Storyist Active
The Mac/iOS novel-and-screenplay hybrid with documented files.
At a glance
- Maker
- Storyist Software (Steve Steiner)
- First release
- 2007
- Status
- Active — still developed and sold
- Platforms
- Mac, iOS
- Pricing
- Subscription or license (current pricing on site)
- Native format
- Storyist (.story)
What it is
Storyist is Scrivener’s Apple-ecosystem cousin: manuscripts, story sheets, corkboards — for novels and screenplays both. Unusually for the niche, it publishes developer notes on its .story file structure.
What people are saying
The good
Described as a polished Mac/iPad writing environment where screenplay formatting is handled properly inside the app, often recommended as the Scrivener alternative for the Apple ecosystem, with clean sidebar organization and solid iCloud/Dropbox sync.
The bad
The most common verdict is that it lacks Scrivener’s organizational depth (collections, keywords, richer metadata), it is Apple-only, and its community is small enough that templates and third-party resources are scarce. For pure screenwriting, some still reach for a dedicated app.
Paraphrased consensus from user reviews, forums and retrospective coverage across the web.
Where it came from
Shipping on the Mac since around 2007; Storyist 4 runs on macOS and iOS today.
Worth knowing
It documents its own file format for developers — the opposite of lock-in culture.
Getting scripts in and out
Imports: Final Draft (.fdx), Fountain (.fountain)
Exports: Final Draft (.fdx), PDF (.pdf)