# DraftPilot

DraftPilot is a local-first AI workspace for writing and managing LaTeX research papers with an Overleaf-like editing flow, local PDF compilation, SyncTeX source/PDF navigation, review highlights, rebuttal TODOs, annotations, linked local codebases, and AI-agent context.

Website: https://jerrinbright.com/draftpilot/
Release manifest: https://jerrinbright.com/draftpilot/releases/manifest.json
Quickstart: https://jerrinbright.com/draftpilot/guides/quickstart.html
Desktop app guide: https://jerrinbright.com/draftpilot/guides/desktop-app.html
CLI guide: https://jerrinbright.com/draftpilot/guides/cli.html
VM workflow guide: https://jerrinbright.com/draftpilot/guides/vm-workflow.html

## What DraftPilot Is

DraftPilot runs locally against real files on disk. It is designed for researchers who want paper writing, review management, rebuttal planning, and paper TODOs to stay connected to source code, figures, PDFs, experiment outputs, compile logs, and AI coding/research agents.

## Core Features

- Local LaTeX workspace management for project folders.
- Monaco-based source editing with autosave and external-change review.
- Local `latexmk` compilation with SyncTeX enabled.
- PDF.js preview with selectable text, page controls, zoom, fit, and source/PDF jumps.
- TeX and PDF highlights, comments, and checklist TODOs stored in paper metadata.
- Review and rebuttal workflows for tracking flagged passages, revision notes, and paper TODOs.
- Linked codebase metadata so AI agents can reason across manuscript and implementation.
- Per-project deadline tags for conference or submission planning.
- GitHub Pages landing site for public discovery.
- Standalone macOS arm64, Linux x64, and Windows x64 CLI binaries.
- Manifest-based `draftpilot update` with SHA-256 verification.
- macOS desktop app DMG and Linux AppImage with Electron auto-update metadata.

## Install

macOS desktop app:

```bash
curl -L -o DraftPilot-0.1.0-mac-arm64.dmg https://github.com/jerrinbright/draftpilot/releases/download/v0.1.0/DraftPilot-0.1.0-mac-arm64.dmg
open DraftPilot-0.1.0-mac-arm64.dmg
```

Linux desktop app:

```bash
curl -L -o DraftPilot-0.1.0-linux-x86_64.AppImage https://github.com/jerrinbright/draftpilot/releases/download/v0.1.0/DraftPilot-0.1.0-linux-x86_64.AppImage
chmod +x DraftPilot-0.1.0-linux-x86_64.AppImage
./DraftPilot-0.1.0-linux-x86_64.AppImage
```

Linux AppImage direct execution requires FUSE.

macOS Apple Silicon:

```bash
curl -L -o draftpilot-0.1.0-macos-arm64.tar.gz https://github.com/jerrinbright/draftpilot/releases/download/v0.1.0/draftpilot-0.1.0-macos-arm64.tar.gz
tar -xzf draftpilot-0.1.0-macos-arm64.tar.gz
chmod +x draftpilot-macos-arm64
sudo mv draftpilot-macos-arm64 /usr/local/bin/draftpilot
```

Linux x64:

```bash
curl -L -o draftpilot-0.1.0-linux-x64.tar.gz https://github.com/jerrinbright/draftpilot/releases/download/v0.1.0/draftpilot-0.1.0-linux-x64.tar.gz
tar -xzf draftpilot-0.1.0-linux-x64.tar.gz
chmod +x draftpilot-linux-x64
sudo mv draftpilot-linux-x64 /usr/local/bin/draftpilot
```

Windows x64:

```powershell
curl.exe -L -o draftpilot-0.1.0-windows-x64.zip https://github.com/jerrinbright/draftpilot/releases/download/v0.1.0/draftpilot-0.1.0-windows-x64.zip
powershell -NoProfile -Command "Expand-Archive -Force draftpilot-0.1.0-windows-x64.zip ."
.\draftpilot-windows-x64.exe help
```

## CLI Examples

Local:

```bash
draftpilot launch --paper /path/to/latex-paper --codebase /path/to/research-code
```

Remote VM:

```bash
draftpilot launch --host user@vm.example.com --paper /home/user/paper --codebase /home/user/research-code
```

Update:

```bash
draftpilot update
```

## Documentation Pages

- `/guides/quickstart.html`: decision tree for choosing desktop app, CLI, or VM mode.
- `/guides/desktop-app.html`: macOS and Linux app installation and local paper workflow.
- `/guides/cli.html`: standalone CLI installation, local launch, remote launch, JSON output, and update commands.
- `/guides/vm-workflow.html`: SSH/VM workflow for papers and codebases that live on remote Linux machines.
- `/guides/simgs-example.html`: concrete SimGS launch command and expected project wiring.
- `/guides/releases.html`: binary distribution, update manifest, desktop update metadata, and checksums.
- `/guides/troubleshooting.html`: fixes for Gatekeeper, Linux FUSE, SyncTeX, VM binaries, ports, and LaTeX failures.

## Intended Audience

ML researchers, robotics labs, systems researchers, PhD students, AI startups, and other teams writing papers while actively working with local code and experiments.

## Local-First Principle

DraftPilot is not a cloud editor. It has no accounts, no database, and no manuscript upload workflow by default. The app server binds locally and reads/writes the configured paper root.