Easy AI Writer adds an AI Writer button to the Joomla article editor. Select text, pick an action, read the result next to the original, then insert it. The rewrite changes the words and keeps every paragraph, heading, list, class, inline style, and Joomla shortcode that was already on the article.

Live demo: demo.joomlax.com/demo/utilities/easy-ai-writer

What you can do

• Rewrite, fix grammar, shorten, expand, simplify, change tone, or translate a selection
• Draft a new article from a brief, or continue writing where the cursor is
• Write the intro text, meta description, title ideas, and image alt text for the article you are editing
• Add your own actions with an instruction of your choice
• See every request in History with the user, action, token count, and result

The result is never saved on its own. You always read it first, and Undo in the editor takes it back.

Before you install

• Joomla: 5.x or 6.x (the plugin uses the Joomla 5 editor API)
• PHP: 8.1 or newer with the curl extension
• Provider: an API key for OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, Groq, OpenRouter, Mistral, DeepSeek, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Ollama and LM Studio on the same server work with no key.
• Editor: TinyMCE, JCE, CodeMirror, or the None editor

Your provider bills the account that owns the key. Easy AI Writer sends only the text you select, the article title, and the category name.

Step 1: Download

After purchase, download EasyAIWriter_UNZIP.zip from your email or the Downloads section.

Step 2: Install the package

1. Extract EasyAIWriter_UNZIP.zip.
2. System > Install > Extensions
3. Upload the pkg_easyaiwriter zip inside it.
4. System > Maintenance > Clear Cache

The package installs three parts: the Easy AI Writer component, the Button: Easy AI Writer editor plugin, and the Task: Easy AI Writer plugin that trims old history. Both plugins are enabled on first install. Updating keeps your settings and your plugin states.

Updates

Updates appear under System > Update > Extensions. Add your download ID under System > Update Sites when Joomla asks for it.

1. Open Components > Easy AI Writer > Configuration.
2. On the Provider tab, choose your provider. The address and the model fill in. Paste the key and click Connect. When it says connected, click Save.
3. Open an article. In TinyMCE the button is under CMS Content > AI Writer. Other editors show an AI Writer button under the text area. Or press Ctrl+Alt+W with the cursor in the editor.
4. Select a paragraph, choose Rewrite, and click Generate. Read the result, then click Replace selection.

The dashboard shows requests this month, failures, the most used action, and how many authors used the button, plus the latest requests and quick links.

The key stays in Configuration on your server. It is never sent to the browser. Leave the Secret key field blank on later saves to keep the stored key.

1. Open Components > Easy AI Writer > Configuration > Provider.
2. Choose the provider. The address and the model fill in. Choosing does not save anything.
3. Paste the key, click Connect to check that the provider accepts it, then click Save. Connect does not save the key.

OpenAI

1. Choose OpenAI. The address becomes https://api.openai.com/v1 and the model becomes gpt-4o-mini.
2. Open platform.openai.com/api-keys, create a secret key, and copy it. OpenAI shows the full key only once.
3. Paste it into Secret key, click Connect, then Save.

Anthropic Claude

1. Choose Anthropic Claude. The model becomes claude-sonnet-5.
2. Open Claude settings, API keys and create a key. It starts with sk-ant-.
3. Paste it, click Connect, then Save. Requests go to Anthropic directly when the address is api.anthropic.com, or when a claude model is used with the default OpenAI address. Claude models through OpenRouter or a proxy use the address as given.

Replacing or removing a key

Paste a new key and Save to replace the stored one. A blank key field keeps the saved key. To delete the key, switch Remove the saved key to Yes and Save; the editor button stops working until a new key is saved.

Other providers

• Google Gemini: model gemini-2.5-flash. Create the key in Google AI Studio.
• Groq: model llama-3.3-70b-versatile. Create the key at console.groq.com/keys.
• OpenRouter: model openai/gpt-4o-mini. Create the key at openrouter.ai/keys.
• Mistral: model mistral-small-latest. Create the key in Mistral Studio under API keys.
• DeepSeek: model deepseek-chat. Create the key at platform.deepseek.com/api_keys.
• Ollama on this computer: model llama3.2. No website key. Ollama must run on the same server with that model pulled.
• LM Studio on this computer: change the model to the name loaded in LM Studio. The local server must be running.
• Custom OpenAI-compatible: type the address ending in /v1, the key, and the model name your provider documents.

Show text as it arrives

Leave this on to watch the result stream into the panel and to use the Stop button. Turn it off if your host buffers output and the text only appears at the end.

Open it

In TinyMCE, open CMS Content in the toolbar and choose AI Writer. In JCE, CodeMirror, and the None editor, click the AI Writer button under the text area. Or press Ctrl+Alt+W (Cmd+Alt+W on Mac) while the cursor is in the editor. The button only shows for users with the Use AI Writer permission.

Edit actions

Select text first. Rewrite, Fix grammar, Shorten, Simplify, Change tone, and Translate change the words and keep every tag, class, inline style, and shortcode in the selection. Expand and Headings and lists may add or remove paragraphs. With nothing selected the whole field is used.

Write actions

Draft from a brief writes a full article from the title and any notes typed in the editor. Continue writes on from the cursor. Both insert below the selection.

Fields

Intro text, Meta description, and Title ideas write for that field of the article. Image alt lists the images in the selection that have no alt text, writes one for each from the file name and the text around it, and lets you edit each line before you insert.

Read before you insert

• Show changes marks removed words in red and added words in green.
• Check facts before you insert: a date, price, number, or name that was not in the source is listed under the result. Click Keep for each one you have checked, or edit the result. Insert stays off until they are resolved.
• Stop ends a long reply early. The partial text stays on screen for reference and cannot be inserted.
• Replace selection puts the result where the selection was. Insert below adds it after. Copy copies plain text. Try again asks once more. Discard closes the panel and changes nothing.
• Replacing more than 200 words asks you to confirm first. Undo in the editor takes any insert back.

Optional instruction for this run

Type one line such as Keep it under 80 words or Mention the Sunday closing time. It applies to this Generate only. The site voice from Configuration is always applied.

Open Components > Easy AI Writer > Actions. Every built-in action is listed with where its result goes, which groups see it, and how often it was used this month.

• Turn off an action with the status icon. It disappears from the panel for everyone.
• Reorder actions by dragging the handle. The panel follows this order.
• Limit to groups so that, for example, only Editors see Translate.

Custom actions

Click New to add your own. Give it a title that shows in the panel, and an instruction that tells the model what to do with the selected text, for example Rewrite for a reader who has never visited Kerala. Explain any local word in a few plain words. Keep every price, time, and date.

• Result goes to: replace the selection, or insert below it.
• Allows new layout: No keeps every paragraph and its styling and rewrites only the words. Yes lets the model add or remove paragraphs, headings, and lists.

Custom actions appear under a Custom heading in the panel. Users need the Manage actions permission to see this screen.

This action rewrites a travel paragraph for first-time visitors. It replaces the selection and keeps the layout, so the bold place names and the list stay exactly where they were.

1. Actions > New
2. Title: Explain for beginners
3. Instruction: Rewrite for a reader who has never visited Kerala. Explain any local word in a few plain words. Keep every price, time, and date.
4. Result goes to: Replace the selection. Allows new layout: No.
5. Save. The action is in the panel the next time an article is opened.

Site voice

On the Site voice tab, describe how this site writes: audience, tone, spelling, words to avoid. It is sent with every request so authors do not need to repeat it. Translate targets lists the languages offered in the Translate action. Content languages installed on the site are offered automatically.

Limits

• Characters per request: longer selections are cut to this length before they are sent. Drafts are not affected.
• Monthly request cap: results delivered per calendar month across all users, counted in the site timezone. Provider errors and cap rejections are logged but do not count. 0 means no cap. When the cap is reached, authors see a message in the panel.
• Keep history for: days before a history row is deleted. 0 keeps rows forever.
• Keep text for: days before the source and result text are removed from a history row. Only the summary row stays. 0 never stores text.

Trimming runs from the Easy AI Writer: Prune history task. Open System > Scheduled Tasks > New, pick it, and set a daily schedule.

Editor

• Keyboard shortcut: default Ctrl+Alt+W. Use Ctrl, Alt, Shift, and one letter.
• Frontend editing: shows the button in the site article form for logged-in users who can use it.
• Confirm before replacing a whole article: asks before a result replaces more than 200 words.

Open Components > Easy AI Writer > History. Every request is a row with the time, user, action, article, result, tokens, and the number of new facts that were flagged.

• Inserted means the author put the result in the article. Done means it was generated and not inserted. Failed shows the reason: provider error, monthly cap, stopped by the author, or a result that did not match the layout.
• View source and result opens the original and the generated text side by side in a full screen window while the text is still stored (see Keep text for). Press Escape or click outside to close it.
• Filter by user, action, result, and date. Search by article id or error text.
• Select rows and click Delete, or Delete all history to start again.

Users need the View history permission to see this screen and Delete to remove rows.

Open Components > Easy AI Writer > Configuration > Permissions.

• Use AI Writer: shows the button and allows requests. On install this is allowed for Author, Editor, Publisher, Manager, and Administrator.
• Manage actions: the Actions screen. On install: Manager and Administrator.
• View history: the History screen. On install: Manager and Administrator.
• Configure Options: the Configuration screen. The stored key is never shown there. Only users with Configure ACL & Options see the Permissions tab.
• Delete: removes or purges history rows.

Each action can also be limited to groups on its edit screen. Super Users always see every published action.

• No AI Writer button: check that the Button: Easy AI Writer plugin is enabled, that the user has the Use AI Writer permission, and that the editor has not hidden the CMS Content menu. Clear the cache and reload the page.
• Could not reach the provider: open Configuration and click Connect. Check the address ends in /v1 for OpenAI-compatible providers and that the server can make outgoing HTTPS requests.
• The provider took too long: select a shorter passage, or lower Characters per request.
• The result could not be matched to the layout: the model merged or split fragments. Click Try again, or use an action that allows a new layout.
• Insert stays off: a new fact is listed under the result. Click Keep for each one you have checked.
• Text appears only at the end: your host buffers output. Turn off Show text as it arrives.
• Monthly limit message: raise or clear the Monthly request cap under Configuration > Limits.
• Frontend button missing: turn on Frontend editing under Configuration > Editor and log in as a user with the Use AI Writer permission.

Open a ticket at support.joomlax.com.

Include the Joomla version, PHP version, the editor you use, the provider and model, and the row from History for the request that failed. Do not paste the API key.