Best AI tools for writers
A writer does not need a machine that writes. Most need one that catches the typo, flags the sentence that runs on, keeps track of a long draft and does the tedious parts of publishing. The best AI writing tools stay out of the way of the voice and help with everything around it. This page lists the open-source ones SkillScout's catalogue holds.
Editing help versus generated text
Grammar and style checkers are the safest place to start. Some run entirely on your machine, so a draft never leaves it, which matters for unpublished work and client copy.
AI editors and Markdown apps with a model built in sit one step further: they rewrite a paragraph on request, summarise notes or suggest structure. Use them on your own text, and read every change. A suggested rewrite is a suggestion.
Skills that strip the signs of machine writing are useful the other way round: when you have used AI for a first draft, they help you find the stock phrases and rewrite them in your own words.
Long projects and fiction
Book-length work needs memory more than speed. Tools that keep notes on characters, timelines or sources, and that can search a whole manuscript, help more than ones that write the next chapter. The novel-writing agents in the catalogue are real projects, but treat their output as material to edit, not as a draft to submit.
The list
From SkillScout's catalogue, counted on 27 October 2026: 19 entries matched this topic, and these are the 12 with the most GitHub stars, one per project, after a review for false matches. Descriptions are each project's own. Stars show popularity, not fit.
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stop-slop
Removes AI tells from prose by teaching Claude or any LLM to detect and eliminate predictable phrases, structural clichés, and rigid rhythmic patterns...
Get the code, then follow its README:
git clone https://github.com/hardikpandya/stop-slop -
yn
A highly extensible Markdown editor. Version control, AI Copilot, mind map, documents encryption, code snippet running, integrated terminal, chart embedding, HTML...
Get the code, then follow its README:
git clone https://github.com/purocean/yn -
inkos
Autonomous novel writing AI Agent, agents write, audit, and revise novels with human review gates
Get the code, then follow its README:
git clone https://github.com/Narcooo/inkos -
WritingTools
The world's smartest system-wide grammar assistant; a better version of the Apple Intelligence Writing Tools. Works on Windows, Linux, & macOS, with the free Gemini API...
Get the code, then follow its README:
git clone https://github.com/theJayTea/WritingTools -
claude-scientific-writer
A general purpose scientific writer
Get the code, then follow its README:
git clone https://github.com/K-Dense-AI/claude-scientific-writer -
humanize-text
Open-source humanize text toolkit. Documents 4 humanization methodologies with reference implementations, plus a production pipeline combining LLM rewriting with a...
Get the code, then follow its README:
git clone https://github.com/lynote-ai/humanize-text -
vela
AI-powered IDE for novel writing, local LLM + RAG, privacy-first, BYOK. For web fiction authors and creative writers.
Get the code, then follow its README:
git clone https://github.com/heider-x/vela -
solomd
A markdown editor, and the bridge to your LLM. Local-first, MIT, ~15 MB. Bundled MCP server lets Claude Code / Codex / Cursor drive your vault directly. 14 AI providers...
Get the code, then follow its README:
git clone https://github.com/zhitongblog/solomd -
denova
An AI creative platform for novel writing and story-driven games, powered by AI agents, Skills, Subagent Workflows, Automations, and versioned project workspaces.
Get the code, then follow its README:
git clone https://github.com/alfredxw/denova -
show-me-the-story
Self-hosted AI novel generator: single Go binary + web UI. OpenAI-compatible API → outline → chapter-by-chapter writing with review, foreshadowing, fact-check, and...
Get the code, then follow its README:
git clone https://github.com/Nigh/show-me-the-story -
sloptrim
A local detector for AI-writing patterns. Scores every prose file your agent saves. Python standard library only, no network, no model.
Get the code, then follow its README to add the skill:
git clone https://github.com/seyedehsanhadi/sloptrim -
opendraft
Open-source AI thesis writer with 19 specialized agents. Generate 20k+ word research drafts in 10 minutes. FREE (Gemini). Verified citations from 500M+ papers. Export...
Get the code, then follow its README:
git clone https://github.com/federicodeponte/opendraft
Questions
Is there a private AI grammar checker?
Yes. Some checkers in this list run offline, on your own computer, so nothing you write is sent to a server. Check each project's README for how it handles your text.
Will AI writing tools change my voice?
Only if you accept every suggestion. Use them for errors and structure, keep your own word choices, and read the result aloud before you publish it.
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Your own list
This page ranks by popularity. SkillScout's scan ranks by fit: the AI you already use writes a short profile of how you work, and SkillScout scores about 22,000 AI tools against your gaps and hands back a short list with install steps. It is free, and the server never saves your profile.