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Frequently asked questions

What is Storylines?

Storylines is a story organizer for writers. It reads your local Markdown, text, and DOCX files, automatically detects scenes, and lets you organize them with timeline, chapter, character, and subplot metadata. AI-powered analysis can extract metadata, place events on a timeline, identify subplots, and evaluate manuscript readiness — all without touching your prose.

Where is my writing stored?

Your files stay on your computer. Storylines never uploads your prose to the cloud. What is stored is metadata — titles, dates, characters, status and so on — so you can see your project structure from any device. Two parts of that metadata are derived from your text: a short anchor holding the opening and closing words of each scene, used to find that scene again after you edit the file, and the scene summaries produced if you run AI analysis. Our Privacy Policy lists everything in full.

What are the AI features?

AI in Storylines doesn't write for you — it analyzes what you've written to help you see the structure clearly. It can extract characters, locations, and subplots from your text, estimate when scenes take place on a timeline, identify narrative threads, and evaluate manuscript readiness. All suggestions are presented for your review before being applied. The creative decisions stay with you.

Does AI read my writing?

When you run an analysis, the scenes you select are sent to Claude (Anthropic) for processing. Only selected scenes are sent, and only when you explicitly trigger it. Your text is not stored by the AI provider after processing. If you prefer not to use AI, all visualization and organization tools work without it.

Which browsers are supported?

Storylines requires the File System Access API, which is available in Chrome, Edge, and other Chromium-based browsers. Firefox and Safari are not currently supported.

What file formats are supported?

Storylines supports Markdown (.md, .markdown), plain text (.txt), and Word documents (.docx). Files are read from the folder you connect to your project.

What is the _storylines.yaml file?

When you sync a folder, Storylines creates a _storylines.yaml file in your project root. This file stores scene metadata (IDs, anchors, chapters, etc.) and keeps your project in sync between sessions. You can safely commit it to version control.

Can multiple files belong to the same chapter?

Yes. Storylines detects chapter markers (like "Chapter 3", Roman numerals, or heading patterns) in your text and assigns them to scenes automatically. Multiple scenes across different files can share the same chapter.

What happens if I edit my files outside the app?

Just sync again. Storylines re-reads your files, detects any changes, and updates the metadata accordingly. Your manual edits to metadata (timeline, characters, status) are preserved.

Can I undo a destructive action like regenerate or reset?

Yes. Before regenerating scenes or resetting metadata, Storylines automatically creates a snapshot. You can restore any snapshot from the sync menu in the project header.

How does scene detection work?

Storylines automatically splits your files into scenes based on structural markers in your text. It looks for headings (Markdown #, ##, etc.), horizontal rules (---, ***), and common scene break patterns (blank lines with centered markers like * * * or ~). Each detected section becomes a separate scene with its own metadata. If your file has no clear markers, the entire file is treated as a single scene.

How can I improve scene detection?

Use clear structural markers between scenes: Markdown headings (## Scene title), horizontal rules (---), or centered break markers (* * *). Consistent formatting helps Storylines split your text accurately. If scenes are incorrectly split, you can merge adjacent scenes in the list view. If a file is reference material rather than narrative, mark it as a Note so it's excluded from story analysis. Running a metadata analysis after syncing also improves AI features like character arc generation — the more metadata your scenes have, the more efficient and accurate subsequent analyses become.

What are AI tokens and how do they work?

AI features consume tokens — a measure of how much text is processed. Premium subscribers get 200,000 tokens per month. Longer scenes use more tokens. You can monitor your usage in your profile and buy additional credit packs if needed. Unused monthly tokens do not roll over. Purchased credit packs are valid for one year or until your subscription ends.

Can I use my own Anthropic API key?

Yes, if you're on Premium. Add your key on the profile page and every AI analysis runs on your own Anthropic account instead of your Storylines token allowance — there is no monthly cap, and Anthropic bills you directly at their rates. Your Storylines allowance and any purchased credit packs are left untouched and remain available if you remove the key later. This is optional: leave the field empty and everything works as before.

How is my Anthropic API key stored?

Encrypted, using AES-256-GCM, and only on the server. After you save it, the key is never sent back to your browser — the profile page shows a masked fragment such as sk-ant-…4f2a so you can tell which key is in use. It is decrypted only at the moment an analysis calls Anthropic, and it is never written to logs. You can remove it at any time, which deletes it from the database entirely.

What happens to my API key if I downgrade from Premium?

It is kept but no longer used — analyses stop running on it, since AI features require Premium. You can still remove the key from your profile page at any time, but you cannot add or replace one until you subscribe again. Resubscribing puts the existing key straight back into use.

How do I report a bug?

If you encounter something that doesn't work as expected, please report it via the contact form below. Include a description of what happened, what you expected, and any relevant details about your project (number of scenes, file formats, etc.). Bug reports and support responses are available for Premium subscribers. Free users are welcome to report bugs, but we may not be able to respond individually.

How-to guides

Create a project and connect a folder

1Click "New project" on the projects page and give it a name.
2Click "Select folder" and choose the folder containing your writing files.
3Storylines scans the folder, detects scenes, and syncs metadata to the database.

Sync changes after editing files

1Open your project in Storylines.
2Click the sync button in the project header.
3Storylines re-reads all files, detects new or changed content, and updates metadata.

Edit scene metadata

1Click on any scene in the list or timeline view to open the inspector panel.
2Edit fields like chapter, timeline dates, POV character, location, status, and more.
3Changes are saved automatically after a short delay.

Use the timeline view

1Switch to the timeline view using the view toggle in the project header.
2Scenes with timeline dates appear as bars on the timeline.
3Scenes without dates appear in the "Unscheduled" panel — set dates in the inspector to place them.

Mark a file as a note

1Click on a scene from the file you want to mark as a note.
2In the inspector, click "Mark file as Note" at the bottom.
3All scenes in that file are merged into a single note item. Notes appear in the Notes tab.

Merge adjacent scenes

1In the list view, click "Merge items" to enter merge mode.
2Check the adjacent scenes you want to combine (they must be from the same file).
3Click "Merge" and confirm. The scenes are combined into one, keeping the first scene's metadata.

Restore a previous snapshot

1Click the dropdown arrow next to the sync button in the project header.
2Scroll down to the snapshots section.
3Click "Restore" on the snapshot you want to revert to. Your metadata and _storylines.yaml are restored.

Sort and filter scenes

1Use the "Sort by" dropdown in the list view to sort by chapter, index, timeline, title, status, or file path.
2Switch between the Stories and Notes tabs to filter by type.

Analyze scenes with AI

1Open your project and make sure your folder is connected and synced.
2Click the AI menu in the project header and choose "Analyze metadata".
3Select which scenes to analyze (all, or a subset). Review the estimated token cost.
4Click "Analyze" and wait for processing. Progress is shown in real time.
5Review the AI suggestions: characters, POV, locations, chapters, subplots, and more. Accept or reject each suggestion per scene.
6Click "Apply" to save the approved metadata to your project.

AI analysis responds in the same language as your source text. If your token budget runs out mid-analysis, completed results are preserved and you can resume after purchasing more credits.

Place events on the timeline with AI

1Click the AI menu and choose "Place events on timeline".
2Select the scenes you want to place. Optionally set a story start date as an anchor point.
3AI reads scene text and estimates when each event takes place relative to the others.
4Review the proposed dates and certainty levels. Adjust any placement manually if needed.
5Click "Apply" to save the timeline data. Scenes will appear on the timeline view.

Identify subplots with AI

1Click the AI menu and choose "Identify subplots".
2AI reads all story scenes and identifies recurring narrative threads and character-driven subplots.
3Review the proposed subplots and which scenes belong to each.
4Accept or adjust, then apply. Subplots are visible in the story arc view and metadata inspector.

Use the Maturity Index

1Switch to the Maturity Index view using the view toggle.
2Click "Analyze" on individual scenes or "Analyze full manuscript" for a holistic evaluation.
3AI scores your manuscript on dimensions like prose, structure, pacing, characterization, and thematic depth.
4Review strengths, weaknesses (color-coded by type), and market positioning recommendations.

The Maturity Index is an editorial tool — it evaluates publication readiness, not creative merit. Use it as one data point alongside beta reader feedback and your own judgment.

Use your own Anthropic API key

1Sign in at console.anthropic.com and create an account if you don't have one. Add a payment method and buy credits — a new account has no balance, and API access is billed separately from a Claude.ai subscription.
2Go to API keys, click "Create key", and copy the key. It is shown only once, so store it somewhere safe before leaving the page.
3In Storylines, open your profile page and find "Your Anthropic API key".
4Paste the key and click "Save key". Storylines verifies it against Anthropic before storing it, so you'll know immediately if it was copied incompletely or has been revoked.
5Run any AI analysis as usual. It now bills your Anthropic account, and your Storylines token allowance is left untouched.

Costs are Anthropic's standard API rates, billed to you. Storylines cannot see your Anthropic balance, so keep an eye on it in their console — if the account runs out of credit or hits a rate limit, the analysis stops with an error rather than falling back to your Storylines allowance. Remove the key from your profile page whenever you want to switch back.

Work with Google Docs

1In Google Docs, open the document you want to use in Storylines.
2Go to File → Download → Microsoft Word (.docx).
3Save the exported file to your Storylines project folder — the same folder you've connected in the app.
4Sync your project in Storylines. The exported document will be detected and its scenes will appear alongside your other files.
5When you make changes in Google Docs, simply re-export the file to the same location and sync again.

Tip: If you use Google Drive for Desktop, you can set your Storylines project folder inside your Google Drive folder. This way your .docx exports are automatically synced across devices. You can also work with .md or .txt files in the same folder.