February 28, 2026
Burn After Writing, but make it cozy
Show HN: Tomoshibi – A writing app where your words fade by firelight
A cozy flame editor that frees some writers—and freaks out others
TLDR: A new app makes your on-screen words fade while saving them in your browser. Commenters split between “liberating” and “panic,” flagging a paragraph-fading quirk, some lag, and even accusing the promo of being AI-written—plus a rival minimalist tool entered the chat.
Tomoshibi is a moody little writing app where your words visibly fade by firelight—and the crowd came in hot. One early tester confessed they were “frustrated that my text was gone,” then weirdly zen about it: it was ephemeral anyway. Cue debate: if there’s a Reader mode that lets you see what you wrote later, does that break the spell or make it usable? Meanwhile, a practical glitch stole the spotlight: “If I keep writing in a single paragraph, the lines don’t disappear,” grumbled one user, who also spotted some lag. That turned into a mini panic about starting new paragraphs and “losing” work.
Then came the spicy bomb: someone calling the launch post “obviously LLM-written” (LLM = AI text generator). Art project or AI hype? Popcorn time. Another commenter flexed a cousin concept—typing one word at a time—over at flow.voxos.ai, because apparently minimalism has levels. And yes, the how do I save chorus arrived: the app says everything stays in your browser, no account needed, so the fade is visual only.
The vibe: cozy flame, no menus, older lines fade after you move on—you can fix typos, just not spiral. Some felt free, others felt anxiety. Call it Burn After Writing, but make it cute. Mac app teased soon.
Key Points
- •Tomoshibi is a minimalist writing app where previously written lines gradually fade from view while content remains saved.
- •The fade occurs after moving on to new text, allowing quick typo fixes but discouraging extensive rewrites.
- •All writing is saved locally; users can return and review their work, with the last sentence waiting on reopen.
- •The interface features a dark screen, a small flame that responds to typing, and no toolbars or menus.
- •The app offers four themed modes (Lantern, Dawn, Snowfield, Paper and ink) and notes a Mac app is coming soon.