Punchline FoundryTools for working comics
Punchline Foundry / Jokesmith
Material & analytics

Jokesmith

Craft better material with ML-powered laugh detection and performance analytics. See what works, what dies, and what needs refinement.

Analytics Anvil • Visual Heatmaps • Bit Tracking

Jokesmith App Icon
The tool rack

Professional Features

Everything you need to level up your comedy game

01

Joke Library

Organize your material with tags, categories, and performance history. Track which jokes are killing and which need work.

02

Set Builder

Build and arrange setlists with drag-and-drop. Calculate timing and see predicted performance based on venue type.

03

Live Recording

Records your set, transcribes it, and detects audience laughter in real time — distinguishing light chuckles from roaring laughs. Every reaction is matched to your transcript, so you can see exactly what you said when the room responded.

04

Analytics Dashboard

Performance heatmaps, laughs per minute, dead-air detection, joke-by-joke results, and audience intensity across the set. Compare two performances side by side to see whether a rewrite actually improved the bit.

05

StageIntel Predictions

Venue-aware predictions score how your material is likely to land in a given room, so you can spot risky bits before you go up. Requires Jokesmith Pro.

06

Punch-Up Notes

Optional AI-assisted punch-up on any joke: a quick room read, what’s already working, and a few directions to try. It runs only when you ask for it, on that one joke — designed to support your voice, not replace it.

07

Venue Directory

A built-in directory of 100+ comedy venues across the United States, with capacity and booking details, so finding the next room isn’t a separate research project.

08

PDF Transcript Export

Export performance transcripts as polished PDF reports with color-coded laugh overlays — readable proof of what landed, for your own review or a booker.

09

CloudKit Sync

Keep your material in step across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. iCloud sync requires an active subscription or lifetime access.

Bench test · The Set Clock

How long is your set, really?

Jokesmith's Set Builder times a set the same way this clock does: every word of setup and punchline counts 0.4 seconds, and the bits add up. Paste your bits here, one per paragraph, and see where you land against the slot you've got.

Nothing you type leaves this page. It's kept in this browser so it's here when you come back.

0:00Estimated set time
0Bits
0Words
0:00Avg per bit

    Tap a bit's chip to set its temper: Raw Iron, Working, Stageable, Masterwork, the same four marks Jokesmith's Library files your jokes under. The estimate leaves out pauses, tags and laughs. Record the set in Jokesmith to get the real clock.

    On the bench

    App Modules

    Five integrated tabs for complete comedy management

    TAB 01Library

    Jokes and sets together, filterable by Raw, Working, Stage, and Master

    TAB 02Home

    Today’s prompt, your writing streak, and a bit in progress

    TAB 03Perform

    Record live sets with laugh detection and visual feedback

    TAB 04More

    Export, import, press kit, and app settings

    TAB 05Insights

    StageIntel predictions and performance analytics

    Who picks it up

    Who Uses Jokesmith

    For comics who want evidence, not just a feeling about how it went

    01

    Open Micers

    Comedians running the same five minutes across many rooms who want to know which bits actually land versus which ones only feel like they do.

    02

    Working Club Comics

    Performers building a tight twenty who need timing data and joke-level history rather than a vague memory of the set.

    03

    Feature & Headline Acts

    Comics managing multiple sets for different room types, tracking which material travels and which is venue-specific.

    04

    Writers & Joke Crafters

    Anyone moving material from raw premise to stage-ready who wants version history and a record of what changed.

    05

    Comedy Students

    Bootcamp and class participants building their first set with a structured library instead of a notes app.

    06

    Corporate & Clean Comics

    Performers who must know precisely how a bit reads in a corporate room before they take it there.

    Q & A

    Common Questions

    What people ask before downloading

    How does laugh detection actually work?

    Jokesmith uses Apple's SoundAnalysis framework to identify audience laughter in your recording, entirely on your device. The audio never leaves your phone and is never uploaded. You can tune the sensitivity, since a 40-seat basement and a 400-seat theatre don't sound alike.

    Is it accurate?

    It's a measurement, not a verdict. Detection gives you a consistent signal to compare sets against each other — the same bit across ten rooms — which is far more useful than trying to remember. Treat it as an instrument reading, not a judgment of whether a joke is good.

    What is StageIntel?

    Venue-aware prediction. It looks at how each joke has performed across venue types — clubs, bars, colleges, corporate, open mics — finds patterns, and estimates how material is likely to land in a room you haven't played yet. It needs performance history to say anything useful, and it tells you when confidence is low. StageIntel requires Jokesmith Pro.

    Does Punch-Up Notes send my jokes anywhere?

    Only when you ask it to, and only the joke you selected — its title, setup, punchline, and your notes go to OpenAI through our proxy to generate the feedback. Your library, your recordings, and your performance data are never sent. The proxy keeps a hashed app identifier and a request count for quota enforcement, not your joke text. Laugh detection and StageIntel stay entirely on your device.

    Do I need to pay?

    Jokesmith is free to download and free to use for writing, organizing, and recording. Pro unlocks The Ledger's deeper analytics — heatmaps, comparisons, joke-by-joke breakdowns — along with StageIntel and iCloud sync.

    Is my material private?

    Yes. Jokes, sets, and recordings stay on your device or in your own private iCloud, and recordings are never uploaded — laugh detection runs locally through Apple’s SoundAnalysis framework, and StageIntel is computed on-device from your own history. The single exception is Punch-Up Notes: if you request feedback on a joke, that one joke’s text is sent to OpenAI through our proxy. Nothing is sold, shared for advertising, or used to track you.

    Can I get my material out?

    Yes. Export is built in, so your library isn't hostage to the app. Recordings remain accessible on your device regardless of subscription state.

    Hot off the anvil

    Screenshots

    See it in action on iPhone

    Jokesmith home screen with a Capture a Joke shortcut, a Continue Writing card for a bit in progress, and the day's writing prompt
    Jokesmith library of 8 jokes and 3 sets, filterable by Raw, Working, Stage, and Master status, with tagged bits and a writing-streak tracker
    Jokesmith perform mode with set history for Campus Union Hall, Seaport Theater, and Riverfront Convention Hall, each with its recorded set length