Plotra DocsWho Plotra is for
A route through Plotra for each kind of person who uses it: what it does for you, how to set it up, a workflow to follow and what to read next.
Plotra is one app with many tools, and nobody needs all of them. These pages are routes through it. Each one is written for one kind of person and says what Plotra does for them, how to set a project up for that work, a workflow from the first project to the finished thing, and which pages of the documentation to read next.
They describe no feature that isn't documented elsewhere. For the details, follow the links into the Guide, the Modules and the Reference.
Start writing for freeEvery feature is on the Free plan. No card needed.
If you write
Novelists
Novels, series, web serials and short stories: drafting, the world bible, releases, beta readers, EPUB and manuscript.
Game masters
Tabletop campaigns: sessions as releases, what the players know, and a player-safe wiki.
Screenwriters
Screenplays, stage plays, comics and audio drama: script formats, Fountain, breakdowns, recording sheets and shot lists.
Game writers
Branching dialogue, variables, quests, strings, localization, and export to Ink, Yarn Spinner and Twine.
Non-fiction and research
Sources, citations, clipped pages, fact-checking and a bibliography.
If you work with other people
Teams
Writers' rooms, studios, franchise bibles and co-writers: roles, shared worlds, reviews, locks and the changelog.
Collaborators
Invited into someone else's project as a co-writer, editor, beta reader, viewer or reader with a link.
Workspace owners
Members, sharing, the plan, limits, the AI switch and getting your data out.
Self-hosters
Running Plotra on your own server, and what differs from the hosted version.
By project type
A project's type is a preset: it decides which modules start switched on, what format a new scene is written in and what a release is called. It locks nothing, so the page for your type is a starting point, not a fence. The types are described in full on Project types.
| Project type | Starts with | A release is a | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Novel / series | The essentials | Book | Novelists |
| Web serial | The essentials | Chapter | Novelists |
| Short story | The essentials | Other | Novelists |
| Tabletop RPG | World bible, Releases & reveals | Session | Game masters |
| Screenplay / TV | Script formats | Episode | Screenwriters |
| Stage play | Script formats | Other | Screenwriters |
| Comic / manga | Script formats | Issue | Screenwriters |
| Podcast / audio drama | Script formats | Episode | Screenwriters |
| Game / interactive | Interactive narrative | Patch | Game writers |
| Non-fiction / research | Research & sources | Book | Non-fiction and research |
| Franchise / IP bible | World bible | Book | Teams |
"The essentials" means no module at all: the editor, the binder, links and the views that are always there.
By role in a project
If someone else owns the project, your page depends on what you were given.
| You are | You can | Read |
|---|---|---|
| A workspace owner or admin | Everything in every project, plus members, sharing and settings. Owners also manage the plan. | Workspace owners |
| A workspace member | Read, comment and edit in every project of the workspace, and create projects | Teams |
| An editor on one project | Read, comment and edit in that project | Collaborators |
| A commenter on one project | Read and comment | Collaborators |
| A viewer on one project | Read | Collaborators |
| A visitor with a read-only link | Read, without an account | Collaborators |
The full matrix is on Roles and permissions.
Things to know
- Every view and module is on both plans of the hosted version. The Free plan limits room, not features: 10 projects, 50 MB of storage, 3 workspace members and 5 people on each shared project. See Plans and billing.
- Four modules carry a Beta tag in the product: Script formats, Production, Interactive narrative and Localization. A project type is tagged Beta when its tool set includes one of them.
- New to all of it? Start with Getting started, which takes you from signing up to your first scene.
Limits on the hosted version
No limit locks a feature, deletes your work or blocks export. What the limits and rate limits are on each plan, why they exist, and the exact message when you reach one.
Novelists
For novel, series, web serial and short story writers: set up a project, draft, build the world, keep canon straight across books, gather feedback and export a manuscript or an e-book.