Blackbox EditorCreator workspace / 0.1

See the story.
Shape every path.

A local-first desktop studio for building Blackbox narrative games, from the first line of dialogue to the last reachable ending.

Built for creators

Work visually without losing the precision of the project's JSON source. The editor watches real files, preserves revision safety, and runs the same Rust toolchain used to ship the game.

CHAPTER / STORY GRAPHPROJECT READY

Blackbox Editor visual chapter graph with branching narrative nodes

Narrative authoring

Every story system, in reach.

The graph is the spatial overview. A focused inspector holds the details, with typed pickers and backlinks keeping references connected across the project.

Shape the whole scenario

Set project identity, revision, deterministic random seed, default stats, relationship overrides, chapter order, and every linked sidecar from one manifest view.

ManifestChaptersStatsSidecars

Write expressive scenes

Compose paragraphs, dialogue, thoughts, and stage directions with speakers, emotion, screen position, actor presence, conditional alternatives, and live-value interpolation.

DialogueInterpolationActorsConditional text

Build real branching logic

Wire direct routes, cross-chapter transitions, menu actions, restart flows, and skill checks with normal, advantage, or disadvantage rolls and separate success, failure, and exhausted outcomes.

ChoicesSkill checksOutcomesTransitions

Make state visible

Gate content by inventory, flags, stats, visited nodes, current location, relationships, or actor presence. Combine rules with all, any, and not, then explain disabled choices to players.

GatesFlagsRelationshipsNamed conditions

Author consequences

Attach effects to nodes, choices, and item actions: change stats, set values, add events, modify inventory and relationships, control actor presence, roll dice, and cue music or SFX.

EffectsInventoryAudioExpressions

Reuse without repetition

Create parameterized text snippets, inheritable node templates, and named conditions. Choose whether local text, effects, and choices replace, prepend, or append inherited content.

SnippetsTemplatesInheritanceUsage tracking

Project workspace

Your world, organized around the work.

Move between the project dashboard, manifest, graph, catalogs, media, reusable library, tools, and preview from a compact activity rail. Collapsible panels keep the source tree and inspector nearby without crowding the canvas.

Cast & relationships

Manage portraits, voice references, display color, subtitles, and any number of relationship metrics for every character.

Items with behavior

Create illustrated inventory entries, examine text, and gated item actions that can consume items, run effects, or move the story.

Media, cataloged

Import and preview textures, music, and SFX; organize folders, inspect file metadata, restore trash, and map stable logical IDs to source files.

Story catalog

Document player-facing or internal events and flags, rename them safely, and jump directly to every place each entry is used.

Blackbox Editor item catalog with inventory artwork and inspector

Blackbox Editor live preview showing Silent Archive with responsive viewport controls and runtime state inspector — Desktop, tablet, and mobile viewports with console, save-state controls, and live runtime inspection.

Fast feedback

Play from source. Save. See it change.

Live Preview runs the browser player directly against raw project JSON and media. There is no bundle step between an edit and a playthrough; saving triggers a hot reload, and the same preview can open in a separate browser window.

Local project folders with recent-project resume
Revision-aware saving and on-disk conflict protection
Automatic file watching and project refresh
Light, dark, or device-matched editor themes

LIVE PREVIEWRaw files → browser playerNo production bundle required

Engine tools

Answers, not just output.

Each native tool has a purpose-built editor surface. Results become navigable project information instead of a terminal log you have to decode.

blackbox-lint

Find structural trouble early

Run all rules or focus by category. The editor parses issues, links them back to the graph or library, and tracks whether results became stale after edits.

blackbox-bundler inspect

Build the production artifact

Cook the project for web, inspect bundle.box, review codecs, sizes, chapter dependencies, shared content, and unresolved references before release.

blackbox-simulator

Prove the story can finish

Search for endings and game overs or sweep reachable state. Tune budgets and threads, enforce strict exits, and inspect coverage, blocked goals, hot paths, story spines, and split candidates.

Blackbox Editor simulator showing narrative analytics and path coverage

Simulation feeds authoring

Turn playthrough data into a map you can read.

Store a simulator run and the chapter graph gains four analytics lenses: path reach, visit frequency, story structure, and ending signatures. Spot mandatory spines, recurring loops, cold nodes, and promising branch points in context.

Path reachVisit frequencyStory structureEnding signature

Agent interface

Let AI agents work inside the editor.

Blackbox Editor exposes a local Model Context Protocol server, giving compatible agents a structured, revision-safe way to understand and operate on narrative projects.

Instead of driving the interface or editing files blindly, agents use the same project service, validation rules, and native tools as the editor itself.

Read the narrative model

Inspect projects, chapters, nodes, catalogs, and the authoring schema as structured context — no unrestricted filesystem access.

Author with revision safety

Patch nodes, catalog records, and chapters through atomic, revision-checked mutations. Unsaved editor changes block agent writes before work can collide.

Validate through the engine

Run lint, simulation, and bundle diagnostics, search story content, and investigate unreachable paths through focused MCP operations.

Local by design

Disabled by default. The server binds only to localhost, requires a rotating bearer token, and keeps a persistent metadata-only audit trail beside the editor log.

Read CLI & MCP reference →

BLACKBOX / AGENT BRIDGELOCAL ENDPOINT READY

01AI agentCodex · Claude · MCP client

02MCP transport127.0.0.1 · bearer auth

03Editor servicesProjects · lint · simulate

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "blackbox-editor": {
      "type": "streamable-http",
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:••••/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer ••••••••" }
    }
  }
}

MCP AUDITEvery operation leaves a receipt.

14:32describe_schema7ms
14:29patch_documents · chapter_01 · 3 ops18ms
14:26lint_project · revision 4215ms

One continuous workflow

Write. Connect. Test. Ship.

Blackbox Editor keeps creative intent, source data, runtime behavior, and release validation in the same room.

See the story.Shape every path.