#stimuwrite updates

Happy holidays! I'm pleased to share the latest StimuWrite update with some brand new features I'm excited about.  Check out the highlights below or scroll to the bottom to see the detailed list of updates!

Feel more secure about safety of your work

StimuWrite now let's you  determine how often it saves to your recovery file in a new advanced setting!

There's a new "Help" menu item with links to documentation and bug reporting. Your recovery file now lives here.

Quit check! StimuWrite makes sure you really want to quit the app to prevent accidental closures that could result in lost work.

Transparent background mode!

You can now set the background to be *Transparent* and see your StimuWrite window and addons over whatever you like! Note: you will need to turn this off to resize the window and it doesn't work in fullscreen mode.

See all your themes

Do you have ALL THE THEMES ?! So many they don't fit? Good news: StimuWrite now opens the Theme dropdown into a larger popup when you have more than 22 themes so you can select from them all.

An official website

StimuWrite now has an official website with helpful documentation, release notes, and troubleshooting help! Check it out here We are also on bluesky and tumblr :)

Lots more coming to StimuWrite in 2026, stay tuned!

Full update info

New:

New Help menu with helpful links. IMPORTANT: "RECOVER SESSION" NOW IN HELP MENU

New advanced setting allows you to set recovery file save frequency

New crash report dialog with debug info file you can copy and paste to report issues

New quit button in fullscreen, place mouse in upper lefthand corner to reveal

New *Transparent* background menu option that makes the StimuWrite window transparent

Improvements:

StimuWrite now remembers more of your setup: compact mode state, window size state, fullscreen state, soundscape

StimuWrite asks if you really want to quit, preventing accidentally closures

If StimuWrite isn't closed properly, it will ask you if you'd like to report a crash or recover your words

If you have more than 22 themes enabled, a larger theme selection window will open when pressing the theme button

Word count goal updated to 99999 (but don't put that many words in the app, seriously!)

Bug fixes:

Fixed bug where fullscreen toggle wouldn't update when maximizing through OS

Fixed bug where play/pause button didn't hide for custom backgrounds

Fixed bug where hiding default themes using display customizations reset on launch

With this update, StimuWrite can now have a new addon type installed: Enhancement Packs! Enhancement Packs add content to the app like additional video backgroundsh and soundscapes. The first enhancement pack is available to download for all StimuWrite patrons, here on the patreon page. 

The other big news is that StimuWrite now runs on Godot 3.6.2 which means better performance and more stability! This is a big under the hood change, that I hope make everything run smoother.

I've been working on larger and more exciting features over the past months as well, but they aren't yet ready to be released. I might post a teaser soon, though!

Full release notes:

New:

• Added compatibility for enhancement packs (first pack live on patreon!) • Volume and text size options move to "..." menus next to dropdown label • Updated Hall of Fame with new patrons

Improved: • Updated engine to Godot 3.6, improving stability and performance • StimuWrite now restarts automatically when deleting or updating themes and addons • Some UI element styles improved

Bug fixes: • Fixed issue where popups caused flickering when opening • Fixed bug where "More" in the backgrounds dropdown was unclickable in certain situations • Fixed bug where error logs were missing from crash reports • Fixed visual issue with background on launch if "Expand to background" was turned off

Huge thank you to the StimuWrite Patrons for making this update possible

Wordsmith supporters

Alice Hanley      Arden Hughes      Hadal Bloom      LumiNinja      owlcyclops      Chris      rebelredcarnation      RoraKH7E

Writer supporters

alexandria      Beans_andSand      Bridgette Vogel      brother spider      C. C. S. Ryan      dailydailynow      David Oshima      eden      giseledute      Kate Fornoff      L      magpiebones      Misa A.      Morgan Jennings      Natasha      Niamh      Pike      rdekarios      Ruth Collard-Stayte      Sarai      Sheila Lane      Skaetlett      Steve Pattee       strayeya      Swan_Prince      Terry Harms      Virgofall      ZirconIsBlue      ZoeyZephyrin      

Guys I freaking did it!! After months of work, I've launched a Patreon for StimuWrite! But I'll tell you about that later, let me get into the juicy updates first.

New

Easily access all of your backgrounds

No more using a workaround to switch to your favorite video background from a custom theme. The backgrounds menu item now has a "More..." option that let you select any of the backgrounds that come with the custom themes you've installed.

Update themes and addons more easily 

New StimuWrite Hall of Fame

The About section has a new tab that honors patrons of StimuWrite, including pixel portraits of Legend Tier supporters by me! Join the patreon and you could be featured here as a treasured supporter of StimuWrite!

You can now turn off a theme's custom emoji in Emoji Options, and turn off a theme's custom cursor in Display Customizations.

Improvements

There are now more ways to theme the  StimuWrite interface, including the addition of custom cursors! There are also more options to improve the look in different modes such as Compact mode. Look out for updates to your favorite themes to improve how they look in StimuWrite.

Bug fixes

Fixed bug where if you used the OS to go fullscreen you could still select "transparent bg" causing a crash

Visual issues with some modals and popups fixed

Visual issues with tooltips fixed

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The StimuWrite Patreon is here! That means new themes, content packs, addons, and free updates will be regularly released!

Check out the patreon page here!

Hundreds of people with ADHD and other neurodivergences have commented to say how much this app has helped them in their writing, and i want to dedicate more time to updating it and providing new inventive themes and addons to keep it fresh. This is where you come in: I need your financial support to be able to dedicate more time to this project, instead of relying on freelance work-for-hire.

What you get for  supporting StimuWrite on patreon

All patrons will get rewards in the form of one or two of the following every month:

An add-on (early access)

A theme (early access or exclusive)

A theme pack (early access)

Exclusive theme variation

The theme of the season (early access or exclusive, voted on by patrons)

An emoji and/or background pack (early access or exclusive)

In addition to this, patrons will receive a cool badge add-on they can install to proudly display their support in their add-on bar, AND mention in the StimuWrite Hall of Fame, a special section in the credits of the app and official website.

Supporters at the Wordsmith Tier will also get all of the pre-patreon themes and add-ons and be able to vote on which theme of the season idea they'd like made.

Supports at the Legend Tier will get all that and a one-of-a-kind pixel portrait made by yours truly that will be displayed in the Hall of Fame, and for their own use. Legendary supporters will also be able to suggest ideas for the Theme of the Season to be voted on.

Join the patreon!

March Rewards

Dark Rainbow (Early Access)

Dark Rainbow is a dark theme for lovers of colors with a dark side. It features a custom emoji set, and a soothing RGB noise background.

Get this theme

Win95 (Exclusive)

Get into the vibe of writing on the home computer in the days of dial up with this Win95 parody theme. The theme features a video background with moving clouds inspired by the classic desktop image, custom cursors (a first in StimuWrite themes!), and a custom addon bar icon.

The theme uses graphics from Retro Windows 98 style GUI pack by Comp-3 Interactive on itchio

Get this theme

70% off the first month for existing supporters as a thank you

If you've donated $5 or more to StimuWrite on itchio in the past, you can now access a coupon code to get 70% off your first month! Look for the file StimuWrite-patreon-coupon-code.txt on the apps itchio store page and download it. If you have any trouble getting the coupon, feel free to reach out to me.

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WOW! That was a lot. Thanks again for your support, whether financially or as an enthusiastic user. It means a lot to me.

Happy writing,