Kiny — write interactive fiction in plain text

Sample story

Night at the Foggy Harbor

A complete short piece written in Kiny — read it right in your browser.

“The last steamer drops you on the foggy harbor's pier, and in a blink the night fog swallows it whole.”

Interactive short

A foggy harbor night, a secret handoff

A steampunk harbor night. Commissioned by the Aether Engineering Academy, you must deliver a blueprint to a contact known as “Grey Falcon” — but the one who shows up may not be trustworthy.

Observe and probe in conversation; every choice changes where the story goes.

Start reading → No install — runs in the browser.

Features

One plain-text file, a story that branches

Kiny keeps a story's text, choices, and state in one .kin file, with a companion editor that previews as you write.

Kiny Editor

Desktop editor · file tree on the left, editing in the middle, live preview on the right, instant syntax and semantic checks at the bottom.

Branching choices

Let readers decide with choices; different picks lead to different content and endings.

Variables and conditions

Track what the reader has been through, then show or hide content and steer what comes next.

Plain-text format

A story is a .kin text file — write it in any editor, friendly to version control.

Chinese & cross-platform

Supports Chinese punctuation and Chinese identifiers; works in the browser, on Windows, and macOS.

Syntax

A piece of .kin source

The source, side by side with how it plays for the reader.

foggy-harbor.kin

=== before_setting_out ===
* {!know_geo} [Spread out the map you carry]
  > By lamplight you unfold the oilcloth map.
  > A string of ports along the coastline…
  > ~ know_geo = true
  > -> before_setting_out
* [Pack up and push open the Rusty Anchor's door] -> sit_down

The reader sees

Linger a moment on the docks. Get your bearings in this foggy city first, or push straight into the tavern?

①[ Spread out the map you carry ]

②[ Pack up and push open the Rusty Anchor's door ]

{!know_geo} makes “look at the map” appear only when you haven't yet; ~ know_geo = true records the state, -> before_setting_out loops back so the option disappears, and -> sit_down moves to the next chapter.

=== chapter === knot * choice {!cond} condition ~ var = variable -> divert

Companion tools

Engine, reader, and editor

The same .kin story runs in the tools below.

Kiny Reader · Night at the Foggy Harbor

Kiny desktop reader reading Night at the Foggy Harbor

Desktop reader · immersive reading of Night at the Foggy Harbor, with prose and choices unfolding by scene.

ENGINE

Engine

The core that reads .kin and runs the story: parsing, static checks, runtime, and a terminal player.

WEB-READER

Web reader

A reader in the browser that can be built into a static site (this site's demo is powered by it).

READER

Desktop reader

A Tauri 2 desktop reader for offline reading.

MOBILE READER

Mobile reader Planned

Read on mobile devices and pick up an unfinished story anytime, anywhere.

EDITOR

Desktop editor

A Tauri 2 desktop editor for writing .kin with instant preview.

MOBILE EDITOR

Mobile editor Planned

Write and revise .kin stories on a phone or tablet.

Write interactive fiction
in plain text