Free and open source · Fired in the open

Where work gets made.

An office suite with a little fire in it.

Kiln Write, Grid, Deck and Notes replace Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. Your .docx, .xlsx and .pptx open as they are, the ribbon and shortcuts are where you left them, and it runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, Android and the web. No subscription, no account.

Windows first release coming macOS first release coming Linux first release coming Android first release coming

Kiln is being rebuilt on a native Rust core; the first release, v0.1.0, is being built in the open. Follow it on GitHub or build it from source.

Everything you use Office for

Writing, numbers and presenting, with the files you already have. Kiln reads and writes the Office formats directly, so nothing has to be converted first.

Opens and saves your files

.docx, .xlsx and .pptx, plus OpenDocument, CSV and PDF export. Parts it cannot edit, such as macros, are carried through a save untouched.

The layout you know

Ribbon, File menu, status bar, Key Tips on Alt and Office's keyboard shortcuts, in a lighter design with light and dark themes.

Find any command

The command palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) searches every command, by its name here or by what Office calls it.

Version history

Every document keeps its own history on your device: name a version, preview it, restore it.

Collaboration you host

Edit documents and slides together, live, through a small server you run yourself. Nobody else sees your files.

Every device

Desktop apps for Linux, macOS and Windows, an Android app, and a web app that installs and works offline.

Four apps, one kiln

A kiln is where soft things become things that last. Every app is a glazed tile shaped like a kiln arch, and each burns its own colour.

Kiln Write

Documents, for Word users

Pages laid out the way Word lays them out, from the same .docx.

  • Styles, sections, headers and footers, footnotes, tables of contents
  • Track changes and threaded comments
  • Markdown shortcuts as you type, and a focus mode

Kiln Grid

Spreadsheets, for Excel users

A formula engine that follows Excel's rules, down to dynamic arrays and LAMBDA.

  • More than 350 functions, with their arguments shown as you type
  • Charts, pivot tables, conditional formatting, sort and filter
  • Formula Lab: watch a formula evaluate step by step

Kiln Deck

Presentations, for PowerPoint users

Masters, layouts and themes as PowerPoint defines them.

  • Smart guides while you arrange shapes
  • Slide show and presenter view, with notes and a timer
  • Transitions, animations and handouts

Kiln Notes

Notebooks, for OneNote users

Notebooks with sections, pages and tags, written with the same editor as Kiln Write.

  • To Do, Important and your own tags, with a summary of everything tagged
  • Search across every notebook; export a page to .docx, Markdown or PDF
  • All of them opened from Kiln Home: what are we making today?

Feels like home

If you have used Office, you already know where things are.

  • The ribbon, with the same tabs and groups in the same order, in the classic or the simplified layout, and Ctrl+F1 to collapse it.
  • The File menu (Backstage): recent files, templates, Info, Save As, Print with preview, Export and Options.
  • The status bar, with page and word counts in Kiln Write, sums and averages of the selection in Kiln Grid, and zoom.
  • Office's shortcuts, all of them, and Key Tips when you press Alt.
  • Office's words: search the palette for "Merge & Center" or "Format Painter" and you get the command.
Bold, italic, underlineCtrl+B / I / U
Save asF12
Edit the cell (Kiln Grid)F2
Absolute reference (Kiln Grid)F4
Slide show from the start (Kiln Deck)F5
Key TipsAlt
Command paletteCtrl+Shift+P

All keyboard shortcuts

Compared with Microsoft 365

What changes when you switch, and what does not.

KilnMicrosoft 365
PriceFreeSubscription, or a one-time purchase of an older version
AccountNoneMicrosoft account required
FormatsDOCX, XLSX, PPTX natively; ODF import and export; CSV; PDF exportDOCX, XLSX, PPTX natively; ODF; CSV; PDF export
Works offlineYes, including the web appDesktop apps yes; web apps no
CollaborationLive, through a server you run (Kiln Write, Kiln Deck, Kiln Notes)Live, through OneDrive or SharePoint
Version historyEvery document, kept on your deviceFiles stored in OneDrive or SharePoint
Macros (VBA)Kept in the file, not runRun
PlatformsLinux, Windows, macOS, Android, webWindows, macOS, iOS, Android, web
LicenceOpen source, AGPL-3.0-or-laterProprietary

Roadmap

Kiln is being built in the open, one reviewed work package at a time. There is no release yet; this is where it stands.

23 / 49

v0.1 work packages done; four more are part-built and resume next.

240 / 686

Office features a switcher would miss, done or better (critical and commonly missed).

484+

Excel functions, checked against 5,300 conformance cases.

  1. DoneRust core: text shaping, layout, formula engine, charts, PDF export. Word, Excel and PowerPoint files open and save with round-trip tests. The Kiln interface, the Write editor and the Grid surface.
  2. NextGrid sorting, filters, conditional formatting and pivot tables; the Deck editor and slide shows; OpenDocument files; Kiln Notes; collaboration and version history.
  3. ThenDesktop apps for Windows, macOS and Linux, the Android app and the web app; accessibility and translations; benchmarks against LibreOffice, ONLYOFFICE and the other open suites.
  4. v0.1.0The first release, with installers and screenshots. After it, parity rounds close the remaining gaps with Office, release by release.

Details, decisions and the full list: docs/STATUS.md.

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/ZahakJ/kiln && cd kiln
bash tools/setup-rust.sh && bash tools/setup-node.sh
pnpm install
cargo xtask verify
pnpm dev        # http://localhost:5173

Rust 1.99, Node 24 and pnpm. The contributing guide covers tests and the desktop and Android builds.