Using Plugins

Overview

Plugins in Genesis Writer are selection-based tools. You select text in your draft, choose a plugin, and the plugin processes your selection through an AI prompt pipeline. The result replaces your selected text, and you decide whether to Keep or Discard the change.

This applies to all plugins — both the 8 built-in plugins and any community or custom plugins you've added to your library.

Select text to see plugin options in the floating toolbar

Selecting Text

Before you can run a plugin, you need text selected in the draft editor. Click and drag, or use keyboard shortcuts like Shift+Arrow or Ctrl+A (Cmd+A on Mac) to select text.

The selection is your input. A plugin operates on exactly what you've highlighted — nothing more, nothing less. If you want to transform a single sentence, select just that sentence. If you want to rework an entire scene, select the whole thing.

Running a Plugin

Once you have text selected, there are two ways to run a plugin:

1. Selection toolbar — when you select text, a floating toolbar appears above the selection. Click the plugin icon to see available plugins, then click the one you want.
2. Plugin menu — access plugins from the Tools panel on the right sidebar. This shows your full plugin library including built-in plugins, marketplace additions, and any custom plugins you've created.

After you choose a plugin, the AI begins processing your selected text. You'll see the streaming animation as the result generates, just like with Write and Continue.

Plugin Configuration

Some plugins have configuration options that appear before execution. The most notable example is the Tone Changer, which lets you pick a tone preset before running.

Custom plugins may also include user-facing options depending on how they were built. When a plugin has configuration, a small dialog appears after you select it — set your preferences and click Run to execute.

Multi-Stage Plugins

Some plugins — especially custom ones — use a multi-stage pipeline. This means the plugin runs your text through multiple AI processing steps in sequence, where each stage builds on the output of the previous one.

When a multi-stage plugin is running, you'll see progress indicators showing which stage is active: “Stage 1 of 3...”, “Stage 2 of 3...”, and so on. Only the final stage's output replaces your selected text.

Keep or Discard

After the plugin finishes processing, the result appears in your editor with the familiar inline generation toolbar:

• Keep — accept the transformed text. It replaces your original selection permanently, and tokens are finalized.
• Discard — reject the result. Your original text is restored exactly as it was, and tokens are fully refunded.
• Stop — halt the plugin mid-execution. You can then Keep or Discard whatever was generated up to that point.

Since tokens are refunded on Discard, there's no penalty for trying a plugin and deciding you don't like the result. Run it again with a different model or style until you get something you're happy with.

Style & Model Interaction

Plugins respect your current writing style and model selection. This means the same plugin can produce very different results depending on which style and model are active.

For example, running Rewrite with a “Gothic” writing style and Claude 4.6 Sonnet will produce dramatically different prose than running it with a “Minimalist” style and GPT-5 Mini. The plugin's transformation is filtered through your style pipeline, so the output always matches your project's voice.

Token Cost

Token cost for plugins depends on three factors:

• Text length — more selected text means more input tokens.
• Model — premium models cost more per token than budget models.
• Pipeline stages — multi-stage plugins multiply the cost by the number of stages.

All plugins use Genesis Tokens from your account balance. Discarded results are always fully refunded.

Tips for Using Plugins

• Start with built-in plugins. The 8 built-in plugins cover the most common text transformations. Get comfortable with these before exploring custom or marketplace plugins.
• Chain plugins for complex edits. Run Expand to lengthen a passage, then Polish to clean it up, then Tone Changer to set the mood. Each plugin builds on the last.
• Use Suggest before transforming. Not sure which plugin to run? Use Suggest first to get improvement ideas, then pick the right tool for the job.
• Try the same plugin with different models. Budget models are fast and cheap for quick passes. Premium models are better for final-draft refinement.
• Browse the marketplace. The Plugin Marketplace has community-created plugins for specialized transformations you won't find in the built-in set.