Skip to main content

Full walkthrough: your first Scribe document

This tutorial walks you through every step of building a small but complete Scribe project: a two-chapter sample story with one image, exported as both an image carousel and an EPUB file. It pairs with the shorter Getting started → First document quickstart for readers who want the longer, fully illustrated path.

Plan to spend about 30 minutes going through it end-to-end.

What you need​

  • Scribe installed and signed in (any plan, including Free).
  • A short passage of your own that you would like to format.
  • One image saved somewhere on your computer (a JPG or PNG; any size).

Step 1 — Create the project​

  1. Open Scribe.
  2. On the welcome screen, choose New project.
  3. In the system folder picker, create or select an empty folder named firstbook.
  4. After Scribe opens the empty Project, choose New document in the left file tree and create 01-arrival.md.

Scribe uses the selected folder name as the Project name and opens the new document in the editor.

Step 2 — Fill in the metadata​

Before writing, take 60 seconds to fill in the project metadata. Doing this once now saves having to do it again at export time.

  1. Open Project Settings from the left sidebar.
  2. Under Basic Info, fill in Title and Author.
  3. If you use Plus or Pro and need Language, Synopsis, or other publishing information, select the appropriate Project Type and fill in those fields.
  4. Choose Save Settings.

You can come back later and add keywords, publishing fields, or an optional EPUB cover.

Step 3 — Write chapter 1​

  1. In the file tree, open 01-arrival.md.

  2. Add a heading and a few paragraphs of your sample prose:

    # Chapter 1 — The arrival

    Rain traced thin lines down the station window while Mara counted the
    minutes until the last train.

    At the far end of the platform, a lantern moved once and disappeared.
    Mara closed her notebook and stood.

  3. Watch the preview on the right re-typeset as you go. The heading becomes a chapter title; paragraphs get indented properly; en- and em-dashes render in the right shape.

Step 4 — Add an image​

  1. Place the cursor between two paragraphs.
  2. Click Insert image in the editor toolbar and choose Import from disk….
  3. Select a .jpg, .jpeg, or .png image. Scribe copies it into the project assets and inserts the image at the cursor.
  4. Click the image in the editor and adjust its display in the image toolbar:
    • Inline: the image appears as body content and can use a width setting.
    • Full-page: the image occupies its own page and can use Bleed, Cover, or Contain fitting.

The image now shows in the preview. If you need explanatory text, write it as a normal paragraph before or after the image; Scribe does not currently provide a separate image-caption field.

Step 5 — Add chapter 2​

  1. In the left file tree action bar, choose New document.
  2. Name the file 02-encounter.md.
  3. Add a similar heading and a couple of paragraphs.

The file tree decides the chapter order; drag-and-drop reorders. When exporting, Scribe combines every document included in compilation in file-tree order.

Step 6 — Try the three preview modes​

Switch between the three preview modes using the toggles at the top of the preview pane:

  • Image — paged image. This is what an exported PNG will look like.
  • E-book — flowing layout. Resize the preview pane width to see how readers experience it on different screens.
  • Print — paged print layout based on the current Master Page.

Get comfortable flipping between them; in real projects you'll bounce between Image and Print constantly.

Step 7 — Export an image carousel​

  1. Switch the preview to Image.
  2. In the right sidebar, set Export Mode to Paged images and the format to PNG.
  3. On the preview toolbar, open Choose export scope and select All Compilable, so both chapters export in file-tree order.
  4. Choose Export image, then select a save location.

Scribe saves the numbered PNG images together in a ZIP archive. Open the archive and check every page before sharing.

Step 8 — Export an EPUB file (Plus and Pro only)​

If you're on Plus or Pro, also try:

  1. Switch the preview to E-book and review EPUB Options in the right sidebar.
  2. On the preview toolbar, open Choose export scope and select All Compilable.
  3. Choose Export EPUB, then save the file.

Open the resulting .epub in Apple Books, Calibre, or your favourite e-reader. You should see the cover (if you set one), chapter navigation, and your two chapters in the correct order.

What you've learned​

  • How a Scribe project is laid out (chapters, assets, metadata).
  • How to write Markdown and add images in Scribe.
  • How the live preview reflects three different output formats.
  • How to export images and EPUB from the preview toolbar.

Where to go next​