Merrimo User Guide

Get started with Merrimo on Mac

Merrimo combines screenplay writing, comic layout drafting, dialogue lettering, and diffusion art generation into a unified Mac app. The first time you open it, a short setup gets you signed in (or not) and asks whether you want AI. Then here's how to get up and running.

The Welcome screen with Continue with email and Use without an account.
The first time you open Merrimo, it starts with Welcome.

Sign in, or use Merrimo without an account

With an account, your stories stay in sync across your devices and you can share them. There's no password: Merrimo emails you a sign-in link.

  1. On Welcome, click Continue with email.
  2. Enter your email and click Send Link. If you don't have an account yet, signing in makes one.
  3. Open the email on this Mac and click its link. Merrimo picks it up and carries on.

If Welcome shows Sign in with Apple, you can use that instead.

Reading your email on another device? Click Opened the email on another device? Enter a code instead, then type the 6-digit code from the email and click Continue. A link or code works for 15 minutes. Click Resend Link if it has expired, or Use a different email to start over.

Check your email, with the code field showing.
Open the link on this Mac, or enter the code from the email.

To keep your stories on this Mac only, click Use without an account on Welcome instead. Syncing and sharing need an account, and the sidebar says Local only. You can turn on sync any time: see Turn on sync later.

Choose whether to use AI

Merrimo can draw your characters, places and comic panels, and help with your writing. It's entirely optional.

Do you want AI?, with Set up AI and No AI — just write.
Pick No AI to start writing straight away. You can add AI later.

Choose what to add

Pick as many as you like: on this Mac, online, or both.

Merrimo suggests what fits your Mac and shows how much it downloads and how much space is free. It picks Standard or Best picture quality from your Mac's memory (Best needs 48 GB); click Why? to see the reason. If the downloads don't fit, it says how much more room you need.

Choose what to add, with Draw pictures and Help me write.
Tick what you want on this Mac, online, or both.

The button at the bottom changes with what you tick:

Choose an AI service

To download nothing, click Use an online account instead; Choose an AI service also comes next when you tick My own API key or model server. When you ask for a picture or a suggestion, that part of your story is sent to the service you choose.

Click Continue, follow the steps, then click Start Writing. Back returns to the screen before. See Set up AI in Merrimo on Mac for each service's steps.

Choose an AI service, with Pay as you go with OpenRouter, Use your own API key and Use a model server.
OpenRouter covers pictures and writing; your own key or a model server covers writing.

The service you choose appears in Settings › Providers, where you can change it later.

Pick up where you left off

If you quit during setup, Merrimo opens at the same step next time. Closing the setup window keeps your place too: click Merrimo in the Dock to bring it back. Once setup is done, it doesn't come back; if you sign out, Merrimo asks you to sign in again, or you can choose Use without an account.

Turn on sync later

If you started without an account, you can move your stories into one at any time:

  1. Choose Merrimo › Settings, then click Account.
  2. Click Turn on sync… and sign in.
  3. Merrimo closes your story windows and moves your stories into your account. The Account pane shows the progress.

Comments, stickers and your own workflows move with them. If the move stops partway, your stories are still on this Mac: click Try Again.

Add or change AI later

Merrimo Workspace

Explore the workspace

Merrimo provides dedicated workspace views to support every phase of production:

  • Prose Mode (⌥1): Draft screenplays and chapters with scene headers and character dialogue blocks.
  • Canvas Mode (⌥2): Lay out pages, draw panels, and arrange artwork on an infinite drafting surface.
  • Source Text Sidebar Tab: Read and follow your manuscript alongside the canvas while laying out panels.
Customize workspace layouts ›
Drawing panels on canvas

Structure your comic pages

Add chapters and pages, draw panel grids, and adjust margins and borders:

  • Press P (or R) to activate the Panel tool, then click and drag on the canvas to frame your shot.
  • Adjust panel dimensions, aspect ratios, and gutters in the Inspector or by dragging panel edges.
  • Configure bleed, trim, and live margins in the Page Settings inspector.
Add and layout panels ›
Typing dialogue into balloons

Add dialogue and captions

Give your characters a voice with typography and comic balloons:

  • Select a panel and press ⌘B to insert a speech bubble or ⌘T for a thought bubble.
  • Press C to arm the caption tool and draw a narration box.
  • Type dialogue with automatic text reflow, auto-hyphenation, and comic font styling.
  • Drag the yellow tail handle toward the speaking character's mouth or off-panel.
Add speech balloons and lettering ›
Omnibox search and workflow commands

Connect render engines

Bring panels to life with generative diffusion models:

  • Connect an AI service for writing help and online pictures (OpenRouter, your own API key or a model server) when you first open Merrimo, or in Settings > Providers. See Set up AI.
  • Add This Mac or a ComfyUI server on your network as a render machine in Settings > Rendering.
  • Type prompt descriptions directly into panel nodes.
  • Render iterations with ⌘R and track every version in History (⌥⌘L).
Set up render machines ›

See also