Nowline

Name: Nowline
Author: lolay

by lolayversion 0.12.1i★ –iRuns on your computer

Registry nameio.nowline/nowline

Install

Overview

Description from the maker (original English)

Create and edit your roadmaps in a plain-text format.

PopNx MCP’s three pillars

These three are never merged into one score: opinions, measurements and popularity are different things.

User voiceiNo reviews yetReviews open together with accounts in a later step
Our basic checksi1 of 1 passedChecked from public information; code not scanned yet
UsageiNot measured yet★ –

What you can do with it

We have not written a plain-language summary for this one yet. Below are the facts we read from the registry.

Connection: Runs on your computer
Transport: stdio
Category: Other

Install

Pick the AI app you use, then copy the settings.

Before you install

Basic checks: 1 of 1 passed
Runs on your computer with your user’s permissions (files, network, apps).
The registry lists no key to fill in.

You need

npmNode.js installed (for the npx command)

Which app do you use?

ClaudeClaude CodeCursorVS CodeChatGPT

Pick your app above. We remember it, so next time the button says “Install in …”.

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config, and paste this into claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nowline": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@nowline/mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Run this in your terminal

claude mcp add nowline -- npx -y @nowline/mcp

Open in Cursor

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .cursor/mcp.json in your project, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nowline": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@nowline/mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.

Open in VS Code

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .vscode/mcp.json in your project

{
  "servers": {
    "nowline": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@nowline/mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.

This one runs on your computer, and ChatGPT can only connect to servers on the internet. Pick another app.

Your choice stays on this device in a cookie; no account needed.

These settings are generated from the maker’s registry entry. If the README says otherwise, follow the README.

What it can do

Runs on your computer; the tool list appears in your AI app after you install it.

Basic checksi

We check information anyone can see; we have not read the code. Checks that do not apply are left out of the count. · Checked Nov 6, 2026

✓ Pass
Maker matches the repo
The registry name was verified against the domain nowline.io (the registry checks domain ownership)
… Not checked yet
Still maintained
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
… Not checked yet
Has a licence
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
– Not applicable
Endpoint responds
This one runs on your computer; there is no internet endpoint
– Not applicable
Sign-in with OAuth
Runs on your computer and uses local settings instead
… Not checked yet
No hidden instructions in tool descriptions
Runs on your computer; we can only read tool lists from internet endpoints

Compared with others in Otheri

More stars than 0% of the other 32415 servers in this category
Published to the registry more recently than 93% of the other 32415 servers in this category
Basic checks equal to or better than 100% of the other 32415 servers in this category

Compared with every active server in this category in the registry. Stars count only when the publisher owns the repo.

Common questions

Is Nowline safe?

It passed 1 of 1 applicable basic checks. We have not read the code. Before adding a key or token, see what access the server asks for and use a key with only the permissions you need.

What keys or codes does it need?

The registry does not list a required key, though some servers ask you to sign in on first use.

Does it run on my computer or in the cloud?

It runs on your computer. Your AI app starts it when needed, and data does not pass through the maker’s servers (unless it calls an online service itself).

Is it still maintained?

The GitHub repo last changed –, and the latest version (0.12.1) reached the registry 2 days ago.

Which apps can use it?

Apps that support MCP, such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code. You also need Node.js on your computer.

What can I use instead?

In the same category: Spec Driven Development, Remote Desktop Commander, Safe Fetch

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Reading a card:★ GitHub starsiThree pillars: reviews · checks · usageiUpdated = latest version published to the registryi

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Runs on your computer★ 440MITUpdated 14 months ago

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Runs in the cloud★ 211Updated yesterday

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Safe Fetch

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README from the maker

Open the README

Copied from the maker’s repo as written. PopNx MCP has not reviewed or endorsed it. HTML, images and scripts are removed. Links lead off this site.

Roadmaps as code. For everyone.

Human readable roadmaps, built for AI.

Plain .nowline text files. Version-controlled. Render to SVG, PNG, PDF, HTML, Mermaid, XLSX, and MS Project XML.

What is Nowline?

Nowline is a text-first DSL for describing product and engineering roadmaps — human readable and machine readable. You write plain .nowline text files — indented, keyword-driven, diff-friendly — and tooling renders them as timelines, validates them, and composes them.

examples/minimal.nowline:

nowline v1

roadmap minimal "Starter" start:2026-01-05 scale:2w author:"Jane Doe"

swimlane engineering "Engineering" item research "Research" duration:3w status:done item design "Design" duration:2w status:in-progress remaining:5d item build "Build" duration:3w status:planned

Renders to:

Why Nowline?

Text, not a Gantt chart. Version-controlled, diffable, reviewable in a PR.
Indentation, not XML. Roadmaps read like outlines, because that's how people think about them.
Strict enough to catch mistakes. 30+ validation rules, clear error messages with line and column numbers.
Composable. include other files with explicit merge / ignore / isolate semantics.

Quick start

Install the CLI from your package manager:

brew trust lolay/tap                                 # macOS / Linux / WSL (one-time)

brew install lolay/tap/nowline

Debian/Ubuntu and Windows users can grab the latest .deb or .exe from GitHub Releases. See packages/cli/README.md for the full install matrix (including man nowline setup).

Toolchain

Two-tier Node policy: Node ≥ 22 to consume @nowline/* packages (engines.node on every published package), Node 26 (.nvmrc) to develop. CI tests both versions on every PR. See Toolchain & Supported Versions for the full policy and bump procedure.

Render your first roadmap:

nowline examples/minimal.nowline                     # writes ./minimal.svg

nowline --version

Or scaffold a brand-new file from a template:

nowline --init my-project                            # ./my-project.nowline

nowline --init my-project -t teams # ./my-project.nowline (teams template)

To give an AI agent Nowline tools, install the plugin from this repo's marketplace. In Claude Code:

/plugin install nowline --marketplace lolay/nowline

GitHub Copilot CLI and Codex read the same marketplace; see plugins/nowline/README.md for those and the other ways to add the MCP server.

For the VS Code / Cursor / VSCodium extension, search Nowline on the VS Code Marketplace or Open VSX.

`0.x` versioning. nowline is on 0.x.y while we settle the embed surface and IDE expansion. Public APIs may change between minor versions; full SemVer guarantees apply once we ship 1.0. See specs/releasing.md for the version contract.

To run from a checkout for local development (pnpm install && pnpm build), see CONTRIBUTING.md.

Use the CLI

nowline is verbless: rendering is the default. Other operations are flags on the same command.

Render (default)

nowline roadmap.nowline                          # writes ./roadmap.svg

nowline roadmap.nowline -f png # writes ./roadmap.png nowline roadmap.nowline -f pdf # writes ./roadmap.pdf nowline roadmap.nowline -f html # writes ./roadmap.html nowline roadmap.nowline -f mermaid # writes ./roadmap.md nowline roadmap.nowline -f xlsx # writes ./roadmap.xlsx nowline roadmap.nowline -f msproj # writes ./roadmap.xml nowline roadmap.nowline -o roadmap.pdf # format inferred from extension nowline roadmap.nowline -o - # SVG to stdout nowline roadmap.nowline --theme dark --now 2026-03-15 nowline roadmap.nowline --now - --asset-root ./brand --no-links --strict nowline roadmap.nowline -f pdf --page-size a4 --orientation landscape --margin 0.5in cat roadmap.nowline | nowline - # stdin → ./roadmap.svg

The render pipeline is @nowline/core parse → @nowline/layout layout → @nowline/renderer SVG → format-specific exporter. Output is byte-for-byte deterministic for the same input, theme, and --now. A single nowline binary ships every format — see packages/cli/README.md for install details.

Validate (`--dry-run`)

Run the full pipeline (parse + validate + layout + format) without writing. Exits 0 on success, 1 if any errors are emitted.

nowline roadmap.nowline --dry-run

nowline roadmap.nowline -n # short alias cat roadmap.nowline | nowline - --dry-run # read stdin nowline roadmap.nowline -n --diagnostic-format json # machine-readable output nowline - -n --format=json < roadmap.nowline # same, json is the default here

--diagnostic-format text|json picks the stderr format; with --dry-run --format=json it defaults to json, otherwise text. JSON mode writes one { "$nowlineDiagnostics": "1", "diagnostics": [...] } document to stderr whenever any diagnostic exists, warnings included, so a warnings-only source exits 0 with the document. Clean sources print nothing.

Convert text ↔ JSON

Convert is just -f json (or -f nowline to go the other way). Input format is inferred from the extension; --input-format overrides for unusual filenames.

nowline roadmap.nowline -f json -o roadmap.json    # text → JSON

nowline roadmap.json -f nowline -o roadmap.nowline # JSON → text (canonical) nowline roadmap.nowline -f json -o - | jq '.ast.roadmapDecl.name'

The emitted JSON carries a top-level "$nowlineSchema": "1" so downstream tools can detect schema changes. Comments are not preserved across round-trips — see packages/cli/README.md for the canonical printer rules.

Serve (`--serve`)

Run a live-reload preview in the browser. Great while authoring.

nowline roadmap.nowline --serve                    # http://127.0.0.1:4318

nowline roadmap.nowline --serve -p 4400 -t dark --open nowline roadmap.nowline --serve -o latest.svg # rewrite latest.svg on each rebuild

The server re-parses, re-validates, re-lays-out, and re-renders on every file change; connected clients refresh automatically via Server-Sent Events. Validation errors are displayed as an overlay on top of the most recent successful render.

Init (`--init`)

Scaffold a new .nowline file in cwd. The positional argument is the project name, not a file path. .nowline is auto-appended.

nowline --init                              # ./roadmap.nowline (default name)

nowline --init my-project # ./my-project.nowline nowline --init my-plan.nowline # ./my-plan.nowline (literal) nowline --init my-project --template=teams # use the teams template

minimal, teams, and product correspond to the files under examples/. Existing files are silently overwritten.

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
0	Success
1	Validation error (parse failure, invalid reference, any include error such as a missing include, a wave rule across included files)
2	Usage error (missing input, bad flags, unsupported format, file not found, empty stdin, invalid `--diagnostic-format`, binary→TTY refusal)
3	Output error (cannot write to destination)

Manual

After any package-manager install (brew install lolay/tap/nowline, npm install -g @nowline/cli, or the .deb from GitHub Releases), man nowline shows the CLI manual and man 5 nowline shows the full DSL reference. Both man pages also ship as standalone assets on every GitHub Release — see packages/cli/man/ for the mdoc sources.

Language at a glance

File structure

nowline v1                        // 1. version directive (optional, must be first)

include "shared/teams.nowline" // 2. includes include "brand.nowline" config:isolate

config // 3. config section (optional) scale name: weeks style enterprise bg: blue fg: navy

roadmap r "My Roadmap" // 4. roadmap section

swimlane platform item x "Work item" duration:1w status:done

Entities

Keyword	Purpose
`roadmap`	The top-level roadmap declaration. At most one per file.
`swimlane`	A horizontal lane of work.
`item`	A unit of work inside a swimlane.
`parallel`	A block whose children run concurrently.
`group`	A logical grouping of items, rendered together.
`anchor`	A named date on the timeline.
`milestone`	A point-in-time marker that depends on work.
`wave`	A barrier across every swimlane: no work in the next wave starts until this one ends.
`footnote`	A callout anchored to one or more entities.
`person`, `team`	Ownership references.
`non-working`, `working`	Days that consume no work (weekends, holidays, closures) and the exceptions that give them back. Config entries with `date:`, `start:` / `end:` or `every:`; a declaration named `weekend` replaces the business weekend. A dated closure with a title is labelled on the chart (`Thanksgiving · 2d`) and carried into the MS Project and Mermaid exports; a titled working day is labelled with the days it adds (`Crunch Saturday · +1d`).
`style`, `symbol`, `label`, `size`, `status`, `scale`, `calendar`, `default`	Config and declaration entries.

Properties

item auth "Auth refactor"

duration: 2w // duration literal: d, w, m, q, y status: in-progress // builtin or custom from config owner: sam // id reference (person or team) wave: build // barrier the item belongs to (a declared wave) after: kickoff // dependency (single) after: [kickoff, approvals] // dependency (list) remaining: 30% // percentage labels: [security, p0] // list of label ids link: https://… // URL (bare, no quotes)

Roadmap start date

A roadmap may carry an optional start:YYYY-MM-DD that anchors the timeline baseline:

roadmap platform-2026 "Platform 2026" start:2026-01-06

If the roadmap contains any anchor, or any milestone with a date: property, start: is required.
Every such date must be on or after start:.
A pure-relative roadmap (built from duration: and after: only) does not need start:.
Across includes that don't use roadmap:ignore, the parent and any included roadmap must agree on start: — both absent, or both present with the same value. Mismatches are errors, not silent overrides.

Includes

include "teams.nowline"                     // merge everything (default)

include "snippet.nowline" config:ignore // skip child config include "partner.nowline" roadmap:isolate // render child as a separate region

merge — default: child content is merged; parent definitions win on collision.

Only the beginning is shown; read the rest in the repo

Nowline

Overview

PopNx MCP’s three pillars

What you can do with it

Install

Before you install

What it can do

Basic checksi

Maker matches the repo

Still maintained

Has a licence

Endpoint responds

Sign-in with OAuth

No hidden instructions in tool descriptions

Compared with others in Otheri

Common questions

Alternatives

Spec Driven Development

Remote Desktop Commander

Safe Fetch

README from the maker

What is Nowline?

Why Nowline?

Quick start

Toolchain

Use the CLI

Render (default)

Validate (--dry-run)

Convert text ↔ JSON

Serve (--serve)

Init (--init)

Exit codes

Manual

Language at a glance

File structure

Entities

Properties

Roadmap start date

Includes

Validate (`--dry-run`)

Serve (`--serve`)

Init (`--init`)