Show HN: I built an iOS app for writers who still use pen and paper

1 point

6 months ago

I'm a software architect working on AI tooling and MCP. Last August I started writing again—by hand, every morning at 7am—after a 30-year detour from literature into engineering.

The workflow to transform handwritten pages into something shareable was painful: photograph, transcribe, edit, pair with an image, format. Each step a context switch.

So I built Vibrant Frog Collab to do it my way.

Core philosophy: AI enhances, doesn't replace. The app has guardrails baked in that can't be overridden—it won't generate content from scratch, only help develop what you've already written.

Features: - Handwriting scan → instant transcription - AI collaborative editing with memory across conversations - Quote image creation (text on photos) - BYOK: Claude, GPT-4 with your own API keys or Gemini with Google OAuth - $9.99 one-time, no subscription, free version available

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/vibrant-frog-collab/id67562480...

Happy to answer questions about the technical side, the philosophy, or the writing practice.