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    Show HN: I'm building an app to replace Overleaf and Notion

    82 points WolfOliver | 12 comments | 19 Jun 25 10:33 UTC | HN request time: 1.1s | source | bottom

    Hi HN,

    Since 2019, I’ve been working on a writing platform designed for creating complex documents (e.g., theses). I personally use it for everything as it also allows to classify documents in categories so you can organize them efficiently. As of a few months ago, the app is also available in the browser, and you can now invite coworkers to collaborate on a document in real time.

    The app is somewhat inspired by LyX. It offers an intuitive, modern editor, but users don’t need to know any LaTeX. When it’s time to export, they can choose from a range of templates (IEEE paper, thesis, etc.).

    A few highlights:

    - It uses a custom-built block editor that performs well with large documents. Each block is its own contenteditable element (instead of having one massive contenteditable for the whole document)

    - If you prefer plain text - you can insert a Markdown block and write using Markdown instead

    - Built-in citation management

    - Support for cross-references and footnotes

    - Mermaid diagrams, inline LaTeX equations, and display math are all supported

    - "To-do" sections help you stay organized while writing

    You can try it out here: https://www.monsterwriter.com/

    1. jkhdigital ◴[22 Jun 25 11:31 UTC] No.44346012[source]▶
    I started a PhD in 2020 and I know exactly why you created this app because I tried like half a dozen different tools that didn’t fit. I needed a workflow to

    1. collect and prioritize relevant research papers

    2. make notes and synthesize ideas across my reading

    3. use the notes to assemble draft of original writing

    4. seamlessly move my own writings into LaTeX documents along with citation details

    and ended up in Obsidian where I basically had to build my own tool anyway. Which I never did, because I just wanted to focus on research without fooling around with tools.

    replies(8): >>44346180 #>>44346447 #>>44346559 #>>44346639 #>>44346777 #>>44346937 #>>44348089 #>>44348247 #
    2. finiteparadox ◴[22 Jun 25 12:04 UTC] No.44346180[source]▶
    This sort of flow works well for me with obsidian+paperpile+latex
    replies(1): >>44346747 #
    3. user_7832 ◴[22 Jun 25 12:43 UTC] No.44346447[source]▶
    Just thinking out loud as someone who's been in a similar situation...

    There are a ton of tools that claim to be one stop shops, but of course, almost none have all the features you would want.

    Hence it makes sense to separate the different parts (to use tools that are excellent/powerful at any one task), and use some intermediary in the middle. Of course this isn't as efficient and frictionless as possible, but it allows compatibility.

    I suppose in today's "everything is a file" computing paradigm, files (or folders) with data are probably the closest? It is far from perfect, but it's possible to integrate with a bit of legwork with scripts and the like.

    That way you can import from your browser/extension of choice, save it in a form (.md? .odt/docx?) of choice, and export it as you please (ppts or pdfs? webpages?).

    4. hoosieree ◴[22 Jun 25 12:56 UTC] No.44346559[source]▶
    I ended up with Emacs and org-mode. One of my friends used Vim and Pandoc to the same effect. I didn't quite have to write my own tool but each new LaTeX template foisted on me was hours of work that could have been spent doing research. My impression after seeing my peers work with Mendeley, Notion, Overleaf, etc. was they looked prettier at first glance but didn't solve my problem.

    Over time I developed the opinion that LaTeX is an unnecessary tax on scientific progress. It's insanity to keep using it when HTML exists.

    replies(2): >>44347232 #>>44352829 #
    5. ◴[22 Jun 25 13:06 UTC] No.44346639[source]▶
    6. exceptione ◴[22 Jun 25 13:20 UTC] No.44346747[source]▶
    Any reason why paperpile instead of Zotero? It seems obsidian has great interop with Zotero.
    7. prox ◴[22 Jun 25 13:24 UTC] No.44346777[source]▶
    I am using Scrivener right now, since it’s superlocal and interfaces well enough with other apps.
    8. al_borland ◴[22 Jun 25 13:47 UTC] No.44346937[source]▶
    While I haven’t had a need to use it, this sounds like what Ulysses[0] was built for. I saw a writer talking about it years ago, and how they liked it because it allowed them to organize and keep their research right alongside their document in the same app.

    [0] https://ulysses.app

    9. k2enemy ◴[22 Jun 25 14:31 UTC] No.44347232[source]▶
    Just curious what field you are in? I've noticed that in latex and "latex alternative" discussions the problem of journal templates/styles often comes up. However, every journal I've submitted to (dozens of different ones (with lots of rejects!)) just require vanilla latex and the editorial office does the work of getting it into their format. Clearly this isn't the case for everyone though!
    10. yauneyz ◴[22 Jun 25 16:15 UTC] No.44348089[source]▶
    Check out thinky.dev - it is primarily focused on 2 right now, but I think it is really good at it.

    It was also built because of academia, my masters thesis

    11. kriro ◴[22 Jun 25 16:35 UTC] No.44348247[source]▶
    My/our setup for papers is: Latex installation on laptop, (home, work, conferences) + private Github repo + Zotero (with notes and highlighting directly in the PDFs) + notes.md for thoughts/ideas etc.

    Team members all have local Latex installs as they have CS/math backgrounds.

    Works well, easy to onboard new colleagues. Probably harder if there were people with other backgrounds (MBA), however an industrial designer on the team also uses GitHub for basic pull/commit.

    For my fiction writing, I also use local Latex install+GitHub.

    12. imtringued ◴[23 Jun 25 06:01 UTC] No.44352829[source]▶
    I completely disagree and think that the missing focus on LaTeX in Monsterwriter turns it into a very different class of product than Overleaf and Setzer.