Scrivener for Mac
Project management and word processing tool for writers.
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Scrivener overview
Scrivener is a project management and writing tool for writers of all kinds that stays with you from that first unformed idea all the way through to the first - or even final - draft. Outline and structure your ideas; take notes; storyboard your masterpiece using a powerful virtual corkboard; view research while you write; track themes using keywords; dynamically combine multiple scenes into a single text. Scrivener has already been enthusiastically adopted by best-selling novelists and novices alike.
Outline... Edit... Storyboard... Write.
What’s new in version 3.5.1
- Updated app icon to be more like the older icon but using Liquid Glass, getting rid of the border.
- Fixed bug whereby split view dividers could be drawn in the wrong place in some circumstances.
- Fixed issue with headers and footers drawing inverted in the print preview panel.
- Fixed appearance of progress bars in the toolbar search field on macOS 26.
- Fixed bug whereby Quick Reference panels weren’t seen by the find panel, linguistic focus or image tools.
- Fixed bug whereby upon reloading a project, paragraphs with no style could take on the style from the paragraph above.
- Worked around an Apple bug in macOS 26 whereby a translucent bar covers up the top of the outline in full screen mode if the outline has a header bar and is in a window with a toolbar. (Apple bug ID#FB20651946). The workaround for this also restores legibility to outline headers when e.g. a dark background is set for the outliner in dark mode.
- Fixed bug whereby closing a split containing a comment that was being edited in the inspector would cause the text of the comment to stay visible in the inspector, and yet the comment change wouldn’t be saved.
- Fixed a drawing bug where text could seem to disappear below the line being edited in page view.
- Fixed bug whereby UI validation would stop working in windows that were closed and reopened, such as the Settings panel.
- In an attempt to further alleviate an ongoing trackpad scrolling lag, UI validation is now paused entirely during live scrolling.
Scrivener for Mac
$59.99
In English
Version 3.5.1
What users say about Scrivener
Value: 5.0
Once upon a time, I wrote on note cards, which I shuffled, and sometimes taped on the wall. I don't write in a linear way, so Scrivener lets me work the way my mind works, gradually building structure out of chaos (the chaos is due to me, not Scrivener.) My one issue is that cooperative writing is not so easy. More importantly, while the compile options are all there, it is not easy for people like me (even though I have some out of date programming experience. I like to be able to output to HTML and Tex via Pandoc -- some third party tools like Scrivomatic, help a lot, but again it is not an easy thing to understand for most people. So the compile option is versatile but complex. If you want straight RTF output, then there is no issue at all. I author of the program is obviously one brilliant person, and I suggest he apply his considerable skill in making advanced compile options for the rest of us. By the way, the author, the support, and people on the forum are endlessly helpful.
Other user ratings:
Ease of use | 4.0
Features | 5.0
Reliability | 5.0
Customer support | 5.0
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(149 Reviews of Scrivener)
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User Ratings
Nov 7 2025
Version: 3.5.1
Written by a writer for writers by someone who understands the process. Scrap down ideas and arrange them as you like, editing as you go. This is brilliant software. It's like writing in three dimensions.
Apr 19 2025
Version: 3.4
I like Scrivener a great deal. Just now, I've purchased a new computer, have no idea when I last updated Scrivener and don't know how to download what I'd been using on my former Mac Air.
Do I need to start Over?
Many thanks!
Feb 2 2024
Version: 3.3.6
Scrivener is one of the very, very few writing apps that does exactly what it says it will do, and does it well. There's a host of features you will likely be discovering throughout the weeks during use, and none of them are forced upon you. If you would like, you can use it as a simple place to write, and hide a lot of the U/I, take some buttons off of the menu, etc. Or, you can use this to outline your novel and make a cordboard for it, track keywords, and so much more! The app still receives stability updates and the company has been around for awhile now.
Mar 30 2022
Version: 3.2.3
[v3.2.3 is from October 25, 2021. IOW: You probably have the update already.]
May 31 2021
Version: 3.2.2
I used to like how it works, but stopped working after updating. I just can't open any projects. Reinstalled many times to no avail. Very disappointing
