Sharpee — Parser IF, composed<br>Chord Writer(1.0.0)<br>Getting StartedOverviewDownloadYour first storyBuilding, playing, and testingPublishing<br>Chord(3.0.0)<br>Getting StartedInstallYour first storyCompose & runThe WorldOverviewThe story headerCreating thingsKinds, traits, and settingsPlacing and wearingExits and blocked exitsProse, paragraphs, and markersStatesScores live on ownersThe first-visit descriptionPer-entity phrase overridesStarting stateDoorsRegionsPeopleBehaviorOverviewon and afterWhat a clause can bindwhile, once, before, afterConditionsRequirementsRefusalsThe statementsThe when suffixTopic tablesFlow & ProgressionOverviewselect on a valueselect with a strategyOrdinal blockseach blocksScoringHungerEndingsDeathSequencesVocabulary & TextOverviewdefine conditiondefine phrasedefine phrasesdefine textdefine action hatchesdefine traitdefine actionextend actionremove from actiondefine pronounsusedefine phrasebook## commentsProject & FilesReading a .story fileMulti-file storiesToolingCookbookOverviewManipulationMovementContainers & LocksWearingSensesDevices & ToolsSocialMetaStandard LibraryOverviewChord referenceManipulationMovementContainers & OpenablesWearingSenses & ExaminationDevicesNPCs & ConversationDeathMeta & SystemTraits CatalogPlugins & DaemonsReferenceGrammar reference<br>Sharpee(5.0.0)<br>PlatformOverviewActions & TraitsOverview<br>Tutorial<br>Fernhill TutorialOverviewThe worldThingsPeopleThe long nightState & verbsEndings & textThe browserPlayPlayground<br>Chord Writer / Getting Started / Overview<br>Chord Writer<br>Chord Writer is a macOS app for writing parser-based interactive fiction in<br>Chord. You write the story, and the app composes it as you type, builds it,<br>plays it, runs its test tree, and packages it for release.

What you need

An Apple silicon Mac running macOS 11 or later — the build targets macOS 11,<br>which is what the first M1 Macs shipped with.

Chord Writer drives the Sharpee command-line toolchain rather than carrying its<br>own, so install that too. Once, and it stays current independently of the app:

Node.js 18 or newer.

The Sharpee CLI — npm install -g @sharpee/devkit.

The status bar names what you are actually running, the app's own version first<br>and the toolchain it resolved second:

Chord Writer 1.0.0 · Sharpee 5.0.0 / Chord 3.0.0

Those versions move independently. Chord Writer is versioned as an app; Sharpee<br>and Chord are versioned as a platform and a language.

The window

Four regions, each with a fixed job.

The project pane, the editor, and the right panel on Play — the story built and running beside its source.<br>The project pane , on the left, shows your story as typed groups: Story,<br>Walkthroughs, Assets, Feelies, Web Template, and Other. These are<br>lenses over the folder rather than a mirror of it, so a file's position in the<br>tree does not tell you which directory it sits in on disk. Anything that<br>matches no group lands in Other, so nothing is ever hidden from you.

The editor , in the middle, is a tabbed text editor. Opening a file from the<br>project pane opens a tab.

The right panel carries seven tabs:

TabWhat it showsBuildOutput from the build, as it runsPlayThe running gameTestingYour test tree — recorded as you play — and its resultsIndexEverything your story defines, read out of the composed storyDiagnosisA longer explanation of an error you hitDocumentationThis documentation, bundled into the appPublishPackaging a release

The bottom dock carries two: Problems, which lists compile diagnostics for<br>the story you are editing, and Game Errors, which collects runtime errors from<br>the game while you play it.

The Documentation tab is these pages, built into the app:

The same author documentation as this site, bundled at build time — so it is never older than the app, and never needs a connection.<br>Why build output is not in the dock<br>Build output sits beside Play rather than in the bottom dock because you read<br>it in the same breath as you play. The dock is for problems you have not<br>addressed yet.

Next

Your first story walks from an empty screen to a game<br>you can play.