Drafts Pro

Capture text instantly, run reusable transformations, and file the result into local destinations

YES · focused build
price $1.67/mosubscription / year $20.04estimated build time one sittingreplaced by 0 people

The core loop is small enough for a capable coding agent to produce a useful local version in one sitting. For Drafts Pro, capture text instantly, run reusable transformations, and file the result into local destinations. The hard boundary is its iphone and mac capture speed, action directory, and apple automation depth, plus polish, integrations, and proprietary language models.

Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability

What you give up

  • its iPhone and Mac capture speed, action directory, and Apple automation depth
  • cross-device sync
  • large proprietary style models
  • browser and office-suite extensions
  • team style guides

Why people still pay

People still pay for Drafts Pro because the paid tool is already present everywhere they write and its suggestions have been tuned across millions of documents. The recurring cost buys model quality, extension compatibility, dictionaries, releases, and sync, not just the visible interface.

Your build guide

The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.

Before you start

  • Runtime and tools: Swift, SwiftUI/AppKit and SQLite on macOS, with secrets in Keychain where needed.
  • Before starting: A Mac, the current Xcode toolchain and a documented permission checklist; distribution signing is a separate delivery task.
01
Swift, SwiftUI/AppKit and SQLite on macOS, with secrets in Keychain where needed
02
Data design: Store Draft, Revision, ActionDefinition and ActionRun; transformations consume an immutable revision and show a diff before replacing text or writing a destination file.
03
Setup: A Mac, the current Xcode toolchain and a documented permission checklist; distribution signing is a separate delivery task
engineering roadmap

Implementation plan

1

Phase 1

Pin the working slice and create its example input: Open a quick capture window, tag a text draft, preview a reusable transformation and save the approved result to a selected local Markdown folder. Confirm setup: A Mac, the current Xcode toolchain and a documented permission checklist; distribution signing is a separate delivery task.

2

Phase 2

Implement persistence and write-time invariants before decorating the UI: Store Draft, Revision, ActionDefinition and ActionRun; transformations consume an immutable revision and show a diff before replacing text or writing a destination file.

3

Phase 3

Connect the working view to real saved state. Ask for each operating-system permission when its feature is used. Handle denial and revocation without a loop; show permission status and keep local history deletable.

4

Phase 4

Expose the app-specific limits and recovery path in context: Start with allowlisted text operations, not arbitrary scripts or remote connectors. File destinations require user-granted access, collision handling and an undoable local history.

5

Phase 5

Walk through this concrete acceptance case and preserve its exported evidence: Run a regex replacement that matches nothing, then one that changes every line; the preview explains both outcomes and cancelling leaves the original draft intact. Finish the README and backup/restore instructions; report unfinished capabilities explicitly.

the pro prompt
download AGENTS.md
Build the following focused alternative to Drafts Pro. Implement the focused workflow below first; the verdict is not evidence of a completed or production-certified build.

WORKING SLICE
Open a quick capture window, tag a text draft, preview a reusable transformation and save the approved result to a selected local Markdown folder.

SETUP AND ARCHITECTURE
Use Swift, SwiftUI/AppKit and SQLite on macOS, with secrets in Keychain where needed. Prerequisites: A Mac, the current Xcode toolchain and a documented permission checklist; distribution signing is a separate delivery task. Before integrating anything, record actual versions and permissions, plus model files or provider limits only where used, in the README; make unavailable dependencies visible rather than simulating success.

DOMAIN MODEL AND INVARIANTS
Store Draft, Revision, ActionDefinition and ActionRun; transformations consume an immutable revision and show a diff before replacing text or writing a destination file.

IMPLEMENTATION CONTRACT
Ask for each operating-system permission when its feature is used. Handle denial and revocation without a loop; show permission status and keep local history deletable. Provide an input/setup view, the main work view, and a review/export view appropriate to this workflow. Preserve the last saved state if a job or save fails. Include empty, loading, permission-denied, partial and retryable-error states. Log identifiers and error categories without secret values or unnecessary private content.

APP-SPECIFIC BOUNDARY AND RECOVERY
Start with allowlisted text operations, not arbitrary scripts or remote connectors. File destinations require user-granted access, collision handling and an undoable local history.

ACCEPTANCE SCENARIO
Run a regex replacement that matches nothing, then one that changes every line; the preview explains both outcomes and cancelling leaves the original draft intact. Also reopen the app after an interrupted operation, confirm the saved record/export remains inspectable, and document the recovery action. These are implementation acceptance requirements, not a claim that this guide has been tested.

DELIVERY
Deliver a runnable repository with migrations or project-format versioning, a non-sensitive example, environment/permission setup, the exact manual acceptance steps, and a backup/export-and-restore walkthrough. Implement the working slice before optional integrations; list any deferred paid-product capabilities honestly. Do not add capabilities outside the working slice just to resemble the original product.

PROJECT RULES FOR AGENTS.md
Keep the domain invariants above executable at the write boundary. Propose scope changes before adding providers or permissions. Never fabricate source evidence, publish results, identity matches or successful delivery. Preserve user originals and require an explicit confirmation for destructive changes or external publication.

$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy or download AGENTS.md

prior art · use these instead of building, if you'd ratherLanguageToolMature open-source grammar and style checker with desktop and server components.↗
share on X ↗

Drafts Pro pricing

planmonthlyannual (per mo)what you get
free$0$0Unlimited basic text capture and iCloud sync; Pro-only custom actions, workspaces, themes and advanced automation excludedThe vendor does not publish numeric storage, draft, device, or word caps for the free app.
drafts pro$1.99$1.671 subscription across iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch; Family Sharing supportedAnnual plan is $19.99/year and includes a 7-day trial.
drafts pro patron—$2.50Same features as Drafts Pro; no additional product limits or featuresAnnual App Store subscription at $29.99/year; only offered as an upgrade for existing subscribers.

free tierNo published numeric cap on drafts, words, devices, or sync; free use excludes Pro-only custom actions, workspaces, themes and advanced automation

billing$1.99 monthly or $19.99 annually; optional $29.99/year Patron subscription; App Store billing and Family Sharing

hidden costsThe Patron tier costs more but unlocks no additional features; purchases are App Store subscriptions and restoration depends on the platform/account used.

pricing sources checked 2026-08-12 · pricing source ↗

Questions about Drafts Pro

Can you build your own Drafts Pro with AI?

The verdict is yes for the scoped workflow. The core loop is small enough for a capable coding agent to produce a useful local version in one sitting. For Drafts Pro, capture text instantly, run reusable transformations, and file the result into local destinations. The hard boundary is its iphone and mac capture speed, action directory, and apple automation depth, plus polish, integrations, and proprietary language models.

What does the Drafts Pro build prompt cover?

The prompt starts with this scope: Open a quick capture window, tag a text draft, preview a reusable transformation and save the approved result to a selected local Markdown folder. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: its iPhone and Mac capture speed, action directory, and Apple automation depth; cross-device sync; large proprietary style models. Follow the implementation plan and its prerequisites before expanding the build.

How do I use the prompt, AGENTS.md and agent skills?

Start with the Drafts Pro prerequisites and stack, then copy the prompt into your coding agent. Save the project rules as AGENTS.md in the project root. Linked skills are optional packages or source instructions for specific tasks; review their current contents and install only those matching the chosen stack. A skill does not supply API credentials or verify the finished app.

How long will this Drafts Pro project take?

The catalogue estimate is one sitting for the limited scope. Setup, integration approvals, debugging, deployment and ongoing maintenance can add time. This is an estimate, not a delivery guarantee.

What would I give up by replacing Drafts Pro?

its iPhone and Mac capture speed, action directory, and Apple automation depth; cross-device sync; large proprietary style models; browser and office-suite extensions; team style guides. People still pay for Drafts Pro because the paid tool is already present everywhere they write and its suggestions have been tuned across millions of documents. The recurring cost buys model quality, extension compatibility, dictionaries, releases, and sync, not just the visible interface.

What price is this guide comparing against?

The recorded Drafts Pro plan is $1.67/mo (annual-equivalent), checked 2026-07-31. Check the linked pricing source before buying. Building your own also has hosting, API and maintenance costs; the recorded amount is not a guaranteed saving.

What can I use instead of building Drafts Pro?

The prior-art section lists LanguageTool as starting points. Review their current scope, license and maintenance before adopting one.

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