Welcome to OceanBoard

OceanBoard is a beautiful, powerful creative writing tool designed for authors, worldbuilders, and storytellers. It helps you organize your characters, locations, episodes, and creative content with an intuitive markdown editor and smart file management.

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Local-First

Everything is stored locally in your browser. No accounts, no cloud, no tracking.

Quick Start

Get started with OceanBoard in just a few steps:

1

Create a Series

Click the + button in the sidebar to create your first series. Think of series as your main projects or story collections.

2

Add Seasons

Right-click your series and select Add Season. Seasons help organize different parts of your story or project phases.

3

Create Files

Right-click a season and add episodes or special files. Start writing in the beautiful markdown editor!

Interface Overview

OceanBoard's interface is designed to be intuitive and distraction-free:

menu_open

Sidebar

Navigate between series, seasons, and files. Drag to reorder, right-click for options.

tab

Tab Bar

Keep multiple files open. Click tabs to switch, close button to dismiss.

edit_note

Editor

Split-view markdown editor. Write on the left, see formatted preview on the right.

settings

Settings

Customize font size, line height, word wrap, and more. Access via settings icon.

The OceanBoard interface layout

Series & Seasons

OceanBoard uses a hierarchical structure to organize your creative work:

Series - Your main project or story collection

arrow_downward

Seasons - Chapters, volumes, or story arcs

arrow_downward

Files - Episodes, characters, locations, etc.

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Tip: You can export entire seasons or individual files to share or backup your work.

File Types

OceanBoard supports regular episodes and special file types:

EP

Episode

Regular story files, chapters, or writing entries

C

Character

Character profiles, descriptions, and development notes

O

Object

Important items, artifacts, or props in your story

SC

Scene

Locations, settings, or environment descriptions

A

Abstract

Concepts, themes, or abstract ideas

AT

Attribute

Dictionary files for linking mentions across files

Special Files

Special files (Characters, Objects, Scenes, etc.) automatically get a file-id template on creation. This ID allows you to reference them from other files.

$ file-id = "protagonist1"

# Character Name
Description of your character...

The first line contains the file-id (hidden in preview). You can customize or remove it.

File-ID Rules:

Maximum 24 characters
Alphanumeric only (letters and numbers)
Must be unique across all files
Used for mentions and linking

Attributes & Mentions

Link files together using mentions. There are two ways to create mentions:

Natural Mention

The character.protagonist1 entered the room.

Shows a confirmation bubble: "Link to character.protagonist1?"

Direct Mention

The @character.protagonist1 entered the room.

Instant link, no confirmation. Preview shows only "protagonist1"

link

Click mentions to navigate directly to the referenced file and line!

Markdown Editor

OceanBoard uses markdown for formatting. Here are the basics:

# Heading 1 →

Heading 1

**bold text** → bold text

*italic text* → italic text

[link](url) → link

- list item → • list item

Import & Export

OceanBoard offers flexible import and export options:

folder

Full Workspace

Import & Export all series, seasons, files, and settings as one ZIP file

description

Single File

Import & Export individual files with metadata (right-click file)

library_books

Season

Import & Export all files from a single season (right-click season)

image

Media File

Import & Export Images, Videos & Audios!

backup

Backup Regularly: Export your workspace periodically to keep your work safe!

Settings

Customize your writing experience in the settings panel:

format_size

Font Size

Adjust editor and preview text size (12-24px)

height

Line Height

Control spacing between lines (1.2-2.0)

wrap_text

Word Wrap

Toggle automatic line wrapping in editor

numbers

Line Numbers

Display the number line (like an code editor) in editor

timer

Auto-Save time

When will your work be cached and auto-saved? 5s? 15s? instantly?

Command Palette

The Command Palette is your quick-access hub for all OceanBoard actions. Press Ctrl + K (or Cmd + K on Mac) to open it instantly.

bolt

Power User Tool

Access any command without leaving your keyboard. Search by name, description, or keywords!

The Command Palette in action - Live demonstration

Available Commands

All commands are organized by category for easy navigation:

folder File Operations

note_add

New Episode

Create a new episode file

create_new_folder

New Season

Create a new season folder

save

Save File

Save the current file

swap_horiz

Quick File Switcher

Quickly switch between files

search Search

search

Global Search

Search across all files

find_in_page

Search in File

Search within current file

tab Tab Management

close

Close Tab

Close the current tab

navigate_next

Next Tab

Switch to next tab

navigate_before

Previous Tab

Switch to previous tab

close_fullscreen

Close All Tabs

Close all open tabs

visibility View Options

center_focus_strong

Toggle Focus Mode

Enter distraction-free writing mode

fullscreen

Toggle Fullscreen

Enter or exit fullscreen mode

menu

Toggle Sidebar

Show or hide the sidebar

widgets Components

person_add

Add Actor

Add a new character/actor

location_on

Add Location

Add a new location

library_books Series Management

library_add

New Series

Create a new series project

tune

Series Settings

Edit current series settings

sync_alt Import & Export

upload

Import Workspace

Import a complete workspace

download

Export Workspace

Export complete workspace

file_download

Export Files Only

Export files without settings

help Settings & Help

settings

Open Settings

Open application settings

keyboard

Keyboard Shortcuts

View all keyboard shortcuts

history

Show Changelog

View recent updates and changes

work Workspace Management

storage

Storage Info

View storage usage information

clear_all

Clear Storage

Clear all application data

tips_and_updates

Smart Search: Type keywords to filter commands instantly. For example, type "save" to find all save-related actions!

Keyboard Shortcuts

Boost your productivity with these handy keyboard shortcuts. All shortcuts are available for both Windows/Linux (Ctrl) and Mac (Cmd).

File Operations

Action	Shortcut
Save Current File	Ctrl + S (Cmd + S on Mac)
Create New File	Ctrl + N (Cmd + N on Mac)
Open File	Ctrl + O (Cmd + O on Mac)

Navigation

Action	Shortcut
Quick File Switcher	Ctrl + P (Cmd + P on Mac)
Command Palette	Ctrl + K (Cmd + K on Mac)

Tab Management

Action	Shortcut
Close Current Tab	Ctrl + W (Cmd + W on Mac)
Next Tab	Ctrl + Tab
Previous Tab	Ctrl + Shift + Tab
Switch to Tab 1	Ctrl + 1
Switch to Tab 2	Ctrl + 2
Switch to Tab 3	Ctrl + 3
Switch to Tab 4	Ctrl + 4
Switch to Tab 5	Ctrl + 5

View Options

Action	Shortcut
Toggle Fullscreen	F11
Toggle Focus Mode	Ctrl + Shift + F (Cmd + Shift + F on Mac)

Search

Action	Shortcut
Search in File	Ctrl + F (Cmd + F on Mac)
Global Search	Ctrl + Shift + F (Cmd + Shift + F on Mac)

Settings & Help

Action	Shortcut
Open Settings	Ctrl + , (Cmd + , on Mac)
Show Help	F1
Show Keyboard Shortcuts	Ctrl + / (Cmd + / on Mac)
Close Modal/Overlay	Escape

keyboard

Pro Tip: Press Ctrl + / (or Cmd + / on Mac) anytime in the editor to see all available keyboard shortcuts!

File Linking

Create connections between files using the attribute system:

Create an Attribute file to act as your dictionary
Define keys that map to file-ids and line numbers
Reference these keys from any file using mentions
Click mentions to navigate instantly to the target location

How file linking works in OceanBoard

Workflows

Here are some recommended workflows for different use cases:

Novel Writing

Create a series for your novel, seasons for parts/acts, episodes for chapters. Use character and scene files for reference.

Worldbuilding

Organize by theme (Geography, History, Culture). Use attribute files to link related concepts across your world.

Screenplay

Series for the project, seasons for acts, episodes for scenes. Character files for cast, object files for props.