Import & Export

Importing existing manuscripts and exporting to Markdown, DOCX, and EPUB.

Importing

Composez can import existing manuscripts from two sources:

Import a Novelcrafter Markdown export (zip file or extracted directory):

> /import novelcrafter ~/Downloads/my-novel-export.zip

Or from an extracted directory:

> /import novelcrafter ~/Downloads/my-novel-export/

This imports:

The import:

Destructive operation

The Novelcrafter import replaces your existing narrative structure and database. Commit or stash any uncommitted changes first.

Import a plain Markdown file using heading levels to determine structure:

> /import markdown ~/Documents/draft.md

Heading mapping:

Content under each ### heading becomes the scene’s PROSE.md. The heading text becomes the directory title.

Database not imported

Markdown import only creates the narrative structure. You’ll need to create database entries (characters, locations, etc.) manually afterward.

Export your entire manuscript as a single Markdown file:

> /export markdown
> /export markdown my-novel.md

The output includes:

Export as a styled Word document:

> /export docx
> /export docx my-novel.docx

Requires the python-docx package:

pip install python-docx

The DOCX export includes:

Export as an EPUB ebook:

> /export epub
> /export epub my-novel.epub

Requires the ebooklib package:

pip install ebooklib

The EPUB includes:

If you don’t specify a filename, defaults are used:

Files are created in the project root directory.

Export metadata (title, author) comes from db/core/metadata.yml:

title: The Lighthouse
author: Elena Vasquez

If the file doesn’t exist, defaults to “Untitled” and “Unknown”.