed there. If it shows a message you cannot solve, please open an issue with the text.
Uninstalling
There is nothing to uninstall: delete the folder. Copy your Projects folder out first if you want to keep your novels, because they live inside it.
Is it safe? NovelForge is open source under the MIT licence, makes no network connections while you write, has no telemetry and asks for no account. You can read every line of it on GitHub, and the test suite that opens every window and clicks every button ships in the same folder.
Five minutes from now, you could be writing.
Free, offline, and your book stays in Word files you own.