oktob
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Development alpha. Not available for download yet.

Your book, in your language, in its own direction.

Oktob helps authors write, design and export a beautiful print book and ebook, without a designer. Right to left or left to right, on your Mac.

Today: Arabic and English, alone or together in one book. More languages are planned.

Join the waitlistRead the free guide

One sheet · many kinds of books→ left to right

Rejected proof

Software built for one direction breaks the other.

In a tool built for English, right-to-left text comes apart. Then every small fix goes back to a designer, and waits.

✕ Letters that break apart

ك‌ت‌ا‌ب ا‌ل‌م‌ر‌ف‌أ

✓ Set in Oktob

كتاب المرفأ

✕ Punctuation on the wrong side

؟هل وصلت العبّارة

✓ Set in Oktob

هل وصلت العبّارة؟

✕ Words in the wrong order

صدر عن دار Harbour Press سنة ١٩٦٤.

✓ Set in Oktob

صدر عن دار Harbour Press سنة ١٩٦٤.

Illustrations of common failures, set by hand for this page. Not a screenshot of any product.

What you get

One signature, four panels, folded into a book.

Every direction, done right

Recorded in Oktob, development alpha.

Set the book right to left or left to right and change any paragraph or phrase. Letters join, numerals follow your choice, a Latin name keeps its order. Today: Arabic and English; more languages are planned.

See every page before you export

Recorded in Oktob, development alpha.

Proof draws every page and spread, with margin, trim, bleed and gutter guides.

Print and ebook from one project

Recorded in Oktob, development alpha.

Print PDF with KDP or IngramSpark geometry and bleed, in colour or black and white. Reflowable EPUB checked with EPUBCheck. Amazon KDP does not accept Arabic paperbacks at present.

Your files stay on your Mac

Oktob’s workspace in English. The status bar reads Local workspace and recovery enabled.

Your book, snapshots and recovery copies are files on your computer. A connected AI assistant sends what it reads to its own provider.

Book types

Seven kinds of books, each with its own templates.

Pick the kind of book you are making and a template that suits it, then write. Every type works in Arabic or English, right to left or left to right.

Recorded in Oktob, development alpha.

AI assistant (MCP)

Let your AI assistant do the book work. You keep the keys.

Connect Claude, Codex or another MCP app to Oktob on your Mac. It is optional: Oktob works fully without it.

What it can do

  • Create a book and edit its text and structure
  • Place images from a folder you choose
  • Apply styles to the whole book
  • Read and step through the pages in Proof
  • Export print PDF, EPUB and HTML
  • Run combined editions and use export profiles
  • Use snapshots, recovery and your reusable matter library

You stay in control

Illustration, drawn for this page.
  • You grant each permission.
  • The assistant can only ask. It cannot give itself access.
  • You can take a permission back at any time.

Your AI app sends what it reads to its own provider. Your book and its files stay on your Mac.

Why Oktob exists

الخَيْلُ وَاللَّيْلُ وَالبَيْداءُ تَعْرِفُنيوَالسَّيْفُ وَالرُّمْحُ وَالقِرْطاسُ وَالقَلَمُ

Al-Mutanabbi · paired verse · coloured tashkil

Arabic was the hardest test. So we started there.

We built Oktob because we know what it is like to watch software break your language. Arabic asks the most of a typesetter: joined letters, vowel marks, two directions in one line. We made it work first, then made sure the other direction works as well.

We started Oktob after watching our own Arabic pages come back from software with the letters broken apart and the question marks on the wrong side.

  1. 01Right to left from the ground upInterface language and book direction are set separately.
  2. 02Real typesettingAmiri stylistic sets, shaping checks, numerals, tashkil, paired verse.
  3. 03Every page before exportA generated print proof with spreads and guides.
  4. 04Standard outputPDF with KDP and IngramSpark geometry. EPUB checked with EPUBCheck.
  5. 05Shown, not claimedApp screens here are real captures on a sample book.

The plan

Manuscript in, book out. Three steps.

  1. Bring your manuscriptWrite in Oktob, or import your Word file and review what changed.
  2. Design your bookChoose a book type and template, then shape chapters, fonts and styles, in your language's direction.
  3. Check and exportReview every page in Proof, then export your print PDF and your EPUB.

Your files stay on your Mac. Snapshots and recovery copies keep your work safe.

The whole story

Oktob in one paragraph

Oktob is a Mac app for authors who want to make their own book. You write or import your manuscript, organise it into parts and chapters, choose a book design, check every page in Proof, and export a print PDF and an EPUB. It sets right-to-left and left-to-right text correctly, today in Arabic and English, alone or together in one book. It began with Arabic, the hardest case, and more languages are planned.

Free guide · 6 partsHow to structure a bookNot ready to join? Start with the guide: book type, skeleton, front and back matter, with or without an AI assistant.Read the guide →

Your book, in your language, in its own direction.

Join the waitlist. We write when there is something you can try. Nothing else.

Development alpha. Not available for download yet.

Email language

We write to you in this language. Every email has a link to change it.