Frequently Asked Questions

Where does my data live?

Locally, on your machine. Throughline stores everything in its own local database, with no account and no cloud. On desktop, automatic backups land in the app’s own data directory, separate from any .thrl file you export by hand. See The .thrl File Format for the full picture.

Does Throughline sync between devices?

No. There’s no cloud sync and no account to sign into; Throughline runs entirely offline. If you work across more than one machine, move a project by exporting a .thrl and importing it on the other side.

Does Throughline work without an internet connection?

Yes, fully, as soon as your License Key is activated. If you keep AI features deactivated, nothing about writing, planning, or exporting a project needs a connection at any point.

How does the card system work?

Your story’s spine is a row of Beat Cards. Characters and Settings sit above it, and you drag those down onto a Beat to cast it. Deal a Structure Card onto the board and stack your own Beats on top of it. A Beat can hold your actual prose or screenplay text, or just notes if you’re writing somewhere else. See Beat Cards.

Is Throughline for screenwriters or novelists?

Both. The Cards, Arcs, and Characters work the same regardless of what you’re writing, and the Write Workspace toggles between prose and screenplay formatting on the same document, with nothing to convert or re-import.

Can I write and format a screenplay in Throughline?

Yes; see Formatting & Elements for the full rundown. You can even important standard Screenplay formats like Fountain and .fdx!

What file formats does Throughline support?

Import: Fountain, Final Draft (.fdx), PDF, Plain Text, and .thrl. Document export: Markdown, PDF, Plain Text, Word. Screenplay export: PDF and Fountain, plus .thrl project backups. See Importing and Exporting for the details on each.

Where do I find my license key?

In your Gumroad library at app.gumroad.com/library, at the top of the Throughline purchase page, and in your receipt email. See License Keys for activation and troubleshooting.

Does Throughline use AI?

Only if you turn it on. The AI Assistant is off by default, and you bring your own provider: run Ollama locally and nothing ever leaves your machine, or point Throughline at an OpenAI-compatible endpoint with your own key. See AI Assistant.

Is there a Throughline community?

Yes, there’s a Discord for owners of the software. The invite lives in the app, under Settings → About. See Community & Feedback for that and the other ways to reach the team.

Do I need to know story structure theory?

No. The most common structures and beat sheets are built in as Structure Decks, ready to drag onto the board. Build your own or import someone else’s if you outgrow the defaults.

I’m running an alpha or beta build of Throughline. Is that safe to write in?

Betas are close to release quality: they work on your normal project library, and automatic backups run as always. Alphas are rougher, so they keep their data in a separate place on disk where they can’t touch your main library. Either way, exporting a .thrl of anything important now and then is good practice.

One thing to know before switching: moving your library to a beta upgrades it in place, and an older stable version can’t read the upgraded library afterwards. If you want to move back, export a .thrl from the beta and import it into the stable app.