Hiiscript

Hiiscript is an open source screenplay writer built as a small Electron and Capacitor-ready app.

Created by Kabrownie Digital.

Hiiscript is open source software released under the MIT License.

Project page: kabrownie.github.io/Hiiscript

Support continued development: Sponsor Hiiscript on GitHub

Direct downloads: Windows installer | Windows portable | Linux AppImage | Ubuntu/Debian | Android APK

Release page: GitHub Releases

Latest release

The latest production release targets the offline screenplay workflow, with the release pipeline configured for Linux, Windows, and Android artifact generation.

Privacy

Hiiscript is offline-first. Scripts, settings, characters, and scene suggestions are stored locally on the user's device. The app has no accounts, advertising, analytics, tracking pixels, or background screenplay uploads. Draft files are written only when the user chooses Save.

PDF import uses the bundled open-source PDF.js reader and is processed locally in the app; no screenplay upload service or internet connection is required.

Two network requests exist, both opt-in or disclosed:

• Update checks (opt-in). If enabled in the About dialog, the app requests the latest release tag from api.github.com at most once every six hours. This shares your IP address with GitHub; nothing else is sent.
• PDF import (first use only). The bundled PDF.js reader is used offline. If the bundled copy is missing, the app falls back to a public CDN for the reader script.

Developer Quick Start

npm install
npm start

To preview the web editor without Electron:

npm run web

The app saves Fountain files by default through a secure preload bridge. Project backups remain available as explicit JSON files, while the web preview downloads files directly.

Use Front page to add title-page metadata, and Page break to insert a new screenplay page. Recovery snapshots are written to local browser storage while you edit; Save and Open support Fountain, Markdown, and explicit JSON project backups. Export supports Fountain, Markdown, and offline PDF printing. The editor also includes undo/redo, find and replace, scene navigation, focus mode with Escape exit, word/page/runtime statistics, update notifications, and drag-and-drop import.

On first launch, Hiiscript opens The Last Signal, a clearly labeled superhero starter template. Create a new script or dismiss the notice when you are ready to begin your own screenplay.

The Library manages saved character and scene suggestions. Entries can be added, renamed, deleted, or transferred as JSON. Preview pages paginate automatically when screenplay content reaches the letter-page boundary.

Download Hiiscript

Use the direct links above, or open the latest GitHub Release to view checksums and release notes.

Choose a direct download below. Clicking a link downloads the latest published build instead of opening the release page:

• Windows portable: Download the latest portable app. Double-click it; no installation is required.
• Windows installer: Download the latest Windows installer.
• Linux, easiest: Download the latest AppImage. Allow it to run as a program, then double-click it.
• Ubuntu/Debian: Download the latest DEB package. Double-click it and choose Install.
• Android: Download the latest Android APK. Open the downloaded file on your Android device to install it.

Unsigned builds may show a Windows unknown-publisher warning. Tagged GitHub releases can be signed by configuring WINDOWS_CERTIFICATE_BASE64 and WINDOWS_CERTIFICATE_PASSWORD repository secrets; the release workflow publishes SHA-256 checksums automatically. Confirm that any file came from the official Hiiscript release page before opening it.

The app runs offline after installation. Start with the included template, choose + New for a blank script, or choose New from template for another copy of the superhero example.

For Developers

The commands below are only for developers who want to run the source code or create installers. If you only want to use Hiiscript, use the direct download links above instead.

Collaborate

Contributions and ideas are welcome. You can help by reporting bugs, improving accessibility, testing releases, writing documentation, or adding features.

• Report a bug or request a feature
• Browse open issues
• Open a pull request
• Sponsor the project

To contribute code, fork the repository, create a focused branch, run npm test, and open a pull request explaining what changed and how it was tested. Please keep changes focused and preserve the offline-first experience.

Run from source

npm install

Build Linux packages

npm run build:linux

Builds are written to dist/:

• The versioned AppImage runs without installation.
• The versioned DEB installs with sudo dpkg -i.

Build Windows packages

npm run build:win

This creates an NSIS installer and a portable executable in dist/. Electron Builder supports cross-compiling between Linux and Windows. macOS targets require macOS.

Windows Defender may identify an unsigned build as an unknown publisher. Removing that warning requires a code-signing certificate and a signed release build. The workflow supports an encoded .p12/.pfx certificate through WINDOWS_CERTIFICATE_BASE64 and its password through WINDOWS_CERTIFICATE_PASSWORD.

Build the Android APK

Run this once to add the native Android project:

npm run android:add

After changing www/index.html, sync and open Android Studio:

npm run android:sync
npm run android:open

In Android Studio, choose Build > Build Bundle(s) / APK(s) > Build APK(s). The debug APK is written to android/app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk.

Or build it from the terminal:

npm run android:build
adb install android/app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk

Development Testing

Run the core smoke tests with:

npm test

• Browser: open www/index.html directly.
• Electron: run npm run dev or press F5 in VS Code.
• Android: run npm run android:open for live testing in Android Studio.

Keep www/index.html as the single source of truth. Electron reads it on every launch; run npm run android:sync after web changes so the Android project receives them.

Project layout

• www/ contains the web editor.
• electron/ contains the Electron main process and secure preload bridge.
• images/ contains the Kabrownie logo, favicon, and desktop app icons used by packaged builds.
• capacitor.config.json configures the shared web bundle for native targets.
• .vscode/ contains launch and task definitions for local development. images/ is the canonical source. www/images/ is a copy that must exist for the web preview and Android builds, which cannot reach above www/. After changing any file in images/, run:

npm run sync:images


## Performance

On Linux, Hiiscript disables GPU acceleration by default because a subset of
legacy and unstable drivers crash the renderer before the first paint. If your
system has working drivers, set `HIISCRIPT_FORCE_GPU=1` before launching to
enable hardware acceleration:

```bash
HIISCRIPT_FORCE_GPU=1 ./hiiscript-VERSION-x86_64.AppImage

HIISCRIPT_DISABLE_GPU=1 Hiiscript.exe

Shared screenplay rules live in www/js/screenplay-core.js; accessibility helpers live in www/js/accessibility.js. The HTML file still owns the editor controller and markup, but reusable classification and data normalization are now testable outside the browser.