Installation

Before you start writing your screenplay, painting your artwork, or developing any code, you’ll need to install one of Inkweaver’s development tools.

There are two ways to do this. You can use Inkweaver Studio, or the Inkweaver command line interface (CLI).

Inkweaver Studio Coming Soon

Inkweaver Studio is an integrated development environment designed for writers and artists. This tool helps you manage your files, preview your novel, and test and debug any issues you might come across.

We’re aiming to release Inkweaver Studio in Q4 2026.

The Inkweaver CLI

The Inkweaver CLI is a command line interface that allows you to automate builds of your visual novel, preview it in a browser, and create apps that are ready for deployment to the web, or to a storefront, like Steam or itch.io.

Inkweaver is in early access

While in early access, the CLI is the only way to create your novel.

If you’re a writer or artist, don’t worry. Although this tool was created for developers, it’s simple to use, and you’ll be able to spend almost all your time in the writing and painting apps that you know and love.

If you have any problems with this guide, we invite you to visit our Discord, where we’ll do our best to get you up and running!

Installation

Download and install the CLI:

• Mac (Apple Silicon)
• Windows

Then, test that it works in your terminal by checking the version.

Terminal

ink version

Create a Workspace

The next step is to create a workspace. A workspace is just a folder that contains your novel files. Everything that you put in this folder will be shipped with your novel.

Create a new folder somewhere on your computer (for example, my-first-novel), and open your terminal inside that folder.

Use the init command to get started. The CLI will ask you if you want to use JavaScript or TypeScript. Select whichever you prefer, and Inkweaver will set up your workspace for you:

Terminal

ink init

How do I find my workspace?

You can right click on a folder in your computer’s file browser, and select “Open in Terminal” or “New Terminal at Folder” to quickly open a terminal window at that location.

Previewing Your Novel

You can use the preview command to start a development server. This will open a browser window, allowing you to preview and test your novel.

When you update any file in your workspace, Inkweaver will deploy those changes in real-time.

Terminal

ink preview

Try it out: With the server running, open screenplay.fountain in your favorite text editor. Change the first line of dialogue, hit save, and Inkweaver will update your changes in the browser.

Next Steps

With Inkweaver’s development environment installed, you can get to work creating your novel:

1. Write your screenplay
2. Create your artwork
3. Customize logic with JavaScript
4. Or, enhance your novel with plugins