Bookhand
Notes that feel like paper
Free · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.
Bookhand is a free app for writing little books: journals, notes, ideas, short stories, poetry, philosophical treatises or anything else you feel like writing.
The idea is that your words live on something like actual paper. Your text is typeset onto real pages with proper margins and page numbers, the pages curl as you turn them, and every notebook gets its own paper size, typefaces, colors and a cover you design yourself.
READING
A notebook opens in Page Mode, laid out the way it would be set on printed paper, from pocket A6 up to A4. There's also a full-screen e-reader mode with the same page-turning, an outline for jumping to a chapter or section, in-book search, and a page grid for finding your place visually.
WRITING
Edit Mode is a full-screen, distraction-free editor for your award-winning novel, thrilling memoir or truly revolutionary shopping list, whichever the case may be. Paragraphs can be headings, body text or block quotes; add images and control how they sit on the page. A rearrange mode lets you move, copy and cut whole paragraphs at once.
MAKE IT YOURS
Choose from seventeen carefully picked typefaces, set your paper size and margins, pick paper and ink colors, style the page numbers, then design the cover: board color, patterns, foil stamping, frames, flourishes and your own lettering.
YOUR WORDS ARE YOURS
Notebooks are stored on your device. There are no accounts, no servers and no database, and your text goes nowhere unless you want it to. Export to PDF, EPUB, Markdown or plain text, or as a .bookhand file for handing a notebook to someone else (or storing a backup for yourself). Import works too: bring in Markdown, plain text or EPUB. Notebooks can also be locked or hidden behind a PIN.
FREE, REALLY
Bookhand is made by one person as a personal project, so it's free, with no ads, no in-app purchases, no subscriptions and no upsell pop-ups. I just wanted an app where it's fun to sit down and write little books. I imagine you do too, so here we are.
Ratings & Reviews
- This app has not received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
Bug fixes (notably the "ghost page" bug where a book would show a wrong page until closed and reopened)
The developer, Bruno Takahashi Carvalhas de Oliveira, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Provider
- Bruno Takahashi Carvalhas de Oliveira
- Size
- 18.3 MB
- Category
- Productivity
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 26.5 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 26.5 or later. - iPad
Requires iPadOS 26.5 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 26.5 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later. - Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 26.5 or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
- English
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- Copyright
- © 2026 Bruno T Oliveira