How to Check Grammar and Spelling in Every App on Windows in 2026 (Private, On-Device)
You can check grammar and spelling in every app on your Windows PC without sending your writing to a server. Scribe, in Off Grid AI Desktop (OGAD) Pro, underlines mistakes in your mail and chat apps and in every text box
You can check grammar and spelling in every app on your Windows PC without sending your writing to a server. Scribe, in Off Grid AI Desktop (OGAD) Pro, underlines mistakes in your mail and chat apps and in every text box in OGAD, and checks them on your PC. Hover an underline and take the fix. Select a sentence anywhere, press Ctrl+Alt+Space, and a model on your own computer rewrites it in place.
Cloud grammar checkers read what you type on their servers. Scribe reads it in your PC's memory: "Writing help in every text box. It runs on this computer; your writing never leaves it."
Get Pro for $34.99 once Β· Download Off Grid AI for Windows
What you need
- A 64-bit Windows PC.
- OGAD 0.0.57 or later. Get it from the download page.
- Off Grid AI Pro. Pro is built into the Windows app, so there's no second download. Enter your licence key and click Activate. Pro is $34.99 once, a limited-time price down from $119, or $7.99 a month, for up to 5 devices.
- A chat model for rewrites, downloaded in Models. Spelling and grammar checks don't need one.
Step 1: Open Scribe and try it
Click Scribe in the sidebar. The Try it box already holds a paragraph with a few mistakes, so the underlines show at once.
Hover an underline and a card shows the fix. Press Tab to take it, Esc to close the card, and β β to move between issues. Each fix you take lands in Recent fixes, with where and when.
Step 2: Turn it on in your other apps
The Where it runs card has a switch for each place:
- Off Grid AI covers Chat, Notes and every text box in OGAD.
- Other apps covers your mail, notes and chat apps, Slack included.
- Browser shows whether the Off Grid AI extension is connected.
Turn on Other apps. Windows asks for no permission and no administrator password. Open your mail app, start a reply and type a misspelled word. Scribe draws the same underline over the app's own text box, and the fix goes straight into the email.
The switch at the top of Where it runs turns Scribe on or off everywhere at once.
Step 3: Rewrite with one shortcut
In any app, your browser included, select some text and press Ctrl+Alt+Space. Scribe rewrites the selection on your PC and pastes the result over it. Your clipboard goes back to what it held before.
Inside OGAD you get more control. Pause in a paragraph or press Alt+Enter and Scribe offers an improved version. Select text and click Rewrite for:
- Improve, Clearer, Shorter, Longer, Fix grammar, Persuasive and Translate
- A tone: Same tone, Formal, Casual, Friendly or Confident
- Lay out, which turns a wall of text into short paragraphs and lists, in your words
Click Replace to swap it in.
Rewrites run on your loaded chat model. The Models card names it, such as "Gemma 4 E4B Β· loads on first use." If it reads "Rewrites need a chat model," click Load a model.
Step 4: Teach it your words and your voice
When a fix is wrong, mark it Wrong, and Scribe learns the word. The Learned tab lists every word and preference it picked up, and you can remove any of them. Names of the people and projects in your Off Grid AI memory don't get flagged.
For a house style, open Style guides, click Add a guide (.md) and pick a Markdown or text file, such as brand_voice.md. Every rewrite follows it.
Where Scribe stays quiet
Scribe reads prose, so it skips:
- Password fields and password managers
- Terminals and code editors
- Spreadsheets and settings
- Search fields and rename boxes
If something doesn't work
| What you see | Why | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No underlines in your mail or Slack | Other apps is off | Turn it on in Where it runs |
| No underlines in one app | That app holds code, numbers or passwords | That's on purpose |
| "Rewrites need a chat model" | No chat model is loaded | Click Load a model |
| Ctrl+Alt+Space does nothing | No text is selected | Select at least a word first |
| Scribe shows the upgrade screen | Pro isn't active | Enter your licence key and click Activate |
FAQ
Is there a grammar checker that works in every app on Windows without uploading my text?
Yes. Scribe in Off Grid AI Desktop Pro underlines spelling and grammar in your mail and chat apps and in every Off Grid AI text box, and checks the text on your PC. Your writing never leaves it.
Do I need to run anything as administrator?
No. Turn on Other apps in Scribe and it starts underlining. Windows asks for no permission.
How do I rewrite text in any Windows app?
Select the text and press Ctrl+Alt+Space. Scribe rewrites it with a local chat model on your PC and pastes the result over your selection, then restores your clipboard.
Does Scribe check passwords or code?
No. It skips password fields, terminals, code editors, spreadsheets and password managers, because they hold no prose.
What do I need?
A 64-bit Windows PC, Off Grid AI Desktop 0.0.57 or later, and an Off Grid AI Pro licence. Rewrites also need a chat model downloaded in Models.
Related guides
- How to Dictate Into Windows Apps With Local AI in 2026
- How to Keep Private Markdown Notes With Backlinks and a Graph on Windows in 2026 (Opens Your Obsidian Vault)
- Best Private Grammarly Alternatives in 2026 (Grammar Checks That Stay on Your Computer)
Get Off Grid AI Pro, open Scribe and turn on Other apps. Your next email gets checked on your own PC.
Originally published by Dev.to AI. Aggregated on AIWithGhost for educational purposes β full credit and traffic to the original publisher.