SILK CLI - Smart Integrated Literary Kit

Modern CLI workflow for authors with LLM integration.

What is SILK?

SILK weaves together all aspects of modern novel writing:

• Smart templates adapted by genre and market
• Integrated workflow from concept to publication
• Literary focus on sophisticated fiction
• Kit complete toolbox for authors

Just like a spider weaves its web, SILK helps you weave together characters, plot, and narrative into compelling fiction.

Installation

pip install silk-cli

Requirements:

• Python 3.11+
• Pandoc (for publishing)
• XeLaTeX (for PDF generation)

Quick Start

# Create new project
silk init "My Novel" --genre polar-psychologique

# Track progress
silk wordcount 80000

# Generate LLM context
silk context -p coherence --chapters 1-10

# Publish professional PDF
silk publish -f digital

Commands

silk init

Create a new SILK project with genre-specific templates.

silk init "My Novel"                           # Interactive mode
silk init "My Novel" --genre polar --yes       # Non-interactive

silk wordcount

Track writing progress with intelligent statistics.

silk wordcount                    # Default target from config
silk wordcount 100000             # Custom target
silk wordcount --summary          # Quick overview
silk wordcount --json             # Export data

Features:

• Automatic chapter grouping (Ch23 + Ch23-1 = Ch23)
• Editorial threshold positioning (40k-120k words)
• Regularity analysis with recommendations
• Priority chapters identification

silk context

Generate unified context for LLM assistance.

silk context "Analyze character development" --chapters 1-5
silk context -p coherence --chapters 10-15    # Predefined prompt
silk context -p revision --mode full          # Full context mode

Modes:

• nocontext: Prompt + manuscript only
• normal: + main characters + concepts
• full: + all characters + locations + timeline + worldbuilding

silk publish

Generate professional publications in multiple formats.

silk publish -f digital           # PDF for digital reading
silk publish -f print             # PDF for print
silk publish -f epub              # EPUB format
silk publish -f html              # HTML format
silk publish --dry-run            # Preview without generating

silk config

Manage project configuration.

silk config --list                # Show all settings
silk config get title             # Get specific value
silk config set author_name "Me"  # Set value

silk cache

Manage the chapter cache system.

silk cache                        # Show cache stats
silk cache --stats                # Detailed statistics
silk cache --cleanup              # Clean invalid entries

Project Structure

SILK projects follow this structure:

my-novel/
├── .silk/
│   └── config                    # Project configuration
├── 01-Manuscrit/
│   ├── Ch01.md                   # Chapter files
│   ├── Ch01-1.md                 # Multi-part chapters
│   └── ...
├── 02-Personnages/               # Character files
├── 03-Lieux/                     # Location files
├── 04-Concepts/                  # Concept files
├── 05-Timeline/                  # Timeline
└── outputs/                      # Generated files

SILK Manuscript Format

Chapters use a special separator to distinguish metadata from content:

# Ch.15 : Title

## SILK Objectives
- Metadata for planning...

## manuscrit
[Pure content - this is what gets published and analyzed]

Supported Genres

• polar-psychologique: French psychological thriller
• fantasy: Fantasy with worldbuilding support
• romance: Romance with relationship arcs
• literary: Literary fiction
• thriller: Action thriller

Development

Setup

git clone https://github.com/oinant/silk-cli
cd silk-cli
poetry install

Testing

poetry run pytest                           # Run tests
poetry run pytest --cov=silk_cli            # With coverage
poetry run pytest silk_cli/tests/unit/      # Unit tests only
poetry run pytest silk_cli/tests/e2e/       # E2E tests only

Type Checking

poetry run mypy silk_cli/

Linting

poetry run ruff check silk_cli/

License

MIT

Author

Antoine Sauvinet

SILK weaves your story together.