Skip to content

RKG765/OpenWriter

BranchesTags

Repository files navigation

OpenWriter

Version Platform License PRs Welcome

🚀 A modern, open-source document editor built with Tauri, React & TypeScript

OpenWriter is a powerful, cross-platform desktop document editor that combines the speed of native applications with modern web technologies. Create, edit, and export documents with AI-powered writing assistance.

✨ Features

  • 📝 Rich Text Editing - Full-featured editor powered by CKEditor 5 with formatting, lists, tables, and more
  • 📄 Multiple Format Support - Import/Export DOCX, PDF, and HTML files
  • 📐 Paged View - Realistic document preview with page layouts
  • 🤖 AI Writing Assistant - Rewrite, summarize, and continue writing with Groq AI
  • 🎨 Modern UI - Clean, responsive interface with dark/light themes
  • 🖥️ Cross-Platform - Runs natively on Windows, macOS, and Linux
  • ⚡ Lightning Fast - Native performance with Tauri's Rust backend
  • 🔒 Privacy First - Your documents stay on your machine

🛠️ Tech Stack

Layer Technology
Frontend React 19, TypeScript, Vite, Tailwind CSS 4
Editor CKEditor 5
Backend Tauri 2, Rust
Document Processing docx, mammoth, jsPDF, html2canvas
AI Integration Groq API (Llama models)

📋 Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed on your system:

Required Software

Software Version Installation Link
Node.js v18.0+ Download Node.js
npm v9.0+ Comes with Node.js
Rust Latest stable Install Rust
Git Any recent Download Git

Platform-Specific Requirements

🪟 Windows

  1. Visual Studio Build Tools 2019+

  2. WebView2 Runtime

🍎 macOS
  1. Xcode Command Line Tools 
    xcode-select --install
🐧 Linux (Ubuntu/Debian) 
sudo apt update
sudo apt install libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev \
    build-essential \
    curl \
    wget \
    file \
    libxdo-dev \
    libssl-dev \
    libayatana-appindicator3-dev \
    librsvg2-dev

🚀 Installation & Setup

Step 1: Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/RKG765/OpenWriter.git
cd OpenWriter

Step 2: Install Node.js Dependencies

npm install

This will install all frontend dependencies including:

  • React & React DOM
  • CKEditor 5
  • Tauri plugins (dialog, fs, opener)
  • Document processing libraries (docx, mammoth, jsPDF)
  • Development tools (Vite, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS)

Step 3: Install Rust Dependencies

The Rust dependencies will be automatically installed when you first run or build the app. However, you can pre-install them:

cd src-tauri
cargo fetch
cd ..

Step 4: Verify Installation

# Check Node.js
node --version  # Should be v18.0.0 or higher

# Check npm
npm --version   # Should be v9.0.0 or higher

# Check Rust
rustc --version # Should show latest stable version

# Check Cargo
cargo --version

▶️ Running the Application

Development Mode (Recommended for Development)

npm run tauri dev

This command will:

  1. Start the Vite development server with hot-reload
  2. Compile the Rust backend
  3. Launch the OpenWriter application

Note: The first run may take several minutes as Rust compiles all dependencies.

Frontend Only (For UI Development)

npm run dev

Opens the app in your browser at http://localhost:1420 (without Tauri backend features).

Production Build

npm run tauri build

The compiled installers will be available in:

src-tauri/target/release/bundle/
├── msi/           # Windows installer
├── dmg/           # macOS installer
├── deb/           # Debian/Ubuntu package
└── AppImage/      # Linux AppImage

⚙️ Environment Variables & Configuration

API Key Setup (For AI Features)

OpenWriter uses Groq API for AI writing assistance. The API key is configured within the app:

  1. Get a Free API Key:

  2. Configure in OpenWriter:

    • Open the application
    • Click the ⚙️ settings icon in the AI Sidebar
    • Enter your Groq API key
    • Click Save Key

Note: The API key is stored securely in your browser's localStorage and never leaves your device except when making API calls.

Optional Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the root directory for development customization:

# Development server port (default: 1420)
VITE_DEV_SERVER_PORT=1420

# Enable debug logging
VITE_DEBUG=true

Tauri Configuration

Main configuration is in src-tauri/tauri.conf.json:

{
  "productName": "OpenWriter",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "identifier": "com.openwriter.app"
}

📁 Project Structure

OpenWriter/
├── src/                        # React frontend
│   ├── components/
│   │   ├── Editor.tsx          # Main CKEditor wrapper
│   │   ├── Toolbar.tsx         # Document toolbar & actions
│   │   ├── PagedView.tsx       # Page layout preview
│   │   ├── StatusBar.tsx       # Bottom status bar
│   │   └── AISidebar.tsx       # AI writing assistant
│   ├── hooks/                  # Custom React hooks
│   ├── services/               # API & utility services
│   ├── App.tsx                 # Main application component
│   ├── App.css                 # Global styles
│   └── main.tsx                # Entry point
│
├── src-tauri/                  # Rust backend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── lib.rs              # Library entry
│   │   └── main.rs             # Application entry
│   ├── capabilities/           # Tauri security permissions
│   ├── icons/                  # App icons
│   ├── Cargo.toml              # Rust dependencies
│   └── tauri.conf.json         # Tauri configuration
│
├── public/                     # Static assets
├── package.json                # Node.js dependencies
├── vite.config.ts              # Vite configuration
├── tailwind.config.js          # Tailwind CSS config
├── tsconfig.json               # TypeScript config
└── .gitignore                  # Git ignore rules

📦 Available Scripts

Command Description
npm run dev Start frontend dev server only
npm run build Build frontend for production
npm run preview Preview production build
npm run tauri dev Run full app in development mode
npm run tauri build Build native application installers

🗺️ Roadmap & Future Scope

🎯 Version 0.2.0 (Planned)

  • Cloud Sync - Google Drive / OneDrive integration
  • Real-time Collaboration - Multiple users editing simultaneously
  • Custom Templates - Document templates for various use cases
  • Spell Check - Built-in spell checking and grammar suggestions

🎯 Version 0.3.0 (Planned)

  • Plugin System - Extensible architecture for community plugins
  • Markdown Support - Native markdown editing and preview
  • Version History - Track document changes over time
  • Comments & Annotations - Collaborative review features

🎯 Version 1.0.0 (Vision)

  • Mobile Apps - iOS and Android companion apps
  • End-to-End Encryption - Secure document storage
  • Offline AI - Local AI models for privacy-focused users
  • Advanced Export - ePub, LaTeX, and more formats
  • Accessibility - Full WCAG 2.1 compliance
  • Localization - Multi-language support

💡 Feature Requests

Have an idea? Open a feature request!

🛠️ What You Can Implement (Contributor Ideas)

Looking to contribute? Here are features you can pick up and implement:

🟢 Beginner Friendly (Good First Issues)

Feature Description Tech Stack
Dark/Light Theme Toggle Add UI toggle for theme switching React, CSS
Word Count Display Real-time word/character count in status bar React
Keyboard Shortcuts Help Modal showing all available shortcuts React, HTML
Recent Files List Show recently opened documents React, localStorage
Print Document Add print functionality Browser API
Auto-Save Indicator Visual feedback when document is saved React

🟡 Intermediate

Feature Description Tech Stack
Find & Replace Search and replace text within document CKEditor API, React
Custom Fonts Allow users to add/use custom fonts CSS, React
Table of Contents Auto-generate TOC from headings CKEditor, React
Document Statistics Reading time, paragraph count, etc. React
Zoom Controls Zoom in/out on document view CSS, React
Spell Check Integration Integrate browser spell check or external API CKEditor, API
Image Resize Handles Allow resizing images in editor CKEditor plugins
Export to Markdown Convert document to .md format Turndown.js

🔴 Advanced

Feature Description Tech Stack
Plugin System Architecture for loading community plugins React, TypeScript
Collaborative Editing Real-time multi-user editing WebSocket, CRDT
Version History Track and restore document versions IndexedDB, React
Cloud Sync Google Drive / OneDrive integration OAuth, REST APIs
Offline AI Models Run AI locally using ONNX/Ollama Rust, WASM
Custom Templates Template creation and management system React, File system
Accessibility Audit WCAG 2.1 compliance improvements ARIA, Semantic HTML

🚀 How to Pick a Feature

  1. Comment on an issue expressing your interest
  2. Fork the repo and create a feature branch
  3. Implement with tests if applicable
  4. Open a PR with screenshots/demos
  5. Iterate based on feedback

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions from everyone! Here's how you can help:

Getting Started

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Clone your fork: 
    git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/OpenWriter.git
  3. Create a feature branch: 
    git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
  4. Make your changes
  5. Commit with a descriptive message: 
    git commit -m "feat: add amazing feature"
  6. Push to your branch: 
    git push origin feature/amazing-feature
  7. Open a Pull Request

Contribution Ideas

  • 🐛 Bug Fixes - Check open issues
  • 📖 Documentation - Improve docs, add examples
  • 🌍 Translations - Help translate the app
  • 🎨 UI/UX - Design improvements
  • ⚡ Performance - Optimize code and reduce bundle size

🐛 Known Issues

  • PDF export may have minor styling differences from editor view
  • Large documents (100+ pages) may experience slight performance slowdown
  • Some complex DOCX formatting may not import perfectly

📄 License

This project is licensed under a Custom Non-Commercial License - see the LICENSE file for details.

In summary:

  • ✅ Free for personal & educational use
  • ✅ Contributions welcome
  • ⚠️ Attribution required
  • ❌ Commercial use requires permission from @RKG765

💬 Support & Community

🙏 Acknowledgments

⭐ Star this repo if you find it useful! ⭐

Made with ❤️ by RKG765 and the open-source community

About

No description, website, or topics provided.

Resources

Readme

License

View license
Activity

Stars

0 stars

Watchers

0 watching

Forks

0 forks
Report repository

Releases

No releases published

Packages

No packages published

Languages