garretgarret
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Start with a scene.

Install garret, open a book, and keep a safe copy as you write.

Install your build

Choose your device on the downloads page. Extract the whole desktop package, keep its files together, and follow the included README. On Android, install the APK and read the Android instructions in the release.

Downloads

Create or open a book

Open garret and use the library to create a new book or open an existing one. Choose a folder on your own disk, outside cloud-synced folders. New books default to Documents/Books until you choose another location.

Write the first scene

Open your book, add a chapter and a scene, and start writing. Arrange scenes as the story grows. Use the story bible, cast, and research tools when you need them; you can begin with the manuscript alone.

Keep a safe copy

Back up now makes a local recovery copy. It cannot protect your work if you lose the device. Use an encrypted archive for a separate copy on a USB drive or in a synced backup folder.

  1. Open File > Open book > Backups and archives.
  2. Choose Create recovery key. Keep this key separately from your backups. A lost key means you cannot restore an encrypted archive.
  3. Select Choose backup folder, then Make encrypted archive. Save to a USB drive or a cloud-synced backup folder, or copy the archive there afterward.
  4. Use Verify encrypted archive to check the saved archive with your key.

Creating each archive is manual. Uploading it is handled by your sync client. Your working manuscript is not encrypted, and desktop and Android books do not sync automatically.

Restore encrypted archive creates a separate book. Open the restored book from the library.

For a file-copy backup, close the app first. Copy the book database together with its adjacent pictures and research folders. A database-only copy is incomplete.

Revise and prepare

On desktop, exchange DOCX review documents with an editor and accept or reject attributed proposals. Export Markdown, DOCX, or EPUB; PDF proof copies are available on Linux. Keep a backup before importing changes or moving to a new alpha build.