Script Hive is Alive!
The new database is here, so let's hear it for the developers! 🤓
Dear Script Hive Community,
After a grueling 6-7 months, beta-testing has completed and the new Script Hive database is here! Technically we launched around November 8th, but I’m calling it a soft launch since it wasn’t very publicized. I only notified the people who previously had access to the old database, because the old one is officially GONE. This means no more Google Drive, google groups, Awesometable, google sites, google forms… Bye bye Google!
Our VIP members did a great job helping us beta-test the new site and even suggested some cool new features just for them, like dark mode, favoriting scripts and unlimited downloads.
Our team of indexers finally, FINALLY has been able to start playing catch up and has begun the tedious (yet fun?) process of indexing all the scripts that were weighing down my laptop, waiting to be added. I’m not kidding when I say I’ve had so many scripts on my laptop I could barely use it for anything else. And yes, I tried moving them all onto Onedrive, and that created a whole other can of problems for me.
But I digress. The # of scripts in the database has already increased to well over 23k and it is swiftly going up. I think we’ve earned our shiny new meta description:
Script Hive is the world’s largest free library of professional film and TV scripts, created for screenwriters to study and learn for educational purposes. Because scripts should be free. #ReadTheMovies
I hesitate to write more because I know no one reads this (except Discord member Matt) but speaking of Discord, I just want to point out one of the main differences with our new database is that it does NOT require a Discord membership. Anyone can create an account at https://scripthive.com and they don’t have to join our (awesome) community on Discord. They don’t have to be active a certain amount of days per month. In fact, they don’t even have to have a Google email. So it’s really hassle free!
But, how did we get here? Take it away Rob (admiral)…
A Word From Rob & Our Dev Team
Hi Hivers!
So, a little story…
Back in March 2025, the Google application that updated the Script Hive database started randomly failing. After some investigation, I realized it had hit a limit and was able to temporarily increase that limit. However, I soon realized that with the huge amount of screenplays Smish and team were adding, we’d reach an even harder limit within six months or so.
That’s when we set out to replace the previous database with something more future-proof and scaleable. Initially, we set out to simply replace the old database, however since we moved to our own custom site we realized there were a lot of asks that could be answered, and pain points that could be healed.
As the scope increased, we took on additional developers, to not just replace the old site, but to make something better, faster, stronger, and with 100% more oomph. A wave of volunteers reached out to help us accelerate toward our goal (and against our deadline!)
A tremendous thanks to Unsquare, who took up the reigns as I started to get pulled into other work and life commitments. Without him, we would have released with far fewer features, or months later.
About Unsquare:
“Jeff James began coding at a young age when he taught himself BASIC on his family’s Apple IIgs. As a writer, he contributed several episodes to the fourth season of Camp Camp for Rooster Teeth.”
Also big thanks to Lucas, who did a lot of the backend work, to make sure that the site was scalable, speedy, and secure for our users.
About Lucas:
“Lucas Ulmer is a passionate web developer for a long time. He likes exploring the possibilities offered by both frontend and backend languages. Apart from programming, Lucas is also a great moviegoer and writes short movies.”
We also had many other developers assisting us. Jim, Jim-Frank, Vaso, Nolan, Sproj, and Nickman, who all helped with various parts of the development. Bios below if provided:
Jim: “Jim Hodgson found learning REACT easier than writing this sentence.”
Nolan: “Nolan is a Philadelphia-based writer currently developing a coming-of-age screenplay and a courtroom legal drama stage play. (He’s also in grad school studying political science, communication, and statistics/data science.)”
Also a huge shout out to National, who was critical in the migration from the old database to the new one. And of course Smish and the various testers who helped us cinch up the site and fix bugs.
Oh and I gotta take this chance to hustle myself…
About me: “Rob Bailey is a senior technical consultant for a SaaS company but he’d rather be a screenwriter. When he’s not doing javascript/sql/react/typescript or whatever, he’s probably writing comedy for Hard Times. He’s also a screenwriter who writes out-of-this-world characters in scifi and comedy.”
Couldn’t be happier than for what we built, and prouder of the team that built it.
Lastly, want to thank you all so much for being an awesome community and hope you enjoy the greatest screenwriting educational resource the world over.
Cheers!
admiral (Rob)
Thank you, Rob. I’m sure no one else is reading by this point, so I just wanted to say I’m sorry if I pushed you too hard and I hope one day you will forgive me. You saved Script Hive and I’ll always be grateful to you.
Until next time,
smish
FADE OUT! Keep writing, keep hustling, and see you around the Hive!
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The transition from Google Drive to a custom platform sounds like it was a massiv undertaking. Having 23k+ scripts indexed and accesible without Discord requirements really opens this up to so many more screenwiters. The fact that VIP members get dark mode and favoriting is a nice touch for supporting the project.
I read the whole thing :) Amazing effort all around - thank you all so much for creating and improving this valuable resource! I can only begin to imagine what you folks went through. Thank you!!