HackWriter

Writing Agent for HackMD - Zero-config, multi-provider LLM support

Quick Start

npx hackwriter

If you don't have API keys configured, the setup wizard will guide you through it.

That's it! No config files needed.

Installation

npm i -g hackwriter

hackwriter

Features

• Zero-Config - detected existing environment variables
• Multi-Provider - Anthropic, OpenAI, Ollama (auto-detected)
• Model Switching - Switch models on-the-fly with /model
• Session Persistence - Resume your work anytime
• Smart Approvals - Confirms destructive actions

Configuration

Automatic Setup

Run hackwriter and follow the setup wizard. It will ask for:

• LLM provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, or Ollama) API key (if needed)
• HackMD API token

Manual Setup (Optional)

Environment Variables - Skip setup wizard by setting these:

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-xxx  # or OPENAI_API_KEY
export HACKMD_API_TOKEN=your-token
hackwriter  # Starts immediately!

| Variable | Description | | ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | | ANTHROPIC_API_KEY | Anthropic API key (optional) | | OPENAI_API_KEY | OpenAI API key (optional) | | HACKMD_API_TOKEN | HackMD API token (required) | | HACKMD_API_URL | HackMD API URL (optional, default: https://api.hackmd.io/v1) |

HackMD CLI Compatibility - Also supports HackMD CLI environment variables:

export HMD_API_ACCESS_TOKEN=your-token    # Same as HACKMD_API_TOKEN
export HMD_API_ENDPOINT_URL=https://...   # Same as HACKMD_API_URL

Note: If you're already using HackMD CLI, HackWriter will automatically detect and use your existing HMD_API_ACCESS_TOKEN environment variable. No additional configuration needed!

Config File - Override defaults with ~/.hackwriter/config.json:

{
  "defaultModel": "anthropic-claude-3-5-sonnet-latest",
  "models": {
    "fast": {
      "provider": "anthropic",
      "model": "claude-3-5-haiku-latest",
      "maxContextSize": 200000
    }
  }
}

Usage

Interactive Shell

hackwriter                    # Start interactive mode
hackwriter --continue         # Resume last session
hackwriter --debug            # Enable debug logging
hackwriter -m gpt-4o          # Use specific model

Shell Commands

/help                         # Show available commands
/model                        # List/switch models
/model openai-gpt-4o          # Switch to GPT-4o
/status                       # Show current status
/exit                         # Exit (or /quit, /q)

Single Command

hackwriter -c "list my notes"
hackwriter -c "create a note titled 'Meeting Notes'"

Auto-Approve Mode

hackwriter --yolo             # Skip all confirmations

Supported Providers

Anthropic

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-xxx

Models: Claude 3.5 Haiku, Sonnet, Opus 4

OpenAI

export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-xxx

Models: GPT-4o, GPT-4o-mini, o1

Ollama (Local)

# Ollama auto-detected if running
ollama serve

All local models automatically discovered