Kindling

7.0easy start · #11 of 31
in Outliner Software

Free to practise onyes
Free trialnot on record
Well documentedyes
Runs where you workyes

Runs on Linux, Mac, Windows.

Kindling is ranked #11 of 31 in outliner software on The Geeks Club. It runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. There is a free plan.

Kindling plans and pricing

All plans

Kindling Free Free forever No premium tiers · no subscriptions · no feature gates kindlingwriter.com · 5 Oct 2026

Compared on outliner software

Free plan: Yes

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The record

What it does: Kindling is a desktop writing app that keeps an outline visible while fiction writers draft.
For whom: The maker describes it as built for fiction writers who plan, including plotters, pantsers, and writers between those approaches.
Outline-aware drafting: Scene beats appear as expandable prompts in the drafting view, and writers can also switch to a full-page prose editor.
Story references: Characters and locations tagged in a scene can surface in a side panel with descriptions, notes, and custom fields.
Import formats: Kindling imports projects from Plottr, Scrivener, yWriter, Obsidian Longform, novelWriter, and Markdown.
Export formats: Kindling exports to DOCX, EPUB, HTML, plain text, Markdown, Scrivener, Longform, and novelWriter.
Editorial review: Writers can share a .kindling-review file for tracked suggestions and threaded comments, then import feedback and accept or reject changes.
Screenwriting: Screenplay projects include slugline input, page-count estimates, and one-page or five-page DOCX treatment exports.
Privacy and storage: The desktop app stores project data locally as SQLite files and does not require an account or include analytics, telemetry, or usage tracking.
Offline use: The maker says writing and editorial review work offline, while automatic updates and optional feedback submissions use the internet.
AI: Kindling does not use AI to analyze or interact with writing, and its reference auto-detection is described as a non-AI pattern-matching engine.
License: Kindling is open source under the MIT license, and its source code is public.
Platform limits: The maker lists Windows 10+, macOS 12+, and x86_64 Linux, and says there is no mobile version yet.
Support: The maker links to GitHub Issues and Discord for questions and contributions.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on The Geeks Club

Best Outliner Software in 2026#11 of 31
Best eBPF Observability Tools in 2026#15 of 29

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Sources

kindlingwriter.com/docs/getting-started/· checked 5 Oct 2026
kindlingwriter.com/features/· checked 5 Oct 2026
kindlingwriter.com/privacy/· checked 5 Oct 2026
kindlingwriter.com/open-source/· checked 5 Oct 2026
kindlingwriter.com/download/· checked 5 Oct 2026
kindlingwriter.com/faq/· checked 5 Oct 2026