Help
How to do things in Onwarder, one step at a time, using the names you will see on screen. Start with the device you write on, or find the task below.
Pages marked ahead of release describe the next version of Onwarder, which is still being finished. A name or a step on them may change before it reaches your device.
Start on your device
Start here
Get Onwarder on your device and begin a book.
- Start writing in your browserOpen Onwarder in any up-to-date browser and start a book straight away, with no account and nothing to install.
- Install Onwarder on a MacDownload Onwarder for Mac, open it from Applications and start writing. Your library stays on your Mac and the app keeps itself up to date.
- Install Onwarder on WindowsInstall Onwarder from the Microsoft Store and start writing. Your library stays on your PC.
- Install Onwarder on LinuxUse the AppImage, which updates itself, or the .deb on Ubuntu 24.04 and later. Your library stays on your computer.
- Get Onwarder on your iPhoneInstall the iPhone beta through TestFlight, then write anywhere. Books you start on the phone are saved on the phone.
- Get Onwarder on AndroidThe Google Play listing is in review. You can write in your Android browser today.
- Your first bookStart a book, find your way around the page, add chapters and scenes, and get back to where you left off.
Writing
The page, your scenes, your story bible and the tools beside them.
- Chapters and scenesAdd, rename, move, split and merge scenes; plan on Cards or in Rows; read a whole chapter as one page; and keep another scene open beside the one you are writing. Ahead of release.
- The story bible and name cardsKeep your characters, places, items and factions in one place beside the page, and see who someone is by resting the pointer on their name. Ahead of release.
- Continuity checksOnwarder reads your scenes against your story bible and points out what might not add up: a dead character talking, someone in two places, a secret known too early. You decide what to do about each. Ahead of release.
- Find and replaceSearch the whole book, a chapter or a scene, step through every match, and rename a character everywhere in one go, with one Undo to put it all back.
- Focus, page settings and typewriter scrollingClear everything away but the page, set the width and spacing you like to write at, and keep the line you are typing at a steady height. Ahead of release.
- Set a word target and a finish dateGive your book a length and, if you like, a date to finish by. Onwarder works out a fair number of words for today and keeps it steady all day. Ahead of release.
Bringing work in and out
Word, Scrivener and plain text in; Word, EPUB and PDF out.
- Bring in a manuscript from Word, Scrivener or a text fileImport a draft you already have. Onwarder finds the chapters and scenes for you, shows you the result before anything is added, and tells you plainly what will not come across. Ahead of release.
- Send your book to an editor and bring it backSend a Word file with Track Changes switched on, then import the edited copy and go through every change and comment, accepting what you want. Ahead of release.
- Export your bookMake a Word manuscript for agents and editors, an EPUB for e-readers and stores, a PDF to print or read, or a print-ready paperback interior.
Keeping your books safe
Where your writing lives, its history, and copies you keep.
- How your writing is savedOnwarder saves every word as you type, on the device you are writing on. Here is what the save line means, how to go back to an earlier version and how to keep copies of your own.
- Backups and restoringSave your whole library to a file you keep anywhere, let Onwarder copy it for you, and bring back a book, or a whole library, when something goes wrong. Ahead of release.
Onwarder Cloud
The paid part of Onwarder, what it adds and how to stop it.
- Onwarder Cloud: what it adds, prices and cancellingOnwarder is free on your device. Cloud is the paid part: your books in your account, in sync on every device you sign in to. Here is what it costs where you live, how to start, and how to stop.
- Write on more than one deviceWith Onwarder Cloud your whole library follows you between computer, browser and phone. You are asked only when two devices changed the same words.
- Cloud backupsWith Onwarder Cloud, every device you write on backs up your whole library to your account automatically. Here is how to see them and bring books back. Ahead of release.
Your own AI
We never use your books to train AI. When you send words to your own AI provider, their terms apply to what you send.
- Use your own AI, if you want toAI is off until you turn it on, book by book. Choose exactly what it may do, connect the Codex, Claude Code, ChatGPT or Claude you already pay for, and review every suggestion before it touches your writing. Ahead of release.
- Run a free AI model on your own computerOn an Apple silicon Mac with 32 GB of memory or more, Onwarder can run Gemma 4 26B, a free open model, on the computer itself. Here is what that means, and why we do not recommend it on other machines yet. Ahead of release.
Reference
Shortcuts, privacy and what to do when something goes wrong.
- Keyboard shortcutsEvery shortcut in Onwarder, for Mac, Windows and Linux, in the browser and on a tablet or phone with a keyboard. Ahead of release.
- Your privacy and your wordsWhat stays on your device, what reaches us if you use Cloud, what your own AI sees, and how to take everything with you or delete it.
- TroubleshootingWhat to do when Onwarder says it could not save, a book will not open, your books seem to have gone, or a file will not import, export or update. Ahead of release.
Still need help?
Ask us. We reply by email, usually within a day.