Free Open-Source Publishing Tools
Curated collection of the best free tools for self-published authors — from manuscript formatting and ebook creation to grammar checking and PDF manipulation. Every tool is open source and free to use.
Book Formatting & Typesetting
Professional layout engines and typesetting tools for print-ready books
Typst
Modern markup-based typesetting system and powerful alternative to LaTeX. Write manuscripts in intuitive syntax and compile to professional-quality PDFs with complex layouts, figures, and bibliographies.
View on GitHub →Vivliostyle
HTML+CSS typesetting engine for paged media. Create beautifully formatted books using web standards, supporting both print-ready PDF and digital EPUB output with rich typography controls.
View on GitHub →Scribus
Professional desktop publishing application. Design book interiors, covers, and layouts with precise control over typography, CMYK colour, and print-ready PDF export. A free alternative to InDesign.
View on GitHub →Kaobook
Beautiful LaTeX class for books, reports, and theses. Features wide margins for sidenotes, customisable chapter headings, and flexible citation styles built on the robust KOMA-Script framework.
View on GitHub →Tufte-LaTeX
LaTeX classes inspired by Edward Tufte’s design principles. Create elegant handouts, papers, and books with sidenotes, marginal figures, and clean typography that prioritises readability.
View on GitHub →Ebook Creation & Conversion
Create, convert, and manage EPUB, MOBI, and Kindle-ready ebooks
Calibre
The definitive ebook management suite. Convert between all major formats (EPUB, MOBI, PDF, AZW3), edit metadata, manage libraries, and prepare books for any publishing platform or device.
View on GitHub →Sigil
Multi-platform EPUB editor for ePub 2 and ePub 3. Create, edit, and validate EPUB files with both WYSIWYG and code views for full control over ebook formatting and structure.
View on GitHub →Kindle Comic Converter
Optimise comics, manga, and image-heavy books for e-readers. Convert PNG, JPG, CBZ, CBR, and PDF files into EPUB and MOBI formats tuned for Kindle, Kobo, and other devices.
View on GitHub →EbookMaker
Project Gutenberg’s official format conversion tool. Build HTML5, EPUB2, EPUB3, and Kindle files (including KF8) from HTML source — battle-tested on thousands of published books.
View on GitHub →Crowbook
Write books in Markdown and generate HTML, PDF, and EPUB. Designed with fiction and novels in mind, Crowbook handles typography and formatting so authors can focus entirely on their content.
View on GitHub →Markdown to Book Pipelines
Convert Markdown manuscripts into polished books in any format
Pandoc
Universal document converter — the Swiss Army knife of publishing. Write in Markdown and convert to EPUB, PDF, LaTeX, DOCX, HTML, and dozens more formats with a single command.
View on GitHub →mdBook
Create modern online books from Markdown files. Fast, simple, and produces clean, searchable HTML books — perfect for documentation, technical writing, and web-first publications.
View on GitHub →Pandoc Book Template
Ready-to-use Pandoc template for building books. Compile Markdown chapters into professional PDF, EPUB, and HTML output with minimal configuration — just write and build.
View on GitHub →Bookdown
Author books and technical documents with R Markdown. Generate printer-ready books in PDF, LaTeX, HTML, EPUB, and Word from a single source with cross-references and citations.
View on GitHub →Writing & Editing
Manuscript editors, novel-writing tools, and publishing platforms
novelWriter
Plain text editor designed for writing novels. Uses Markdown-inspired syntax with metadata, cross-referencing, and project organisation for managing large manuscripts across chapters and scenes.
View on GitHub →Manuskript
Comprehensive writing tool with outlining, character management, plot development, world-building, and distraction-free mode. Manage entire novel projects from concept to finished manuscript.
View on GitHub →FocusWriter
Distraction-free fullscreen word processor. Hide-away interface lets you immerse in writing with daily goals, timers, customisable themes, and session statistics to track your progress.
View on GitHub →Pressbooks
Open-source book publishing platform built on WordPress. Create and publish books in PDF, EPUB, and web formats with collaborative editing, professional themes, and multi-format export.
View on GitHub →Grammar & Style Checking
Automated proofreading, style linting, and prose improvement tools
LanguageTool
Grammar, style, and spell checker for 25+ languages. Catches errors beyond simple spell-checking with advanced rules. Can run as a local server for complete privacy over your manuscripts.
View on GitHub →Vale
Markup-aware prose linter that brings code-like quality checks to writing. Enforce consistent style with customisable rules across Markdown, AsciiDoc, and more. Fast, extensible, and cross-platform.
View on GitHub →write-good
Lightweight English prose linter. Checks for passive voice, weasel words, lexical illusions, and other common writing issues. Quick command-line feedback to improve manuscript quality.
View on GitHub →Proselint
Prose linter based on advice from renowned authors and editors. Detects jargon, clichés, redundancy, and style issues — like having a writing coach review your manuscript automatically.
View on GitHub →PDF & Print Tools
Manipulate, arrange, and prepare PDFs for printing and bookbinding
Stirling PDF
The #1 PDF app on GitHub. Split, merge, convert, rotate, compress, sign, and manipulate PDFs through a self-hosted web interface. No data leaves your machine — perfect for sensitive manuscripts.
View on GitHub →PDF Arranger
Visual PDF page manager with drag-and-drop. Merge, split, rotate, crop, and rearrange pages intuitively. Perfect for assembling book interiors, inserting front matter, and preparing print proofs.
View on GitHub →Bookbinder.js
Web-based PDF imposition tool for bookbinding. Arrange pages into signatures for printing and folding physical books — essential for anyone producing hand-bound or short-run print editions.
View on GitHub →Calibre Plugins & Metadata
Extend Calibre with plugins for merging, splitting, and managing ebooks
FanFicFare
Download and convert web-published stories into ebook formats. Works as a Calibre plugin or standalone tool, supporting dozens of fiction sites with automatic metadata extraction and formatting.
View on GitHub →EpubMerge
Calibre plugin to merge multiple EPUBs into one. Combine chapters, novellas, or an entire series into a single ebook with a merged table of contents and unified metadata.
View on GitHub →EpubSplit
Calibre plugin to split EPUBs into separate parts. Extract specific chapters or sections from large ebooks to create standalone volumes — ideal for serialised publishing or sample chapters.
View on GitHub →Know a tool we should include?
This directory is community-curated. If you know of an excellent open-source publishing tool that belongs here, let us know and we’ll review it for inclusion.
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