StoryForge – AI‑powered narrative creation suite

What it is – StoryForge ("故事熔炉") is an open‑source, local‑first web application that lets you write, adapt and publish narrative works (novels, short stories, scripts, comics, motion‑drama packs, world‑building engines, and tabletop‑RPG experiences). It provides a unified UI built with React + TypeScript and stores all data in the browser via IndexedDB, so you can work completely offline. AI generation is optional: you can plug in any LLM API (OpenAI‑compatible, Ollama, LM Studio, etc.) or use a local “Codex” bridge that re‑uses a logged‑in ChatGPT session.

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Core features (as described in the README)

Area	What you can do	How it works
Long‑form novel authoring	Create novels of any length, manage settings, characters, outlines, chapter‑by‑chapter writing, and a memory system that tracks facts, foreshadowing, character states and provides searchable context.	A layered data model (raw text → structured facts → summaries → retrieval index). The Context Gateway logs every source used, and the Harness records the task contract, inputs, candidates and version checks before you adopt the AI‑generated text.
Node‑based workflow (preview)	Visually connect data sources, prompts and generation steps on a canvas, run only the needed upstream nodes, and keep drafts separate from adopted content.	Nodes share the same long‑form Skill contracts, so the same AI calls can be reused from the classic editor or the node view.
Short‑form stories	Write 5‑25 k‑word pieces with length targets, per‑chapter review, audit logs and a final completion check that blocks publishing until all issues are resolved.
Script conversion	Freeze a source novel, map facts and causality, then produce structured screenplay scenes (Fountain/FDX) with versioned adaptation decisions.
Comic production	Turn a story into a storyboard: pages → panels → visual assets → typeset speech bubbles. Visual assets are tracked with provenance, and the final export can be PNG, WebP, CBZ or PDF.
Motion‑drama packs	From a story generate episode‑level bibles, character/prop lists, beat sheets, storyboards and export packages for tools like Seedance, Runway, LTX, etc.
World engine	Build reusable world definitions (settings, characters, rules) that can be sealed as immutable versions. Other products (RPG, chat bots, AI towns) read a specific world version via a SourcePlan and record exactly what was read.
Interactive products (preview)	• Tabletop RPG with AI KP, dice rolls, secret handling. • Role‑play chat with persistent character memory. • AI‑town simulation (daily schedules, relationships). • Text adventure, AVG, open‑world explorer. All use the same Harness‑based task logging and versioned world reads.
Plugin workshop	Discover, install, and develop .sfplugin extensions (function plugins, no‑code content packs, dependency‑locked bundles).
Model configuration	Choose a cloud API (enter key/URL) or use the local Codex bridge that auto‑detects a logged‑in ChatGPT account. The UI shows connection tests, temperature, token limits, etc.
Data persistence	All works, backups, media and version tables live in IndexedDB (via Dexie). Export options: Markdown, TXT, JSON for text; PNG/WebP/CBZ/PDF for comics; structured screenplay files for scripts.
Documentation & community	Multilingual README, official website, knowledge base, B‑站 video tutorials, Zhihu column, QQ group, and a plugin marketplace.

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Who might use it?

Use case	Relevant product
Write a novel (10 k‑100 k+ words) and keep track of plot threads	Long‑form editor with memory & retrieval
Produce a short story for a magazine	Short‑form editor with length guard
Adapt a novel into a screenplay for production	Script conversion
Create a comic book from a story	Comic pipeline
Generate a full‑episode storyboard for a motion‑drama video	Motion‑drama pack
Build a reusable fantasy world that powers several games	World engine + Plugin workshop
Run a tabletop campaign with an AI Game Master	RPG (AI KP) preview
Have a persistent NPC chat bot in a virtual town	AI town preview
Extend the platform with custom tools or content packs	Plugin system

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Technical highlights (from the README)

• Frontend stack – React, TypeScript, Vite, Zustand for state, TipTap for rich‑text editing, Three.js for built‑in 3D scenes.
• Local‑first storage – Dexie / IndexedDB with a unified PROJECT_TABLES schema handling backup, import, migration and reference remapping.
• Harness – Central execution layer that creates a Skill contract, a Run Contract (budget, version, checkpoint), logs the full request/response cycle, and only writes back after author confirmation.
• Context Gateway – Registers every source (CONTEXT_SOURCES), assembles context on demand, and produces a Context Manifest that can be audited.
• Version protection – AdoptionSchema and adopt() ensure that only candidates matching the current source version can be accepted; stale candidates are blocked.
• Plugin API – Preview SDK 0.1, plugins packaged as .sfplugin; can be inspected, installed/uninstalled while preserving their data.
• Model adapters – Supports any OpenAI‑compatible endpoint, Ollama, LM Studio, and a special “Codex” bridge that re‑uses a logged‑in ChatGPT session without needing an API key.
• Multi‑language UI – README and UI strings are provided in 9 languages.
• Open source license – MIT.

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Getting started (quick summary)

1. Clone / download the repo.
2. Run npm ci && npm run dev (Node 24 recommended) – the app is served at http://localhost:5173/storyforge/.
3. Or use the portable ZIP from the latest GitHub release (no npm needed).
4. Open the web UI, create a new Long‑form (or any other) project.
5. Configure a model under Settings → Model & Local – either paste an API key/URL or select the Codex option.
6. Start writing; when you invoke AI generation, the Harness logs the task. Review the candidate, then click Adopt to write it into the manuscript.
7. Use the Plugin Workshop to add community‑made extensions or develop your own.

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Where it stands

The README notes that many interactive products (RPG, AI town, AVG, open‑world) are preview – functional but still under validation. Core authoring tools (long‑form, short‑form, script, comic, motion‑drama) have a formal entry point and a complete engineering “harness” pipeline.

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In a nutshell: StoryForge is a full‑stack, browser‑based platform for AI‑assisted narrative creation, offering end‑to‑end pipelines for novels, scripts, comics, motion‑drama assets and reusable world building, all with optional local‑first operation and a plug‑in ecosystem. It is a genuine open‑source project in the AI‑augmented creative‑writing space.