typogenie/README.md

"From each according to their Markdown, to each according to their Word documents."

✨ Features • 🎨 Demo • 🚀 Quick Start • 📚 Docs • 🤝 Contribute

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📖 Manifesto

TypoGenie is a free, open-source typesetting engine that democratizes beautiful document creation. No corporate subscriptions. No proprietary lock-in. No gatekeeping. Just you, your words, and 40+ professionally crafted styles ready to transform your Markdown into stunning Microsoft Word documents.

In a world where document formatting tools are increasingly locked behind paywalls and cloud dependencies, TypoGenie stands as a testament to collective utility — software built for the community, by the community, existing solely to serve the common good of anyone who needs to make their words look beautiful.

🌟 Free Forever	🔒 Privacy First	🎨 40+ Styles	🤝 Open Source
No fees, no trials, no catches	All processing happens locally on your machine	From minimalist to ornate, academic to artistic	MIT licensed — use it, fork it, improve it together

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✨ Features

🎯 Core Capabilities

• 📄 Universal Markdown Support — Drop in any .md, .txt, or .markdown file
• 🎨 40+ Typography Styles — Curated across 8 aesthetic categories
• 📐 Multiple Paper Sizes — A4 and Letter formats supported
• 💾 Local Processing — Your documents never leave your machine
• 🖥️ Native Desktop Apps — Built with Tauri for Windows, macOS, and Linux
• 📥 One-Click Export — Clean .docx files ready for Microsoft Word

🏛️ Style Categories

Each style is a labor of love, crafted with attention to typographic detail:

Category	Description	Example Styles
🤍 Minimalist	Clean, breathing room, Swiss precision	Swiss Grid, Brutalist, Monospace
🏢 Corporate	Professional, authoritative, trustworthy	Executive, Financial, Legal
📰 Editorial	Magazine-quality, high-contrast, readable	Glossy, Newsprint, Feature
💻 Tech	Startup aesthetic, modern, sleek	SaaS, Y Combinator, Terminal
🎭 Creative	Expressive, artistic, bold	Poster, Zine, Experimental
📜 Vintage	Timeless elegance, historical charm	Victorian, Art Deco, Baroque
🌿 Lifestyle	Warm, inviting, personal	Cookbook, Travel, Botanical
⚙️ Industrial	Technical, mechanical, utilitarian	Blueprint, Shipping, Workshop

🔤 Typography Features

Every style includes meticulously configured:

• ✅ Google Fonts Integration — Beautiful web fonts that translate to Word
• ✅ Hierarchical Headings — H1-H6 with distinct visual weight
• ✅ Body Text Optimization — Optimal line height, spacing, and readability
• ✅ List Formatting — Bulleted and numbered lists that work
• ✅ Blockquote Styling — Pull quotes with accent colors
• ✅ Table Support — Data tables with proper borders and alignment
• ✅ Bold & Italic — Emphasis that carries through to the final document

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🎨 Demo

The Transformation

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐      ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  YOUR INPUT                         │      │  TYPOGENIE OUTPUT                   │
│  ───────────                        │  ⚡  │  ────────────────                   │
│                                     │  →   │                                     │
│  # My Document                      │      │  ┌─────────────────────────────┐    │
│                                     │      │  │      My Document            │    │
│  Some **bold** text here.           │      │  │        (Beautifully         │    │
│                                     │      │  │         Formatted)          │    │
│  - Point one                        │      │  └─────────────────────────────┘    │
│  - Point two                        │      │                                     │
│                                     │      │  Some bold text here.               │
│  > A wise quote                     │      │                                     │
│                                     │      │  • Point one                        │
│                                     │      │  • Point two                        │
│                                     │      │                                     │
│                                     │      │  ┌─────────────────────────────┐    │
│                                     │      │  │  "A wise quote"             │    │
│                                     │      │  └─────────────────────────────┘    │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘      └─────────────────────────────────────┘

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🚀 Quick Start

Option 1: Download Desktop App (Recommended)

Pre-built binaries coming soon for:

• 🪟 Windows (.msi, .exe)
• 🍎 macOS (.dmg, .app)
• 🐧 Linux (.deb, .rpm, .AppImage)

Option 2: Build from Source

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ (we recommend the latest LTS)
• Rust (for Tauri desktop builds)
• Your favorite text editor

Web Development

# 1. Clone the collective's work
git clone https://git.lashman.live/lashman/typogenie.git

# 2. Enter the commons
cd typogenie

# 3. Gather dependencies (mutual aid from npm)
npm install

# 4. Start the local development server
npm run dev

Your browser will open to http://localhost:3000 — and you're ready to create!

Desktop App Development

# Run in desktop development mode
npm run desktop

# Build desktop app for production
npm run desktop:build

The built apps will be in src-tauri/target/release/bundle/

Usage

1. 📤 Upload — Drag and drop your Markdown file (or click to browse)
2. 🎨 Select Style — Browse the gallery and click any style for live preview
3. 📐 Choose Paper Size — A4 or Letter, depending on your needs
4. ✨ Generate — Watch the magic happen (with a satisfying loading animation)
5. 📥 Download — Grab your .docx file, ready for Word

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📚 Documentation

Architecture Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                              TYPOGENIE ARCHITECTURE                          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                              │
│  ┌──────────────┐    ┌──────────────┐    ┌──────────────┐                   │
│  │   UPLOAD     │───→│   CONFIG     │───→│   PREVIEW    │                   │
│  │   (File)     │    │   (Style)    │    │   (Export)   │                   │
│  └──────────────┘    └──────────────┘    └──────────────┘                   │
│         │                   │                   │                           │
│         ▼                   ▼                   ▼                           │
│  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐            │
│  │                    STATE MACHINE                            │            │
│  │  • UPLOAD → CONFIG → GENERATING → PREVIEW → (reset)        │            │
│  └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘            │
│         │                   │                   │                           │
│         ▼                   ▼                   ▼                           │
│  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐            │
│  │                    PROCESSING PIPELINE                      │            │
│  │  Markdown → marked parser → HTML → docx library → .docx    │            │
│  └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘            │
│                                                                              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Style System Deep Dive

Each style in TypoGenie is defined by a comprehensive configuration object:

interface StyleOption {
  id: string;                    // Unique identifier
  name: string;                  // Display name
  category: string;              // Grouping category
  description: string;           // What this style evokes
  vibe: string;                  // Emotional keywords
  googleFontsImport: string;     // Font resources
  
  wordConfig: {
    heading1: DocxStyleConfig;   // H1 formatting rules
    heading2: DocxStyleConfig;   // H2 formatting rules
    body: DocxStyleConfig;       // Body text rules
    accentColor: string;         // Theme accent color
  };
  
  previewCss: string;            // Web preview styling
}

The Dual Rendering Challenge:

TypoGenie maintains two parallel rendering paths for every style:

1. Web Preview — CSS-based preview in the browser
2. DOCX Export — Programmatic document generation via the docx library

This ensures WYSIWYG fidelity: what you see in the preview is what you get in Word.

Adding Custom Styles

Want to contribute a new style to the collective? Here's how:

1. Choose a Category — Find the appropriate file in /styles/
2. Define Your Style — Create a complete StyleOption object:

{
  id: 'my-custom-style',
  name: 'My Style',
  category: 'Creative',
  description: 'A brief description of the aesthetic',
  vibe: 'Keywords that capture the feeling',
  googleFontsImport: 'https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=YourFont&display=swap',
  wordConfig: {
    heading1: {
      font: 'Your Font',
      size: 24,
      color: '1a1a1a',
      bold: true,
      // ... more properties
    },
    heading2: { /* ... */ },
    body: { /* ... */ },
    accentColor: '6366f1'
  },
  previewCss: `
    h1 { font-family: 'Your Font'; font-size: 24pt; }
    /* ... match wordConfig exactly */
  `
}

3. Export It — Add to the category's export array
4. Test Both Paths — Verify preview looks right AND Word export works
5. Share With All — Submit a PR so everyone benefits!

Configuration Options

Paper Sizes

Size	Dimensions	Best For
A4	210mm × 297mm	International use, academic papers
Letter	8.5in × 11in	US/Canada, business documents

Margins

All documents use generous, readable margins:

• Top/Bottom: 1 inch (25.4mm)
• Left/Right: 1.2 inches (30.5mm)

This follows established typographic best practices for comfortable reading.

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🛠️ Development

Available Scripts

# Web Development
npm run dev          # Start Vite dev server
npm run build        # Production build (outputs to dist/)
npm run preview      # Preview production build locally

# Desktop App Development (Tauri)
npm run desktop      # Run desktop app in dev mode
npm run desktop:build # Build desktop app for production
npm run tauri        # Access Tauri CLI directly

Project Structure

typogenie/
├── 📁 src/                  # Source code
│   ├── 📁 components/      # React components
│   │   ├── FileUpload.tsx  # Drag-and-drop upload zone
│   │   ├── StyleSelector.tsx # Style gallery with live preview
│   │   ├── Preview.tsx     # Final preview & DOCX export
│   │   └── StylePreviewModal.tsx # (Optional) Modal preview
│   ├── 📁 styles/          # Typography style definitions
│   ├── 📄 main.tsx         # React entry point
│   ├── 📄 App.tsx          # Main application component
│   ├── 📄 types.ts         # TypeScript interfaces
│   └── 📄 constants.ts     # Configuration exports
├── 📁 src-tauri/           # Tauri desktop app
│   ├── 📁 src/             # Rust source code
│   ├── 📁 icons/           # App icons
│   ├── 📄 Cargo.toml       # Rust dependencies
│   └── 📄 tauri.conf.json  # Tauri configuration
├── 📁 styles/              # Typography style definitions
│   ├── index.ts            # Aggregates all categories
│   ├── minimalist.ts       # 11 clean styles
│   ├── corporate.ts        # 13 professional styles
│   ├── editorial.ts        # Magazine aesthetics
│   ├── tech.ts             # Modern tech vibes
│   ├── creative.ts         # Artistic expressions
│   ├── vintage.ts          # Historical elegance
│   ├── lifestyle.ts        # Warm & personal
│   ├── industrial.ts       # Technical & mechanical
│   ├── academic.ts         # Scholarly formats
│   ├── volume1.ts          # Legacy collection
│   └── volume2.ts          # Extended collection
├── 📁 services/            # (Currently empty - local processing!)
├── 📄 App.tsx              # Main application with state machine
├── 📄 types.ts             # TypeScript interfaces
├── 📄 constants.ts         # Configuration exports
├── 📄 index.html           # Entry HTML with Tailwind CDN
└── 📄 vite.config.ts       # Build configuration

Technology Stack

Layer	Technology	Purpose
Framework	React 19.2.4	UI components & state management
Language	TypeScript 5.8.2	Type safety & developer experience
Build Tool	Vite 6.2.0	Fast development & optimized builds
Styling	Tailwind CSS	Utility-first CSS
Icons	Lucide React	Beautiful, consistent iconography
Markdown	marked 12.0.0	Local Markdown parsing
Documents	docx 8.5.0	Client-side DOCX generation
Desktop	Tauri 2.0	Native desktop apps (Rust + WebView)
Backend	Rust 1.77+	Systems programming for desktop shell

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🤝 Contributing

TypoGenie is a commons — it belongs to everyone who uses it and improves it. We welcome contributions of all kinds:

Ways to Contribute

• 🎨 New Styles — Design and share new typography styles
• 🐛 Bug Reports — Found something broken? Let us know!
• 💡 Feature Ideas — Have a suggestion? Open a discussion
• 📖 Documentation — Help us explain things better
• 🔧 Code Improvements — Refactors, optimizations, fixes
• 🌍 Translations — Help make TypoGenie accessible globally

Contribution Guidelines

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing-thing
3. Make your changes with clear, descriptive commits
4. Test thoroughly — preview AND Word export
5. Submit a Pull Request with a detailed description

Code of Conduct

• Be respectful and constructive
• Assume good intentions
• Help newcomers learn and grow
• Focus on what's best for the community

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📜 Philosophy & License

Why Free? Why Open?

TypoGenie exists because we believe:

Access to beautiful tools for self-expression should not depend on one's ability to pay.

In an era of increasingly proprietary, subscription-based software, TypoGenie is an offering to the digital commons — a tool that exists purely to serve those who need it, without extracting value, without surveillance, without artificial limitations.

MIT License

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2026 TypoGenie Contributors

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.

tl;dr: Do whatever you want with this code. Just keep the license notice. Share it. Modify it. Use it for whatever purpose serves your community. No attribution required beyond preserving the license, though we always appreciate a shout-out!

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🙏 Acknowledgments

TypoGenie stands on the shoulders of giants — the countless open-source contributors who built the libraries, tools, and standards that make this project possible:

• The React Team — For the component model that powers our UI
• The marked contributors — For battle-tested Markdown parsing
• The docx maintainers — For making client-side Word generation possible
• Google Fonts — For democratizing access to beautiful typography
• Tailwind CSS — For the utility-first approach that speeds development
• Vite — For the build tooling that makes development a joy
• The broader open-source community — For proving that collective, voluntary cooperation can create tools that rival (and exceed) proprietary alternatives

And to you, the user — for choosing tools that respect your freedom.

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💬 Connect

☕ Support the Commons

If TypoGenie brings value to your life, consider:

• ⭐ Starring the repository — Helps others discover it
• 🗣️ Spreading the word — Tell friends and colleagues
• 🔧 Contributing code — Improve it for everyone
• 💝 Supporting open-source — Donate to the projects TypoGenie depends on

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"The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. But they might help you format a really nice document while we build something better together."

Made with ❤️ for the many, not the few.