Novelty Writer

License

Novelty Writer is a perpetual license — pay once, own it. There’s no subscription. Every device you own (one human) can run the same license. Your manuscripts always remain readable on disk, even if a license is refunded or revoked.

How activation works

Activation is sign-in based, not a license-key paste. After buying on noveltywriter.app, you sign in to the same account on each device:

  1. Open Novelty Writer.
  2. Click Sign in on the first-run screen, or open Preferences → License → Sign in to activate.
  3. The website signs you in and bounces you back to the app via a nw:// deep link. The app exchanges that for an activation token and caches it locally.

The activation token lives encrypted under your user data directory (via the OS keychain). Nothing about your manuscript leaves the device unless you explicitly invoke an AI feature.

The 7-day trial

The trial clock starts when you create your first manuscript, not when you install the app. For 7 days you have every feature — save, rewrite, critique, continue, character chat, image generation, export, snapshots.

When the trial expires the app drops into read-only mode: you can still open, read, and export everything. Save and AI features pause until you sign in or buy a license. Your data is never held hostage; it’s still plain markdown on disk.

Read-only mode

Three things put the app into read-only:

  • Trial expired with no active license.
  • License is non-active (refunded, disputed, canceled, or revoked).
  • Verification has been offline for 21 days. The app reverifies in the background every 12 hours; a banner warns you starting at day 14, and at day 21 save / AI features pause until the next successful verify. Manuscripts stay readable.

The License preferences tab

Open Preferences (⌘,) → License:

  • Status row — Active / Trial · N days / Read-only · verify expired / Refunded.
  • License id — masked, with copy button.
  • Updates included until — the date through which paid updates are included.
  • This activation — the device name + when it was activated + when it last verified.
  • Verify now — forces a verify; useful after refunds or after coming back online.
  • Deactivate this device — removes this activation. Save and AI pause until you sign in again.
  • Manage account on noveltywriter.app — opens the account dashboard in your browser.
  • Copy diagnostics — a small text bundle (license id, activation id, app version, last-verify timestamp, recent error) for support emails.

Palette commands

All license verbs are also in the command palette (⌘K):

  • License: Verify now
  • License: Deactivate this device
  • License: Manage account on noveltywriter.app
  • License: Buy a license
  • License: Sign in to activate this device
  • License: Copy diagnostics

Refunds

Refunds within 14 days are honored. After a refund the next verify (within 12 hours, or immediately if you click Verify now) flips this device into read-only. Manuscripts stay on disk, fully readable.

Privacy

The license server (Firebase + Stripe) sees:

  • Your account email + password (Firebase Auth).
  • Your purchase records (Stripe — no card data touches our servers).
  • Per-device activation entries: device name, activation timestamp, last-verify timestamp.

It does not see your manuscript content. AI features go through your own OpenRouter / Voyage / Google keys (BYOK).

Trouble?

If activation fails or verify keeps erroring, run License: Copy diagnostics from the palette and email the bundle to support. The diagnostics never include manuscript content.