Brew a Preview (Anonymous Brew Widget)

Brew a Preview

The Brew Preview widget on the Coffeescribe homepage lets you try the product before you create an account. You type a topic, get a real AI-generated scribe outline, pick one chapter, and see a full section written with live web-search citations — then read it, look up words, and ask the AI questions about your brew, all anonymously, no login required.

How it works

Step 1 — Watch the arc (or dive straight in)

When you first land on the homepage, the hero area plays a short looping animation showing the full Coffeescribe arc — from typing a topic, through live research sources, cited writing, interactive reading, all the way to your finished scribe. It is the attract state. The moment you click, type in the input, or tap "Try it yourself", the animation hands off immediately to the live Brew widget in the same spot.

Step 2 — Type a topic

In the "What do you want to understand?" box, type any topic (up to 200 characters). Click Brew to generate a scribe structure: a working title, subtitle, a five-to-six chapter outline, and a hook line. A simulated research loading sequence plays while the AI works (Planning → Searching the web → Reading & weighing → Cross-checking → Writing with citations).

Step 3 — Pick a chapter to brew

The outline renders as a scribe card in reading-mode typography. Each chapter title is clickable. Select one — the widget expands into a three-column book view: chapter list on the left, the written section in the centre, and a "Keep this one warm" waitlist rail on the right.

On a phone, the chapter list collapses behind a "Chapters" toggle so the written section stays near the top of the screen — tap "Chapters" to expand the list and switch to a different chapter; picking one collapses it again and takes you straight to the writing.

The written section includes real web sources — the section is written with live web search, not from the model's training data alone.

Step 4 — See the research feed

Before and below the written section, the widget surfaces a research feed: the actual web sources the AI used, with credibility badges and a "N sources · every claim backed" count. This shows you exactly what the AI found — the difference between Coffeescribe and a chatbot that makes things up.

Source links in the text and in the Sources list are shown blue and underlined (light mode) so they read as real links. Click any to open the original source in a new tab.

Step 5 — Read it with the read beat

After the section brews, click "Read it" to open the section in a focused reading-mode view. From here:

  • Highlight a single word → a popover appears with a short dictionary definition. The definition is generated live by AI, anonymously.
  • Highlight a phrase or sentence → a popover appears with a question box. Type a question about the highlighted passage and click Ask. The AI answers in context — grounded only in the text you brewed. It will not go beyond the passage.
  • "Save to notebook" button (teased) → opens the waitlist form. Notebooks are an authenticated feature; joining the waitlist keeps your brew warm and claims it when you sign up.

The read beat only works after you have brewed a section. It is gated behind the same daily brew limit.

Step 6 — Copy, download, or save

Use the action footer at the bottom right to:

  • Copy — copies the section text (plus sources) to your clipboard.
  • Download — a small menu lets you save as .md (Markdown), .txt (plain text), or .pdf (a styled PDF with clickable blue source links and a branded header).

Save and claim your brew

After the section brews, a waitlist form slides in:

"That's one section with a quick search. The full scribe brews every chapter, every section in full, with complete citations from live sources. Join the waitlist and we'll keep this one warm for you."

If you enter your email and join the waitlist, your brew (the topic, the full structure, and the written section) is saved and pinned to that email address. When you later sign up for an account with the same verified email, the brew is automatically converted into a real draft scribe in your library under "Your scribes" — complete with the outline as chapters and the written section in place.

You arrive at your first session with an unfinished scribe waiting to be completed.

Important: the brew is only stored if you choose to join the waitlist. Brews that don't trigger a waitlist join are never persisted — they exist only in your browser session.

Daily limit

You can brew 2 times per day (per IP address). One brew = one structure + one section for a chosen chapter.

If you reach the limit, the Brew button becomes a waitlist CTA with a friendly message. The limit resets daily and is designed to be generous — it exists to prevent the widget being used as a free general-purpose AI chatbot.

The define (word lookup) and Ask AI (passage Q&A) features in the read beat are also gated behind having brewed. They carry their own small per-session caps (define: up to 30 lookups per brew; ask: up to 10 questions per brew) and are bounded by the upstream 2/day/IP brew limit. They use Coffeescribe's platform key — no account, no tokens charged to you.

Light and dark mode

The widget and the entire homepage support light and dark themes, following your system preference and the Coffeescribe theme toggle.

Frequently asked questions

Does brewing cost me anything? No. The Brew Preview is completely free, requires no account, and has no token cost to you. Coffeescribe covers the AI cost from its platform budget.

Can I brew more than one chapter? The preview is limited to one section per brew (2 brews/day/IP). The full product brews every chapter and every section. Join the waitlist to access the complete experience.

What model writes the section? The preview uses a fast DeepSeek model via OpenRouter. The web search citations are pulled from live sources at the time of generation — not cached.

Is the content I brew stored anywhere? Only if you join the waitlist. If you brew and close the page without joining, nothing is saved. If you join the waitlist, the brew is stored tied to your email address and converted to a draft scribe on your first verified signup.

What if I join the waitlist from a different email than the one I use to sign up? The brew is tied to the email you enter in the waitlist form. If you sign up with a different email, the claim does not happen automatically. Use the same email in both places to get your brew claimed.

Can someone else's brew end up in my account? No. Claiming matches only on the email address you verified during account creation. Entering someone else's email in the waitlist form would only ever gift that person a draft — it has no effect on your account.

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