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Quick Start & FAQ

New here? Start with the three steps below. Everything else is grouped after them.

Quick Start

  1. 1. Pick an edition

    Want zero setup? Open the hosted edition and start writing once you sign up — nothing to install or configure. Want your manuscripts to stay on your own machine? Download the standalone edition.

  2. 2. Set up your AI (standalone only)

    In Settings, pick a model provider and enter your API Key and API Base URL. The hosted edition is configured for you — skip this step.

  3. 3. Write, then ask it to review

    Put your chapters and paragraphs in the left pane, and fill in attachments such as the outline and characters when you have them. Select what you want reviewed, click Review, and the notes appear in the right pane.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CoEditor?

CoEditor is an AI-assisted writing tool for literary fiction and academic writing. You are the author and the AI is the editor: it reads your drafts, points out problems and explains its reasoning, but never writes for you. The standalone edition is open source (Apache-2.0); a hosted edition with nothing to install is also available.

How is this different from just asking a chat AI?

Three things mainly. First, a review takes your outline, worldbuilding, characters, relationships and earlier text into account instead of only the passage you paste in. Second, you can ask for feedback on a paragraph, a chapter, the full text or a single attachment, in a strict, gentle or encouraging style. Third, every save keeps a new version, so each review maps to the draft it was written against and you can compare or roll back. A plain chat model usually just tells you it reads well.

Will the AI write for me, or change my draft?

No. There is no one-click generation and no “write this paragraph for me”, and it deliberately offers no rewritten or polished samples. Review notes appear only in the right pane; not a single character of your prose is changed.

Won't the AI just flatter me?

That is a common flaw of general chat models — they are trained to agree with you. CoEditor hands your own setup material to the model and requires it to point out problems and explain why; the strict style asks for criticism outright, with no cushioning.

How do I get started?

Two ways. Open doc.coeditor.net for the hosted edition and start writing once you sign up — nothing to install or configure. Or download the standalone edition for your system from the download page, which keeps your manuscripts and AI keys on your own machine.

Does the standalone edition need my own AI setup?

Yes. The standalone edition is bring-your-own-key: pick a model provider in Settings and enter your API Key and API Base URL. Common providers come with presets, and choosing one fills in its default endpoint.

Which AI models are supported?

Any provider with an OpenAI-compatible API. Presets include OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, DeepSeek, Qwen, Kimi, Zhipu GLM, MiniMax, xAI, Mistral, Groq, OpenRouter, SiliconFlow and Volcano Ark, plus locally hosted Ollama and vLLM. You can also type any OpenAI-compatible model name and endpoint yourself.

How granular can a review be?

Four scopes: paragraph, chapter, full text, and attachments (outline, worldbuilding, characters, relationships). Reviewing any of them brings the attachments and current context along as evidence.

What are the three editing styles?

Strict points out problems outright; gentle gives matter-of-fact suggestions; encouraging opens with what works before raising issues. You can switch at any point while writing.

Which kinds of writing are supported?

There are two built-in templates, novel and essay. The novel template ships with four attachments — outline, worldbuilding, characters and relationships — and attachments can be added or removed as needed.

Can I import a manuscript I already have?

Yes. You can import txt and Markdown, and chapters are split automatically into a chapter and paragraph structure.

Can I export my work? Is it locked into an account?

You can export at any time, and your work is not locked in. In the standalone edition manuscripts are stored as plain files on your own machine, with no database dependency.

Is there a revision history?

Yes. Every save keeps a new version, and both paragraphs and attachments can be rolled back to any version, so you can compare a draft before and after a review.

Which platforms are supported?

The standalone edition covers macOS 12 and later (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows (installer and portable zip) and Linux (AppImage and deb). The hosted edition runs in a browser, and a WeChat Mini Program is available as well.

Are my manuscript and API key safe?

In the standalone edition both your manuscripts and your AI keys stay on your own machine and never pass through our servers. We do not collect them, resell them, or train models on them. For how the hosted edition handles data, see the privacy policy.

Does it cost anything?

Signing up grants 100 credits (valid for 180 days). Once they run out you can top up: CNY 10 = 1,000 credits, CNY 20 = 2,000, CNY 50 = 5,000 — that is, 1 credit = CNY 0.01. The hosted edition is billed in credits; the standalone edition is free and open source, and you only pay whatever your own AI provider charges.

Roughly how many credits does one review cost?

A paragraph review costs 2 credits, a chapter review 5, and an attachment review (outline, characters and so on) 2. A full-text review starts at 5 credits for up to 20,000 characters, plus 1 credit for every additional 10,000. The 100 credits granted at sign-up cover roughly 20 chapter reviews or 50 paragraph reviews; a CNY 10 top-up (1,000 credits) covers about 200 chapter reviews.