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# OpenNovelWriter

### Your AI co-author for novels — not your developer.

**You tell the story. OpenNovelWriter writes the chapters in your voice.**

✍️ **Co-author, not a generator** — chapters are built around your direction
🧠 **World memory** — world wiki, timeline, and glossary as YAML
🎭 **Your voice** — learns your writing style from sample chapters
🌍 **Multilingual** — write in one language, publish in many
📝 **Obsidian-native** — everything is Markdown, editable in your editor

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## What is OpenNovelWriter?

A **co-author agent** for [OpenCode](https://opencode.ai) that writes *around* the
author rather than *for* them. You say *"next chapter: Elena finds the letter"* —
OpenNovelWriter loads your world wiki, your writing style, and the story so far,
and writes the chapter in your voice.

Unlike a code agent, OpenNovelWriter doesn't generate files from specs — it
generates **prose from a living world**.

## Quick Start

```bash
# 1. Create and name a vault/workspace for your book (in Obsidian), then open
#    that folder in opencode.

# 2. Initialize it (interactive wizard) — runs INSIDE the folder
opencode --agent OpenNovelAgent
> /init

# 3. Build the world, or start writing
> "Let's build the world wiki with the main characters"
> "Write Chapter 001: [what should happen]"

# 4. Translate
> "Translate chapters 1-5 into English"
```

## The Core Concept: workspace = book

**One book = one workspace = one folder.** You create and name a vault for each
book (e.g. "Die Kessler Zwillinge", "Scruffy"), open it in opencode, and run
`/init` there. The folder's name is the project name.

Writing several books in parallel? Create one workspace per book and switch
between them. The agent is the same in every workspace — what makes each one
*that* book is its own `AGENTS.md` + `DATA/` (world wiki, timeline, glossary, style).

## The Core Loop

```
Author:  "next chapter — this should happen"
   ↓
Agent loads:  AGENTS.md + world wiki + timeline + writing style
   ↓
Agent proposes a chapter draft → author approves
   ↓
Agent writes the chapter → author edits in Obsidian
   ↓
Agent harvests new facts → updates wiki & timeline
```

## Project Structure

```
My Series/
├── 01/                 # book 1
│   ├── DE/             #   Kapitel 001.md, Kapitel 002.md, …
│   └── EN/             #   Chapter 001.md, …
├── DATA/               # world wiki, timeline, glossary, writing style
├── AGENTS.md           # project rules
└── README.md
```

See [`docs/SCHEMA.md`](docs/SCHEMA.md) for the complete conventions.

## What's Included

- **`OpenNovelAgent`** — the primary co-author
- **`/init`** — interactive project wizard (language first, then everything in that language)
- **`DATA/` schemas** — world wiki, timeline, glossary (YAML in Markdown)
- **`languages.yaml`** — extensible language registry

## For the Community

OpenNovelWriter is designed to be multilingual. The `/init` wizard's first
question is the writing language; all further questions and content follow that
language. New languages are added as a single entry in `.opencode/languages.yaml`.

## Attribution

OpenNovelWriter builds on the exceptional work of **Darren Hinde** and the
[OpenAgentsControl](https://github.com/darrenhinde/OpenAgentsControl) project.
Without that foundation — the agent concept, the context system, and the
plan-and-approve workflow — this project would not exist. Thank you, Darren.

## License

MIT — Copyright (c) 2025 Darren Hinde (OpenAgentsControl) and
Copyright (c) 2026 OpenNovelWriter Contributors.
Darren Hinde's original work remains under the MIT license.