Storytelling intelligence for independent screenwriters

Order from chaos.

Read the structure, pacing, rhythm, and character balance of your screenplay in a native Mac app built for long working sessions, dense analysis, and craft-first review.

macOS (Apple Silicon) — native app · Linux (amd64 / arm64) — CLI + engine, native app on the roadmap · No account required

foundation v0.4.51 khaos machine v0.4.16 khaosd v0.4.11
Project workspace scenes · characters · locations · analysis at a glance
Khaos Machine native Mac app showing a screenplay project — scenes, characters, locations, and analysis

Core workflow

A work surface, not a demo funnel

The app is organized like the work itself: import, inspect, route analysis, and review output in dense but calm native surfaces.

1

Import the screenplay

Open or drag in a script and let the parser extract scenes, characters, and locations into the KSPD document the rest of the system understands — a real Mac document with Quick Look and Versions.

.fountain .fdx .sbx .pdf .txt
2

Route analysis intelligently

Stay on-device or local with Apple Foundation Models, Ollama, or LM Studio, or connect OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Groq, and other providers depending on the kind of analysis you need.

On-device Ollama LM Studio OpenAI Anthropic Gemini
3

Review structure, then press play

Read dramatic beats, character presence, dialogue balance, pacing, and location significance across the Project, Insights, and Character Builder views — then hear a story-aware performance in the Story Player.

Workspace pattern

Sidebar + detail as the default review model

The app pairs a dense navigation sidebar with a focused detail view. That keeps the screenplay primary while analysis, metadata, and tooling stay close at hand — the way a native document app should feel.

Primary views
Project, Story Player, Insights, Character Builder, Events
Built with
Native SwiftUI; KSPD opens as a document; the local `khaosd` engine runs underneath
Long-session fit
Warm neutrals, restrained feedback states, and dense information without chrome noise
Story Player composition timeline · scene beats · transport · on-device performance
Khaos Machine Story Player showing the composition timeline with scene segments, beats, and a transport for story-aware playback

Analysis model

The system reads story structure through multiple lenses

The goal is not a generic summary. It is to expose how the screenplay is functioning scene by scene, character by character, and location by location.

Scene layer

Pacing, mood, dramatic beats, and thematic function

Each scene can be evaluated as part of the larger rhythm of the screenplay, not as an isolated paragraph of text.

Character layer

Presence, dialogue distribution, goals, conflict, and arc

Qualitative reading and quantitative balance live together so you can see both the intuition and the evidence — and hear any character's lines on-device.

Location layer

Atmosphere, symbolism, recurrence, and story utility

Locations are treated as narrative assets, not only production references.

Why this system exists

Built to disappear behind the screenplay

The interface is quiet on purpose. The work is understanding story shape, not managing a noisy stack of tools.

Local-first

Your screenplay stays on your machine

Run fully on-device or local workflows when privacy or cost matters, and add cloud analysis only where it earns its place.

Press play

Hear a story-aware performance

The Story Player turns the composition into on-device narration with per-character voices — review rhythm and dialogue with your ears, not just your eyes.

Desktop-native

A signed, notarized Mac app over a local engine

One package installs the native app, the background daemon, and the CLI tools — and the app auto-updates itself.

Incremental analysis

Let the system keep up while you write

Optional background workflows and scope-aware analysis keep results current without rerunning everything from scratch.

Install

Get the whole stack in one package

On macOS, one signed and notarized package installs the native app, the local daemon, and the CLI tools. On Linux you get the daemon + CLI/TUI today — a native Linux app is on the roadmap.

# Auto-detect platform, download the latest release, and install:
curl -fsSL https://preview.khaosmachine.com/install.sh | bash
# Download the signed, notarized package, then open it:
open KhaosFoundation-signed.pkg

# Or install directly from Terminal:
sudo installer -pkg KhaosFoundation-signed.pkg -target /

# Khaos Machine installs to /Applications and auto-updates itself.
# Linux ships the engine + CLI/TUI (native app coming).
# Download the .deb for your architecture, then:
sudo apt install ./khaos-foundation_0.4.51_amd64.deb

# For arm64:
sudo apt install ./khaos-foundation_0.4.51_arm64.deb
# Linux ships the engine + CLI/TUI (native app coming).
# Download the .rpm for your architecture, then:
sudo rpm -i khaos-foundation_0.4.51_amd64.rpm

# For arm64:
sudo rpm -i khaos-foundation_0.4.51_arm64.rpm

Current release

v0.4.51

khaos machine v0.4.16 khaosd v0.4.11 tools v0.6.11 wfl v0.0.98