Scribe

ADHD-Friendly Distraction-Free Writer

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What is Scribe?

Scribe is a distraction-free writing app designed for academics and researchers with ADHD. It combines a custom markdown editor with academic writing tools, themes, and CLI-based AI integration.

Key Features

Feature	Description
CodeMirror 6	Three modes: Source, Live Preview, Reading
Callouts	11 Obsidian-style callout types with color coding
Focus Mode	Distraction-free, one note at a time
Settings	⌘, fuzzy search, theme gallery, Quick Actions customization
10 Themes	Visual theme gallery with dark and light themes
14 Fonts	Recommended fonts + one-click Homebrew install
Quick Actions	✨ Improve, 📝 Expand, 📋 Summarize, 💡 Explain, 🔍 Research (customizable)
Project Templates	Research+, Teaching+, Dev+, Writing+, Minimal presets
Wiki Links	[[link]] with autocomplete + single-click navigation
Tags	#tag inline with autocomplete
Citations	@cite with BibTeX/Zotero integration
Math	KaTeX for LaTeX ($...$ and $$...$$)
Export	PDF, Word, LaTeX, HTML via Pandoc
AI Chat	Claude + Gemini CLI (no API keys)
Chat Persistence	Conversations saved per note
@ References	Include other notes in AI prompts
CLI	Terminal access via scribe command
Command Palette	⌘K quick actions
Global Hotkey	⌘⇧N opens from anywhere
Global Zoom	⌘+/⌘- zoom (50%–200%), WCAG 1.4.4 compliant
Responsive UI	Auto-collapse sidebars, window position memory, right sidebar resize

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Installation

Homebrew (Recommended)

# Add the tap
brew tap data-wise/tap

# Install Scribe
brew install --cask data-wise/tap/scribe

Download

Download from GitHub Releases:

• Scribe_x.x.x_aarch64.dmg (Apple Silicon)

Build from Source

# Clone and install
git clone https://github.com/Data-Wise/scribe.git
cd scribe
npm install

# Run development
npm run dev

# Run tests
npm test

# Build for production
npm run build

See docs/installation/install.md for detailed instructions.

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Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
⌘⇧N	Open Scribe (global)
⌘,	Settings (v1.9.0+)
⌘K	Command palette
⌘N	New note
⌘D	Daily note
⌘E	Toggle edit/preview
⌘⇧F	Focus mode
⌘⇧B	Toggle tags panel
⌘⌥1-9	Quick Actions (v1.9.0+)
⌘Alt+0-9	Switch themes
⌘+Click	Navigate WikiLink (Source mode)
⌘+	Zoom in (10%)
⌘-	Zoom out (10%)

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CLI Access

Scribe includes a terminal CLI for quick note access without opening the app:

# Quick commands
scribe daily              # Open today's daily note
scribe capture "idea"     # Quick capture to inbox
scribe search "query"     # Full-text search (FTS5)
scribe list               # List recent notes

# Aliases
sd  # scribe daily
sc  # scribe capture
ss  # scribe search
sl  # scribe list

Installation

# Source the CLI (add to .zshrc)
source ~/.config/zsh/functions/scribe.zsh

# View man page
man scribe

# See all commands
scribe help --all

The CLI is part of flow-cli and operates directly on the SQLite database.

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ADHD Design Principles

1. Zero Friction — < 3 seconds to start writing
2. One Thing at a Time — Single note visible
3. Escape Hatches — ⌘W closes, auto-saves
4. Visible Progress — Word count, mode toggle
5. Sensory-Friendly — Dark mode default
6. Reduced Motion — Respects system preferences

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Screenshots

Empty State

Engaging empty state with animated pen icon, action buttons, and inspirational writing quotes.

Editor

Clean markdown editor with live wiki-link and tag highlighting.

Settings

Theme picker, ADHD-friendly font recommendations, and typography controls.

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Tech Stack

Component	Technology
Framework	Tauri 2 + React 18
Editor	CodeMirror 6
Styling	Tailwind CSS
State	Zustand (5 stores)
Database	SQLite (Tauri) / IndexedDB (Browser)
Terminal	xterm.js
Graph	D3.js
Math	KaTeX
AI	Claude/Gemini CLI
Citations	Pandoc citeproc
Testing	Vitest + Testing Library

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Documentation

File	Purpose
docs/API.md	Complete API reference
docs/ARCHITECTURE.md	System architecture
docs/planning/	Active planning
docs/reference/PROJECT-DEFINITION.md	Scope control
CHANGELOG.md	Version history
CLAUDE.md	AI assistant guidance

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Development

# Development
npm run dev          # Start Tauri dev server
npm run dev:vite     # Vite frontend only
npm run test         # Run 2,326 tests
npm run lint         # Lint code

# Build
npm run build        # Production build

Project Structure

scribe/
├── src/
│   └── renderer/src/          # React frontend
│       ├── components/        # UI components
│       ├── lib/               # API, themes, utils
│       ├── store/             # Zustand state
│       └── __tests__/         # Test files
│
├── src-tauri/src/             # Rust backend
│   ├── commands.rs            # IPC handlers
│   ├── database.rs            # SQLite operations
│   └── academic.rs            # Citations + export
│
└── docs/                      # Documentation
    ├── API.md
    ├── ARCHITECTURE.md
    └── planning/

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Sprint Progress

Phase	Sprint	Focus	Status
1	8-10.5	Editor + Hotkey + Themes	✅ Complete
2	11-12	Academic + UI Polish	✅ Complete
3	14	Knowledge Graph + Templates	✅ Complete
4	15-16	Tags Panel Redesign	✅ Complete
5	17-20	CLI + Polish	✅ Complete

Progress: 100% complete — v1.11.0 Released

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Test Coverage

2,326 tests passing across test files:

81 test files with 2,326 tests (Vitest + Testing Library + happy-dom).

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Academic Workflow

Zotero → Better BibTeX → @cite autocomplete → Pandoc → PDF/Word/LaTeX

Supported Exports

• PDF (via Pandoc + LaTeX)
• Word (.docx)
• LaTeX (.tex)
• HTML

Citation Styles

• APA
• Chicago
• MLA
• IEEE
• Harvard

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Requirements

• macOS (primary platform)
• Node.js 18+
• Rust (for Tauri)
• Homebrew (optional, for font installation)
• Pandoc (optional, for export)
• Claude/Gemini CLI (optional, for AI features)

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Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing)
3. Commit changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to branch (git push origin feature/amazing)
5. Open Pull Request

Note: Main branch is protected. PRs require review.

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License

MIT

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Related Projects

• aiterm — Terminal optimizer
• obsidian-cli-ops — Obsidian vault manager