                    🐾  I N K P A W  🐾

           AI-Powered Prose Refinement for Writers
           by Ephemera  ·  est. 2026  ·  Open Source

A sleek little desktop app that takes your creative writing and 
polishes it using AI in whatever style you want. Dark & Gothic? 
Done. Hemingway minimalism? Say less (literally). Fantasy epic? 
The prose shall be elevated, my liege.

Built with love by someone who is never coding anything 
ever fucking again.


---------------------------------------------------------------
  FEATURES
---------------------------------------------------------------

  ✦  8 WRITING STYLES
     Literary Fiction · Minimalist · Poetic/Lyrical · Dark & Gothic
     Punchy & Modern · Fantasy/Epic · Sci-Fi/Speculative · Romance
     Plus a fully custom mode where you write your own prompt.

  ✦  MULTIPLE AI PROVIDERS
     → Anthropic (Claude) — the sophisticated literary cat
     → OpenAI (GPT) — the popular kid
     → Ollama (Local) — for when you want to go full off-grid
     → OpenAI-Compatible — works with Together, Groq, LM Studio, 
       and basically anything that speaks the OpenAI format

  ✦  PER-PROVIDER KEY STORAGE
     Switch between Claude and GPT? Your keys are saved separately.
     No re-entering anything, we're not animals. (Except the cat.)

  ✦  MODERN DARK UI
     Custom-built widgets, hover effects, rounded buttons, 
     collapsible settings, word count tracker. It looks like a 
     real program because it IS a real program.

  ✦  LOAD / SAVE / COPY
     Load .txt and .md files, save your refined output, copy to
     clipboard. All the basics, done right.

  ✦  SETTINGS PERSISTENCE
     Your provider, model, keys, style preference, and custom
     prompts are all saved between sessions. Close it. Reopen it.
     Everything's still there. Magic? No. JSON.

  ✦  ZERO DEPENDENCIES
     Runs on Python's standard library. No pip install required 
     just to launch it. (PyInstaller only needed if you want the 
     .exe build.)


---------------------------------------------------------------
  INSTALLATION & SETUP
---------------------------------------------------------------

  OPTION A: JUST CLICK THE .EXE
  -----------------------------
  That's it. That's the option. Double-click InkPaw.exe.

  OPTION B: CODE YOUR OWN
  ------------------------
  1. Install Python 3.9+ from https://python.org
     ⚠  CHECK "Add Python to PATH" during install. Seriously. 
        This is the step everyone skips and then has a bad time.
        (Is that Sans Undertale?! ( ˃ᆺ˂) ꪊꪻ)
  2. Put your edited inkpaw.py and icon.ico in a folder 
     (e.g., C:\InkPaw\)
  3. Open a terminal (Win+R → type "cmd" → Enter)
  4. Type:
        cd C:\InkPaw
        python inkpaw.py
  5. That's it. You're done. Go write something.

  OPTION C: BUILD THE .EXE AND RUN
  ----------------------------------
  1. Do everything in Option B first to make sure it works
  2. Then:
        pip install pyinstaller
        python build.py
  3. Your shiny InkPaw.exe will be in the dist\ folder
  4. Double-click it. Feel powerful.


---------------------------------------------------------------
  PROVIDER SETUP
---------------------------------------------------------------

  Anthropic (Claude):
    → Get a key at https://console.anthropic.com
    → Default model: claude-sonnet-4-20250514
    → Other options: claude-opus-4-20250514 (smarter, pricier)
                     claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 (faster, cheaper)

  OpenAI (GPT):
    → Get a key at https://platform.openai.com
    → Default model: gpt-4o (For now. F in the chat, folks.)
    → Other options: gpt-4-turbo, gpt-3.5-turbo (cheaper)

  Ollama (Local / Offline):
    → Install Ollama from https://ollama.com
    → Open a terminal and run: ollama pull llama3
    → No API key needed. No internet needed. It's YOUR computer.
    → Recommended: llama3 (8B), mistral, or gemma2
    → For best prose quality, use 13B+ parameter models

  OpenAI-Compatible (Together, Groq, LM Studio, etc.):
    → Set the Base URL to your provider's endpoint
    → Examples:
        Together AI:  https://api.together.xyz
        Groq:         https://api.groq.com/openai
        LM Studio:    http://localhost:1234


---------------------------------------------------------------
  A NOTE ON AI & YOUR WRITING  (please read this part)
---------------------------------------------------------------

  InkPaw is a tool, like a thesaurus, or like a good editor friend 
  who happens to be awake at 3am when you're trying to get your 
  catgirl waifu to tell you how fat your coc-.

  Here are some thoughts on using it ethically and effectively:

  ✦  YOUR VOICE MATTERS
     The best use of this tool is to take YOUR writing: your 
     ideas, your characters, your weird little metaphors, and 
     see how they might sound with a different polish. It's a 
     mirror, not a replacement, and the words started with you.

  ✦  IT'S A STARTING POINT, NOT A FINAL DRAFT
     AI-refined prose is a suggestion; Read it, steal the parts 
     you like, and throw away the parts that don't sound like 
     you. Mix your original with the refined version because the 
     best output is always going to be the one YOU curate.

  ✦  DON'T SUBMIT AI OUTPUT AS-IS
     If you're submitting to a publication, contest, workshop, or 
     class, be honest about your process. Most places have 
     policies on AI-assisted work now. Respect them. Your 
     integrity as a writer matters more than any single piece.

  ✦  USE IT TO LEARN
     Try running the same paragraph through different styles. 
     Notice what changes. Why did it pick THAT verb? Why did it 
     cut THAT sentence? This is one of the best ways to level up 
     your own prose instincts. Treat it like a masterclass you 
     can pause and rewind.

  ✦  GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT
     AI can polish a diamond, but it can't mine one. The better 
     your input, the clearer your ideas, the more specific your 
     imagery, and the better the refinement will be. Do the hard 
     work of drafting first.

  ✦  ON "CHEATING"
     Every generation of writers has had tools the previous 
     generation didn't: typewriters, word processors, spell check, 
     or Grammarly. The question isn't whether you used a tool, 
     it's whether the final work represents your creative vision. 
     If it does, you're good. If it doesn't, no tool can fix that.


---------------------------------------------------------------
  DISCLAIMERS & LEGAL STUFF
---------------------------------------------------------------

  ⚠  API KEYS & CHARGES
     Your API keys are stored locally on YOUR machine in a file 
     called .inkpaw_config.json in your home directory. They are 
     NOT sent anywhere except directly to the API provider you 
     selected (Anthropic, OpenAI, etc.).

     Ephemera is NOT responsible for any charges incurred through 
     your API token usage. Every time you hit "Improve Prose," it 
     sends a request to your chosen provider, and that provider 
     charges you according to their pricing. It is YOUR 
     responsibility to:
       → Monitor your usage on your provider's dashboard
       → Set spending limits if your provider supports them
       → Understand the pricing model before you use it
       → Not blame us when you refine your entire novel and wake 
         up the next day to a $200 API bill (we've all been there)

  ⚠  NO WARRANTY
     This software is provided "as is," without warranty of any 
     kind. It works on my machine. Hopefully it works on yours.

  ⚠  OPEN SOURCE
     InkPaw is open source. Do whatever you want with it. Modify 
     it, redistribute it, teach your cat to use it. Credit is 
     appreciated but not required; just don't be a jerk about it.

  ⚠  PRIVACY
     InkPaw does not collect, transmit, or store any data beyond 
     what is saved locally in your config file. Your writing is 
     sent ONLY to the API provider you choose, subject to THEIR 
     privacy policy. We recommend reading your provider's terms 
     if you're working with sensitive material.


---------------------------------------------------------------
  FILES INCLUDED
---------------------------------------------------------------

  InkPaw.exe   Double-click and go. That's it. That's the app.
  icon.ico     The InkPaw cat. She has a pencil. She's perfect.
  README.txt   You're reading it. Hi.
  source/
    inkpaw.py  The full source code. Edit it. Make it yours.
    build.py   Packages everything into a .exe with PyInstaller.
    icon.ico   Copy of the icon (needed for building).


---------------------------------------------------------------
  TROUBLESHOOTING
---------------------------------------------------------------

  "python" is not recognized
  → You didn't check "Add Python to PATH" during install.
    Reinstall Python and check that box. I warned you.

  "pip" is not recognized
  → Same thing. PATH. Check it. Love it. Live it.

  The app opens but the API call fails
  → Check your API key. Check your model name. Check that your
    provider account has credits. Check that you're not using
    the Base URL field accidentally (leave it blank unless you
    specifically need a custom endpoint).

  Ollama says "connection failed"
  → Ollama needs to be running. Open a terminal and type:
    ollama serve
    Then try again.

  The .exe won't build
  → Make sure PyInstaller is installed: pip install pyinstaller
  → Make sure all three files are in the same folder.
  → Try running from the folder directly, not from a shortcut.

  Something else is broken
  → Delete ~/.inkpaw_config.json and restart. Fresh config 
    fixes most weirdness.

  I'm having an existential crisis about AI and creativity
  → That's normal. Reread the ethics section, write something 
    by hand, pet a cat. Or try therapy.


---------------------------------------------------------------
  CHANGELOG
---------------------------------------------------------------

  v1.0.0 — "I'm Never Coding Anything Ever Fucking Again"
  -------------------------------------------------------
  Release date: February 4, 2026

  [ADDED]
  + The entire app. From scratch. You're welcome.
  + 8 writing styles for people who have opinions about prose
  + Support for Anthropic, OpenAI, Ollama, and custom providers
  + Per-provider API key storage (because switching providers
    and losing your key is a special kind of pain)
  + Modern dark UI that doesn't look like it was made in 2003
  + Custom flat buttons with hover effects because we have 
    STANDARDS
  + Word count tracker for the "is this enough words" anxiety
  + Collapsible settings panel so you don't have to look at 
    your API key while you're trying to be creative
  + Load/Save/Copy buttons like a civilized application
  + A cat icon. With a pencil.
  + Ephemera disclaimer because we are responsible adults who 
    definitely did not learn this the hard way
  + Settings persistence via JSON (it's always JSON)

  [FIXED]
  + Fixed tkinter padx crash on Windows because apparently 
    Windows and Linux can't agree on ANYTHING
  + Fixed scrollbar styling crash on some Windows Tcl versions
  + Fixed placeholder text being sent as actual API URLs 
    (turns out "https://api.example.com" is not a real endpoint,
    who knew)
  + Fixed error messages showing "None" instead of the actual 
    error (very helpful, Python, thank you)
  + Fixed the sense of failure when staring at a blank page 
    (just kidding, that one's on you)

  [KNOWN ISSUES]
  - The cat in the icon cannot actually write prose. Yet.
  - If you refine the same sentence 69 times it doesn't get 
    69 times better. Diminishing returns are real.
  - Ollama models under 7B parameters will try their best and 
    that's all we can ask of them.
  - The developer has sworn off coding forever. Future updates 
    are therefore... uncertain.


---------------------------------------------------------------
  NEED HELP?
---------------------------------------------------------------

  ok ok FINE if something is broken or you're stuck i will still 
  help you. i'm dramatic not heartless. open an issue on GitHub 
  or hit me up and i'll do my best 🐾


---------------------------------------------------------------
  CREDITS
---------------------------------------------------------------

  Created by Lyssa at Ephemera
  Built with the assistance of Claude (who was very supportive)
  Icon: One very talented cat with a pencil
  
  Special thanks to everyone who told me to 
  "just keep practicing your code."
  Never again, I'm done now.


  ---

  "The first draft is just you telling yourself the story."
                                   — Terry Pratchett

                           🐾
