Offline novel writing software
Offline novel writing software that keeps your book on your machine
Bunsho is a desktop novel writing app that works offline. Your chapters are plain files on your own computer, so writing, organizing, planning and exporting need no connection, and the editor needs no account. Your manuscript lives on your machine, not on our servers. Pages are sent for analysis only when you run a check, and they're never stored or used for training.
What works with no connection
Writing and editing
The binder, the page, focus mode and spellcheck with your custom dictionary all run on your computer.
World and Planner
Your characters, places and objects, and your chapter cards, live in the project folder beside the manuscript, so you can read and edit them offline.
Import and export
Bring in .docx, Markdown, plain text or Fountain, and export .docx, Markdown or Fountain, on a plane or in a cabin.
Your files, always
Every chapter is a plain file in a folder you choose. Even with Bunsho closed, you can open them in another program.
What needs a connection
Signing in, and the AI actions themselves: Check this chapter, Review changes, Run full review, and Director Mode. Those read your pages against what your story has established, which happens on our servers, so they need the internet at the moment you run them. Downloading Bunsho and its updates needs a connection too.
Being local-first does not mean the network is forbidden; it means the network is a tool you reach for, page by page, rather than the place your book lives. Write for a month offline, then ask for a Review changes when you are back, and it checks only the pages that changed since their last check. The local-first page covers this in more depth.
Private by default
Your manuscript lives on your machine, not on our servers. Pages are sent for analysis only when you run a check, and they're never stored or used for training. There is no Bunsho cloud copy of your manuscript, so there is nothing for us to lose, leak or lock away.
Compare that with how most of the category works. Browser-based tools such as Novelcrafter, Sudowrite and Reedsy Studio keep your book in their cloud, and Novelcrafter's help center says it needs an active connection to use at all. Dabble stores work locally and syncs when you reconnect. Scrivener, Plottr and Atticus work offline too, and if you want no AI anywhere, Scrivener and Plottr have none. Bunsho is the offline option that can also check your book when you choose. See the full 2026 comparison.
Backups are yours to choose
Because a project is a plain folder, any backup works: Time Machine or File History, Dropbox, iCloud Drive or OneDrive, Git, or a USB stick in a drawer. Bunsho does not run its own sync service. If you write on two computers, keep the project in a synced folder and close Bunsho on one machine before you open it on the other.
Common questions
Does Bunsho work without internet?
Yes. Writing, organizing, the World and Planner tabs, import and export all work offline. Continuity checks, Director Mode and signing in need a connection when you use them.
Where is my manuscript stored?
On your computer, as plain files in a project folder you choose. Bunsho keeps no copy of your manuscript on a server.
What is sent when I run a continuity check?
The text of the pages being checked. A chapter check sends that chapter, and Review changes sends only pages changed since their last check. Your manuscript lives on your machine, not on our servers. Pages are sent for analysis only when you run a check, and they're never stored or used for training.
Do I need an account?
Not to write. The editor works with no account. A free sign-in is needed for World, the Planner and the AI features.
Can I use Bunsho with no AI at all?
Yes. If you never sign in, no AI runs. Your manuscript lives on your machine. Pages are sent only when you run a check. The Quill plan, at $8 a month, gives unlimited projects with no AI.
Keep reading
Your book, on your machine.
Bunsho is free to download for macOS and Windows. Write offline with no account.