Write your novel on Linux, with an AI co-author that never phones home
A native desktop app shipped as an AppImage and a .deb. Runs with Ollama or LM Studio on your own hardware. No subscription, no cloud, no browser tab.
Everything the $149 buys you
Your GPU, your model, your machine
Point Novel Mage at Ollama or LM Studio running on the same box and every AI feature works with the network off. Nothing uploads, because there is nowhere for it to go. Prefer a frontier model? Bring your own key and pay that provider only.
Codex + Auto Codex
Characters, places, lore and world rules, linked across the manuscript and fed to the AI automatically. And you do not keep it by hand: finish a chapter, press once, and Auto Codex reads it back and fills the codex in with the new characters and events.
Assistant chat + interview any character
Ask the assistant to find every mention of the sword or summarise each scene a character appears in, and it searches the manuscript and acts. Or drop into the character and ask why she lied and what frightens her — answers that stay consistent with the codex you already wrote her into.
Plan the acts, then let it review the draft
Lay the novel out in acts and scenes with word counts and status on each, then point the built-in review system at the finished manuscript: POV slips, continuity breaks, dialogue balance, pacing and the phrase you have used nine times without noticing.
Installing Novel Mage on Linux
Download the Linux build
Grab the Linux zip from the download page. It contains both an AppImage and a .deb installer.
Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, Pop!_OS
Install the .deb with sudo apt install ./novel-mage*.deb. You get a menu entry like any other app.
Fedora, Arch and everything else
Use the AppImage: chmod +x it and run it. No install step, no root, nothing touched outside your home folder.
Linux questions, answered
Does Novel Mage run natively on Linux?
Yes. Novel Mage ships a native Linux desktop build as both an AppImage and a .deb package. It is the same app as on Windows and macOS, with the same features and the same license.
Which Linux distributions are supported?
The .deb package is for Debian-based distributions such as Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Pop!_OS and Debian itself. The AppImage runs on most other distributions, including Fedora and Arch, without installing anything.
The AppImage won't start on Ubuntu. What do I do?
Recent Ubuntu releases no longer ship libfuse2, which AppImages need. Install it with sudo apt install libfuse2 (libfuse2t64 on Ubuntu 24.04), or use the .deb package instead.
Can I use local AI models on Linux?
Yes. Ollama and LM Studio both run on Linux, and Novel Mage connects to either one on the same machine. With a local model the whole app works offline and your manuscript never leaves your computer.
Is there a Scrivener for Linux?
Scrivener has no official Linux version. Novel Mage is a native Linux alternative with a manuscript editor, story planner and character codex, plus an AI co-author that can run entirely on your own hardware.
Does my license work across Linux, Windows and macOS?
Yes. Your license is tied to your Novel Mage account, not to an operating system, so the same license works on Linux, Windows and macOS. Download the build for whichever platform you are on.
You get all of it for $149
once
One price for every novel you will ever write, on Linux or anywhere else you write. The same tools are rented monthly elsewhere; this is $149 once, on your own machine.
Three ways you cannot lose money here
Try it before you pay
7 days of full access, free. We never ask for a card, so there is nothing to forget to cancel.
7-day refund, no questions
Buy it, change your mind, email us. Money back, and you never have to explain why.
It cannot be taken away
Your files are local and the licence is yours. The app keeps working even if we shut down tomorrow.
7 days, every feature, no credit card. Keep it for $149 once, or walk away.