Charc is open. As of now, anyone can sign up, open a blank page, and start writing.
This post is a quick honest look at where Charc is right now, and where it's going next.
What "public alpha" means
Charc is real, working, and yours to use. The editor runs, sync works, themes are in place, your drafts are yours to export at any time. You can write a novel in it today.
It's also early. Features are arriving weekly, some edges are rough, and a few decisions about how Charc works are still being made in public, with the people using it. That's the point of an alpha — it's not a soft launch, it's an open workshop.
What that means for you, practically: export your work often. Charc makes it one click, and we strongly recommend it. Alpha means alpha — instability is possible, and the safest backup is one that lives on your own machine, in your own hands.
The roadmap
Here's what we're working on between now and the official beta. Not a marketing list — a real one, in roughly the order we're tackling it.
Editor and stability. The text editor is the heart of the app, so it gets the most attention. Proper undo, full keyboard shortcuts, a page view that translates cleanly to PDF, the small comforts writers expect from Google Docs and Word. This is the work happening right now, and most of what changes week to week is either part of it or in service of it. The editor itself will always be free — that's the heart of the promise.
Mobile that actually works. Charc on a phone won't replace the desktop experience — writers do most of their real work at a desk — but you should be able to open Charc on the train, fix a paragraph, add a line, and not fight the interface. A responsive web build is in progress; native mobile apps are further out.
Charts, tables, and structural features. Charc isn't just for novelists. Essayists and students need their work to hold structure as well as voice, so we're expanding the charts tab, the tables, and the formatting tools that serious non-fiction needs. The Charts tab may or may not end up behind Plus when the structure settles — we're still working it out.
EPUB and print-ready export. Right now Charc exports clean DOCX, PDF, and JSON. EPUB is on the way, along with print-ready PDF and manuscript presets for the standard submission formats (SMF, Chicago, others). The goal: when your draft is done, you can hand it to a publisher, an agent, or KDP without an intermediate step. EPUB and manuscript presets will be part of the paid tiers — they're publishing tools, not writing tools, and that's the line we're drawing.
Full layout design. Beyond the writing itself, the work of making a finished book — front matter templates (title pages, copyright, dedications, tables of contents) and a growing element library (drop caps, scene breaks, pull quotes, chapter ornaments, custom headers and footers) — is coming to Charc. Some of these will likely sit in Plus or Pro when the structure settles, since they're closer to publishing tools than writing tools, but the core layout system itself will be available to everyone.
Beyond beta. A desktop app that works offline with sync, with extended layout features for serious publishing. Mobile apps after that. Both are real plans, not someday-maybes — but they're not the next thing. The next thing is making the web app excellent.
Pricing
When the official beta arrives, two paid tiers will launch alongside it: Plus at $5/month and Pro at $20/month. The full breakdown will be published closer to launch. The short version: the writing tools stay free, forever. The paid tiers are for publishing — the tools you reach for when the draft is done and you're getting it out the door.
Charc is being built in the open, with the people writing in it. The promise behind all of it — a serious writing tool that stays free, forever — is already in place. The rest, we're still building.