Write and draw your question
Open a topic on your iPad. Write “Why do rivers bend?” in your own handwriting. Sketch the river, draw a circle around the bend, add an arrow. The whole page is your question.
For the joy of figuring it out
Write your question on iPad.
Claude answers.
Write and draw on your iPad with Apple Pencil. Claude reads the words, diagrams, and arrows, then answers below your ink in red handwriting. Your Mac runs the app. Your iPad is the canvas.
A conversation in handwriting
WonderEmber
Writing the question
Why draw it, not type it
In a chat box, you describe what you mean in a line of text. On your iPad, you draw it. Circle the part you don’t get. Put an arrow between two ideas. Claude reads the whole page: the words, the sketches, the arrows, and where you put them.
Chat box
Freehand
How it works
It reads messy pages
Your page doesn’t have to be neat. Claude reads messy handwriting, crossed-out words, arrows, circles, and diagrams. It sees where things are on the page, not just what they say.
The conversation keeps going
You ask. Claude answers. Then it asks you something back. A follow-up, a “what if,” a question about the part you skipped over. The conversation keeps going because you’re learning, not copying an answer.
Watch a question find its next question
A full conversation about rivers, from first question to follow-up.
What you need
WonderEmber is a Mac app. Your iPad opens a page in Safari over your home Wi-Fi. There is no iPad app to install. Both devices need to be on the same network, and your Mac stays awake while you use it. You need a paid Claude plan from Anthropic (Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise). The free plan won’t work. Windows is coming later.
Same Wi-Fi
Mac
iPad
Your Claude plan, not a separate bill
You don’t buy API tokens. You don’t paste an API key. You sign in with your Anthropic account, the same one you already pay for. Replies come from your plan, and WonderEmber never sees your password.
Honest caveat: this depends on Anthropic continuing to allow third-party apps to run Claude Code under a subscription login. If that changes, WonderEmber will need a different way to connect.
Your pages stay on your Mac
Pages are stored in a folder on your computer (~/Wonderember/sessions). Nothing goes to WonderEmber’s servers. WonderEmber has no servers. When you ask a question, the page image goes to Anthropic so Claude can read it.
Download WonderEmber
The Mac app is free, with no time limit. Enter your email and I’ll send you the download link.
Install the app
Open the DMG and drag WonderEmber into your Applications folder.
Install Claude Code
If you already have Claude Code, skip this step. Otherwise, open Terminal and run:
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bashThen run
claudeonce and sign in through the browser with your paid Claude plan (Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise).Open WonderEmber
WonderEmber checks whether Claude Code is installed and whether you’re signed in. If something is missing, it tells you what to fix and gives you a link.
Connect your iPad
On the Mac, WonderEmber shows a QR code and a link. Open the Camera app on your iPad and scan the QR code. The page opens in Safari. Both devices must be on the same Wi-Fi.
If you restart WonderEmber, it creates a new link. A Home Screen shortcut saved from the old link won’t work. Scan the new QR code or type the new link.
Windows is coming later. Right now WonderEmber runs on Apple-silicon Macs only.
Have a question or an idea? Write to support@wonderember.com.
Questions
Where does my handwriting go?
Your pages stay on your Mac, in a folder you can open anytime (~/Wonderember/sessions). When you ask Claude a question, the page image goes to Anthropic so Claude can read it. Nothing goes to WonderEmber’s servers. WonderEmber has no servers.
What does it cost?
The beta is free, with no time limit. I haven’t decided on pricing for the finished app yet. You need a paid Claude plan from Anthropic (Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise). The free Anthropic plan won’t work.
What do I need to use it?
A Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 13 or newer. An iPad with Apple Pencil. Safari on the iPad. Both devices on the same Wi-Fi. Your Mac stays awake while you use it. There’s no iPad app to install. Your iPad opens a page in Safari. You can get the Mac app from the download section on this page. You also need Claude Code installed and signed in.
What if Claude misreads my handwriting?
Claude reads rough handwriting, but a very crowded page can cause mistakes. If a read is wrong, you can cross it out and write the word more clearly, or write a correction and Claude will see it on the next look. The whole page goes to Claude each time, so it has full context.
How long does a reply take?
Replies take time. A typical answer arrives in tens of seconds. The app shows a counter (“Thinking... 12 s”) so you know it’s working. This is not a chat app where responses appear instantly. You write a question, wait, and the answer appears on the page in red handwriting.
Is it safe to install?
The app is signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple, which means Apple checked it for malware before it was published. It opens without a Gatekeeper warning. On your Mac, WonderEmber runs a local server on port 8765 over your own Wi-Fi so your iPad can reach it. Your pages are saved in a folder on your Mac (~/Wonderember/sessions). The app does not phone home. WonderEmber has no servers and collects no data.
Who made this
I’m Prashant. I built WonderEmber because I wanted to learn freehand, drawing and making connections, with Claude answering right there on the page. It’s a one-person project. I drew the handwriting font from my own letters and tested the app by learning things I was curious about. My email is support@wonderember.com. I read and answer every message myself.