About BranchPy
Built from frustration. Powered by passion. Designed for creators who deserve tools that actually help.
Our Mission
Visual novel creators shouldn't have to choose between making great stories and fighting technical problems. BranchPy exists to handle the tedious parts—finding bugs, checking assets, mapping story flows—so you can focus on what matters: your story.
Whether you're writing your first Ren'Py script or managing a studio with hundreds of scenes, BranchPy gives you the tools to work smarter. Not harder.
How It Started
A few months ago, I tried making my own Ren'Py game.
I downloaded Ren'Py, opened it, and thought:
"Looks easy. I can totally do this."
Reality hit fast. Suddenly I was drowning in errors:
- Why is this sprite not showing?
- Where did I put that image file?
- Why is this branch broken again??
- Who invented the word 'indentation' and why does it hate me?
Instead of quitting, I took a weird path: I started building tools to help myself… and realized other developers needed the same things.
BranchPy was born from frustration, curiosity, and a desire to make VN creation more enjoyable.
Why BranchPy Is Different
🎯 Built for Creators, Not Corporations
Most dev tools are built for massive teams or complex corporate workflows. BranchPy is different. It's built for individual creators and small teams who just want to make great visual novels without the bureaucracy.
🔓 Your Work Stays Yours
BranchPy works completely offline. Your scripts, your images, your story—it all stays on your computer. No cloud uploads unless you explicitly choose them. No data mining. No surprise terms of service changes.
💚 Ren'Py Gets Everything Free
Ren'Py is free and open-source. So if you're using Ren'Py, BranchPy is free too—all features, forever. This isn't a trial or a "lite" version. It's the full toolkit, because supporting the Ren'Py community matters.
🛠️ Tools That Actually Help
Every feature in BranchPy exists because a real creator needed it. No bloat. No "enterprise features" nobody uses. Just tools that solve actual problems: finding bugs, visualizing stories, tracking assets, jumping to code.
Who I Am
I'm a solo developer based in Quebec 🍁, passionate about visual novels, automation, and making complicated things simple.
I'm not trying to build "the next big startup" or chase venture capital. I'm building the tools I wish existed when I first opened Ren'Py.
BranchPy is a passion project that happens to be useful to others. That's what makes it special.
You Stay in Control
BranchPy is built with transparency by design. All core features work completely offline without any AI or external services:
- Story visualization, lint, and error detection work offline — no internet required
- Optional AI features use "Bring Your Own AI" (BYOAI) model — you control your provider and API keys
- All AI features are completely optional and disabled by default
- Telemetry is optional and never sent automatically
- All data stays on your machine unless you explicitly choose to share it
Core BranchPy works great without any AI. Always.
The Road Ahead
BranchPy started with Ren'Py because that's what I was using. But the vision is bigger: eventually, any visual novel creator—whether you use Ren'Py, Godot, Unity, Ink, or something else—should be able to benefit from these tools.
Right now, the focus is on:
- Polishing the Ren'Py experience until it's rock-solid
- Making documentation clear and helpful
- Listening to feedback from the community
- Building features that actually matter to creators
This is a long-term project. One careful step at a time. No rushing, no hype, no promises I can't keep.
Thank You
If you're here, you're already part of the story. BranchPy exists because creators like you keep giving feedback, testing features, and pushing the idea forward.
Let's build tools worthy of the games we love.