heider-x/vela

AI-powered IDE for novel writing — local LLM + RAG, privacy-first, BYOK. For web fiction authors and creative writers.

What it solves

Vela is an IDE designed specifically for long-form fiction and web novel authors. It addresses the struggle of maintaining consistency in complex stories by combining AI-driven drafting with a local knowledge base, preventing "character collapse" or forgotten plot points in million-word epics.

How it works

It functions as a desktop application (Electron) that integrates LLMs via a "Bring Your Own Key" (BYOK) model. The system uses a local RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) engine with SQLite and a vector engine to store and retrieve world-building notes and character profiles. It provides a structured pipeline where authors can move from world-building to outline generation, chapter drafting, and a three-stage post-processing loop (Rewrite $\rightarrow$ Refine $\rightarrow$ Review).

Who it’s for

  • Web novel authors and indie writers.
  • Creative professionals writing long-form fiction.
  • Privacy-conscious writers who prefer local data storage and their own API keys.

Highlights

  • End-to-End Pipeline: Automated workflows for world-building, outline generation, and chapter drafting.
  • Local RAG Knowledge Base: Semantic vector search over millions of words of local settings to ensure narrative consistency.
  • IDE-Grade UI: A professional layout with resizable four-pane panels, dark theme, and keyboard shortcuts similar to VSCode.
  • Extensible AI Integration: Native support for OpenAI, DeepSeek, Gemini, Claude, Ollama, and the Model Context Protocol (MCP) for custom tools.

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