Trelby is open source feature-rich screenplay writing software that’s simple and easy to use.
Trelby divides a screenplay into a long list of elements, each with a specific element style. The available element styles are: Scene, Action, Character, Dialogue, Parenthetical, Transition, Shot, and Note.
The software features a no-distraction fullscreen writing mode.
Key Features
- Screenplay editor: Enforces correct script format and pagination, auto-completion, and spell checking.
- Multiple views:
- Draft view – has the advantage that you see only the actual words you have written without page-break related formatting distractions. It is also the fastest mode, and allows more lines to be viewed.
- WYSIWYG mode.
- Full screen to suit your writing style.
- Overview – small.
- Overview – large.
- Name database: Character name database containing over 200,000 names from various countries.
- Reporting: Scene/location/character/dialogue reports.
- Compare: Ability to compare scripts, so you know what changed between versions.
- Import: Formatted text, Final Draft XML (.fdx), Fountain, Adobe Story, Fade In Pro, and Celtx.
- Export: PDF, formatted text, HTML, RTF, Final Draft XML (.fdx), Fountain. There’s also watermarked PDF export.
- PDF: Built-in, highly configurable PDF generator. Supports embedding your chosen font.
- Undo/redo.
- Non-breaking space support.
- Unicode filenames are supported.
- Dual mouse and keyboard selection. Trelby’s selection was written with the keyboard in mind.
- Cross-platform support – runs under Linux and Windows, behaving identically on all platforms, generating the exact same output.
Website: www.trelby.org
Support: Manual
Developer: Trelby developers
License: GNU General Public License v2.0
Trelby was previously developed by a different author under the name Blyte, starting life as commercial software but subsequently released under an open source license.
Trelby is written in Python. Learn Python with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
| Script Writing Tools | |
|---|---|
| Trelby | Simple, powerful, full-featured program for writing movie screenplays |
| Manuskript | Use the snowflake method to grow your ideas |
| Pago | Screenwriting plugin for the Vim text editor |
| Screenwriter-mode | A plug-in for Emacs |
| Screenplain | Plain text to readable screenplay |
| KIT Scenarist | Fully-featured studio for creating movie screenplays |
| LyX | The Hollywood document class equips LyX for script writing |
| Afterwriting | Post-processing tools for Fountain screenplay |
| Story Architect | Reinventing the screenwriting software |
| lottie | Fountain screenplay editor |
| obsidian-fountain | Fountain support for Obsidian |
| Barefoot | Convert Fountain screenplay files to plain text |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
 Explore our carefully curated directory of recommended free and open source software, covering every major software category.The directory forms part of our extensive collection of articles for Linux enthusiasts. It includes hundreds of detailed reviews, together with free and open source alternatives to proprietary software from companies such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. LinuxLinks also covers interesting projects worth exploring, Linux-compatible hardware, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. Know a useful free and open source Linux application that we haven’t covered? Tell us about it using our submission form. |
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I’m here looking for alternatives because Trelby hasn’t been updated in forever and does’nt seem to install on later Ubuntu versions. I’ll be happy when the developers can give us a new package that works !
Have you tried the other software featured in the Script Writing roundup. There’s a link here on this page already, but here it is again.
Trelby installs fine on Arch.