Authors Toolbox

Writing tools for fiction writers and screenwriters in Obsidian. It adds a writing panel with statistics, a reorderable outline, style insights and an English/Spanish spelling and grammar check. It also covers paragraph alignment, images in the text, Spanish dialogue dashes, and a complete screenplay mode based on Fountain.

It works on macOS, Windows, Linux, iPhone and iPad and requires Obsidian 1.7.2 or later. It uses no Node.js or Electron APIs, and every control is touch-friendly.

Contents

• Features
  • Writing panel
  • Spelling and grammar
  • Paragraph alignment
  • Images in the text
  • Spanish dialogue dash (raya)
  • Screenplay mode
• Commands
• Note properties
• Settings
• Network use and privacy
• Installation
• Roadmap: possible changes
• Known limitations
• Development
• License

Features

Writing panel

A sidebar for the note you're working on. Open it from the pen icon in the ribbon or with the command Open writing panel. It updates as you type.

Headings, comments, callouts, code blocks and front matter are not counted, so the numbers reflect your prose.

Spelling and grammar

Obsidian has no grammar checker of its own, and its spellcheck follows the operating system. On macOS it often offers no suggestions when you write in more than one language. Authors Toolbox adds an on-demand check powered by LanguageTool:

• Check the selection, the current section or the whole note.
• Problems are underlined in the editor by type: spelling, grammar, punctuation and style.
• Tap an underline, or a card in the panel, to apply a suggestion, ignore it, add the word to your personal dictionary (character names, invented words) or turn the rule off.
• Language per note: use the menu at the top of the panel (Auto-detect, English US/UK, Español). It is saved as a lang property and also sets hyphenation for justified text.
• Long notes are split into parts automatically, within the free service's limits.

Nothing is sent until you press Check, and the first check asks for permission. See Network use and privacy.

Paragraph alignment

Center, right-align, left-align or justify only the selected paragraphs: right-click → Center, or use the commands. Each paragraph gets an invisible marker (%%center%%), so the alignment holds in Live Preview, Reading view and PDF export. Running the same command again toggles it off.

Images in the text

Insert image… lets you browse your vault's folders for an image (it opens in your attachments folder) or upload one from your device. You can set its width, alignment and an optional italic caption.

Spanish dialogue dash (raya)

In Markdown, a line that starts with - becomes a bullet list, which breaks Spanish-style dialogue. In story notes, Authors Toolbox handles this:

• A - typed at the start of a line becomes —, so —¿Vienes? —preguntó. stays dialogue.
• -- anywhere becomes —.
• Hyphens inside words (semi-dormida) are left alone. Press undo right after if you really wanted a hyphen.
• Convert dialogue dashes in this note fixes text pasted from elsewhere.

Story notes are notes with type: story, or notes in the folders you list in the settings.

Screenplay mode

Notes with type: script are written in Fountain, the plain-text screenplay format, and laid out as a screenplay. The layout uses Courier with standard indents and works in the editor, in Reading view and in PDF export.

• Smart Enter: after a character name, Enter starts the dialogue line. After dialogue or action, it leaves the blank line the next element needs. Shift+Enter always inserts a plain line break.
• Suggestions:
  • Character names, plus (V.O.), (O.S.) and (CONT'D).
  • Locations and times of day in scene headings (English and Spanish: DAY/NIGHT, DÍA/NOCHE…).
• Format line as…: scene heading, action, character, parenthetical, transition or centered text, from the right-click menu or as commands.
• Writing panel tabs for scripts:
  • Script: estimated pages and screen time, scenes, speaking characters, locations, dialogue share, INT/EXT and day/night breakdown, a scene-length chart, and a Fountain quick reference.
  • Scenes: a numbered scene board with lengths in eighths of a page. Drag to reorder scenes within an act; acts are # headings.
  • Cast: speeches, words spoken and scenes per character, plus every location.
  • Notes: coaching on screenwriting conventions:
    • dense action paragraphs and long speeches;
    • scene headings missing INT./EXT. or a time of day;
    • camera directions;
    • things the camera can't show ("thinks", "recuerda");
    • characters who speak before they're introduced in CAPS.
• New script… and Adapt this story into a script. The second creates a linked script and opens it next to the story.
• Export as .fountain, for Final Draft, Fade In, Highland, WriterSolo or Beat. The file is saved in an Exports folder next to the script.

The spelling and grammar check skips character names, scene headings and transitions in scripts.

Commands

On iPhone and iPad, add the commands you use most to the mobile toolbar (Settings → Mobile).

Note properties

Settings

• Images:
  • Upload folder (defaults to Obsidian's attachment location).
  • Default width and alignment.
• Writing panel:
  • Default language and default word goal.
  • Reading and read-aloud speeds.
  • Long-sentence threshold and repetition window.
  • Crutch-word lists for English and Spanish.
• Stories:
  • Turn the dialogue dash on or off.
  • Story folders.
• Screenplays:
  • Scripts folder and author name.
  • Smart Enter.
• Spelling and grammar:
  • Permission to use LanguageTool.
  • Server URL.
  • Optional LanguageTool Premium username and API key.
  • Picky mode.
  • Personal dictionary.
  • Turned-off rules.

Network use and privacy

Authors Toolbox uses the network only for the spelling and grammar check, and only when you ask for it.

• What is sent: when you press Check (or run a Check spelling & grammar command), the text in the scope you chose (selection, current section or whole note) is sent to LanguageTool, by default https://api.languagetool.org.
• When: never automatically. The first check asks for your permission, which you can withdraw in the settings.
• Why: to get English and Spanish spelling and grammar suggestions that work the same on every device.
• Which server: you can use your own LanguageTool server instead. LanguageTool's handling of text is described in its privacy policy.

The free LanguageTool service is limited to about 20 KB per request and 75 KB per minute. Authors Toolbox splits long notes and waits between parts when needed. LanguageTool Premium (a paid LanguageTool service) is optional.

Everything else runs entirely on your device: statistics, style insights, outline, alignment and screenplay layout. The plugin stores its settings and a small daily word count in its own data.json inside your vault. It includes no telemetry and no ads.

Installation

From Obsidian: Settings → Community plugins → Browse → search Authors Toolbox → Install → Enable.

Manually:

1. Download main.js, manifest.json and styles.css from the latest release.
2. Copy them to <your vault>/.obsidian/plugins/authors-toolbox/.
3. Reload Obsidian and enable Authors Toolbox under Settings → Community plugins.

Beta versions: install from this repository with the BRAT plugin.

Roadmap: possible changes

Ideas under consideration, roughly in order of priority. Nothing here is promised; suggestions are welcome in the issues.

Poetry mode (next)

Prose formatting gets in the way of poetry. Markdown merges lines, eats indentation and justifies text. The plan is a dedicated mode for notes with type: poem:

• Layout:
  • Lines stay as written. Every line break is preserved, regardless of Obsidian's "strict line breaks" setting.
  • Stanzas are separated by blank lines.
  • Indentation and spacing are preserved for drop lines, staggered verse and concrete or visual poetry.
  • Hanging indent for long lines that wrap, so wrapped text isn't mistaken for a new line.
  • Alignment per poem or per stanza: left, centered or right; never justified.
  • Optional line numbers (every 5 lines) for long poems and workshop drafts.
  • Epigraphs and dedications styled as such, plus a title-and-poet block.
• Analysis:
  • Syllable count per line. Spanish métrica would account for sinalefa, hiato and the ley del acento final; English would get approximate stress patterns.
  • Rhyme scheme detection (ABAB, ABBA…), with consonant and assonant rhyme in Spanish.
  • Form recognition and checks: sonnet, haiku (5‑7‑5), décima, romance, villanelle, free verse.
  • A Poem tab in the writing panel with stanzas, lines, the syllable count of each line, the rhyme scheme, and repeated sounds or words.
• Export: PDF and Markdown that keep the exact layout.

Writing and manuscripts

• Compile a manuscript from several notes (chapters of a novel) into one document, with a word count for the whole book.
• Standard manuscript format export (Shunn) to DOCX and PDF for submissions and contests.
• Writing sprints: a timer with a word target and a session summary.
• Per-project goals and history: words per day, streaks, a progress chart.
• Revision mode: compare two drafts, with word count differences per chapter.

Screenplays

• Exact pagination and a screenplay-ready PDF export (Courier 12 pt, margins, (MORE)/(CONT'D) across pages, scene numbers).
• Dual dialogue shown side by side.
• Title page rendering inside Obsidian.
• Production helpers: scene numbering locks, revision colours, a character and location report.
• A Fountain import command for existing .fountain files.

Language and checking

• More languages for statistics and checks (Portuguese and French first).
• Spanish-language interface.
• Automatic checking of the current paragraph after a pause, with the same consent and limits.
• Settings search support (Obsidian 1.13+ setting definitions).

Small improvements

• Dialogue-dash conversion for pasted text without running a command.
• Configurable scene-break symbols.
• Keyboard shortcuts for moving sections up and down in the outline.

Known limitations

• The grammar check needs an internet connection, unless you run your own LanguageTool server.
• Page counts for scripts are estimates (55 lines per page with standard element widths), not exact pagination.
• Statistics and style insights support English and Spanish; other languages fall back to English rules.
• Obsidian's own spellcheck still runs alongside. On iPhone and iPad it follows the keyboard language.

Development

npm install
npm run dev     # rebuild main.js on every change (copy or symlink the folder into a test vault)
npm run lint    # Obsidian's official ESLint rules (the same checks as the directory's automated review)
npm run typecheck  # TypeScript strict-mode check
npm run build   # type-check + production build → main.js

Source layout (TypeScript in strict mode, bundled by esbuild into main.js):

src/
├── main.ts                  # plugin entry: commands, events, panel state, grammar check, screenplay commands
├── constants.ts             # defaults and shared constants
├── settings.ts              # settings tab
├── text/analysis.ts         # pure text analysis: prose map, stats, readability, style, outline, LanguageTool chunks
├── screenplay/
│   ├── fountain.ts          # Fountain parser, script analysis, scene outline, .fountain export
│   ├── editor.ts            # editor formatting, smart Enter, suggestions, Reading view, script template
│   └── panel.ts             # writing-panel tabs for scripts
├── editor/
│   ├── alignment.ts         # per-paragraph alignment markers and decorations
│   ├── issues.ts            # grammar underlines and find highlights (CodeMirror state)
│   └── raya.ts              # Spanish dialogue dash
├── view/
│   ├── writing-view.ts      # the writing panel
│   └── helpers.ts           # formatting helpers and labels
└── modals/
    ├── insert-image.ts
    └── prompts.ts

Releasing

1. Update version in manifest.json and package.json, and add the version to versions.json.
2. Commit, then tag with the same version and push the tag:

   git tag -a 1.4.1 -m "1.4.1"
   git push origin 1.4.1
   

3. The GitHub Action builds the plugin and creates a draft release with main.js, manifest.json and styles.css and a build-provenance attestation. Review it and publish.

See CHANGELOG.md for the version history.

License

MIT © 2026 Daniel Roa