DraftPilot

Quickstart

Pick the right DraftPilot path.

DraftPilot can run as a desktop app, a local CLI, or a VM-backed CLI tunnel. Start with the path that matches where your paper and code live.

Fast CLI install

macOS and Linux

curl -fsSL https://jerrinbright.com/draftpilot/install.sh | bash

Windows

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "irm https://jerrinbright.com/draftpilot/install.ps1 | iex"

Paper and code are local

Use the macOS desktop app if you want the simplest folder picker workflow.

Use Desktop App

Paper or code is on a VM

Use the CLI with SSH. It starts DraftPilot beside the remote files and opens a local tunnel.

Use VM Workflow

You are an AI agent

Use CLI JSON output. It is predictable, parseable, and works well from Codex context.

Use CLI

Recommended setup

  1. Local Mac users: install the CLI, choose the paper folder, choose the main TeX file, attach codebase folders, and launch.
  2. VM users: install the CLI locally and on the VM, then launch with --host, --paper, --main-tex, and --codebase.
  3. Headless servers: use the CLI. The desktop app is for machines with a graphical desktop.

Private GitHub paper workflow

For multi-device work, keep the paper folder in a private GitHub repo. Clone it wherever you want to write, launch DraftPilot beside that clone, then use normal Git commands to move changes between your laptop, VM, and collaborators.

git clone git@github.com:you/paper.git
cd paper
draftpilot launch --paper . --main-tex main.tex --codebase ../research-code --open

DraftPilot does not need your paper to be public. GitHub stores the project history; DraftPilot opens the local clone and writes to real files on that machine.

Core concepts

Paper folderA local or remote directory containing your paper files. Choose the main TeX file during setup; main.tex is only the default.
Codebase folderOne or more repositories linked as research context.
Local-firstDraftPilot reads and writes real files. There is no cloud manuscript upload.
GitHub storageUse GitHub or another Git remote to sync the paper repo across machines. DraftPilot runs wherever the repo has been cloned.
UpdatesThe CLI uses draftpilot update. Packaged desktop apps check the app update feed.