Getting Started

Welcome to StudioBrain, a schema-driven digital asset management and narrative intelligence platform for game development. StudioBrain lets writers, game designers, and worldbuilders create, manage, and evolve rich narrative universes through structured data and AI-powered tools.

What is StudioBrain?

StudioBrain is a creative workbench that manages interconnected entities — characters, locations, factions, items, quests, and more — through a visual editor backed by structured YAML frontmatter and free-form Markdown content. Your project files are always human-readable and version-control friendly.

Key capabilities include:

• Template-driven entity system — Entity types are defined by template files. Add a new template, and a new entity type appears automatically with no code changes required.
• Rules-based validation — Rules files constrain AI generation and validate entity data in real time, keeping your world consistent.
• Visual entity editor with drag-and-drop layout customization and component blocks.
• AI Workshop for generating, comparing, and refining content across multiple AI providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Grok, local Qwen).
• Relationship graph for visualizing connections between entities.
• Plugin system with 22 built-in plugins for extending the editor with custom panels and integrations.
• Desktop-first architecture — the Tauri 2.0 desktop app is the primary experience for all tiers, with web and mobile access available on paid plans.

Accessing StudioBrain

Desktop App (All Tiers)

The desktop app is the primary way to use StudioBrain. Download it for your platform:

• Windows — .msi installer
• macOS — .dmg disk image
• Linux — .AppImage or .deb package

The desktop app works fully offline with local storage (SQLite + ChromaDB). No account is required for the Free tier.

Web Access (Indie+ Tiers)

Paid subscribers can also access StudioBrain through the browser at studio.braindead.games. The web app provides the same entity management, AI Workshop, and editing features with cloud sync.

Mobile App (Team+ Tiers)

Team and Enterprise subscribers have access to the companion mobile app for iOS and Android, providing on-the-go browsing and light editing of entities.

Project Structure

A StudioBrain project is a directory of Markdown files organized by entity type. Two special directories — _Templates/ and _Rules/ — define the structure and constraints for your entire project.

YourProject/
  _Templates/
    Standard/
      CHARACTER_TEMPLATE.md      <-- Defines all Character fields
      LOCATION_TEMPLATE.md       <-- Defines all Location fields
      FACTION_TEMPLATE.md        <-- Defines all Faction fields
      ... (15 entity type templates)
    Layouts/
      character.json             <-- UI layout for Character edit pages
      location.json
  _Rules/
    CHARACTER_RULES.md           <-- Validation and AI generation rules for Characters
    LOCATION_RULES.md            <-- Rules for Locations
    CONTENT_RULES.md             <-- Global content rules
    ... (16 rules files)
  _Plugins/
    hello-world/
    comfyui-workflows/
    ... (22 built-in plugins)
  Characters/
    rex_marshall/
      CH_rex_marshall.md
      portrait.png
    sara_chen/
      CH_sara_chen.md
  Locations/
    neon_mile/
      LOC_neon_mile.md
      concept_art.png
  Factions/
    the_syndicate/
      FAC_the_syndicate.md
  Items/
    plasma_blade/
      ITEM_plasma_blade.md
  ...

Templates are foundational. Every field you see in the entity editor — name, age, faction, relationships, skills, production status — is defined by a template file. When the backend reads templates, it automatically generates TypeScript types and Zod validation schemas. Adding a new entity type is as simple as creating a new template file.

Rules constrain everything. Rules files feed into AI generation prompts and power the Validation Panel in the entity editor. They define what is valid, what triggers warnings, and what the AI should know when generating content for a given entity type.

Each entity is a Markdown file with YAML frontmatter (structured fields) and an optional Markdown body (free-form narrative content).

Quick Start

1. Download and install the StudioBrain desktop app for your platform (see Installation).
2. Open a project folder — on first launch, select an existing project directory or create a new one. StudioBrain scans the folder for templates, rules, and entities.
3. Explore templates — open the _Templates/Standard/ directory to see how entity types are defined. Each template is a Markdown file with YAML frontmatter listing every field for that entity type.
4. Create your first entity — navigate to any entity type in the sidebar (e.g., Characters), click New, fill in at least a name, and click Save. StudioBrain creates a Markdown file in the project directory.
5. Check the Validation Panel — after saving, the Validation Panel shows any rule violations. Click Fix to see auto-fix options.
6. Try the AI Workshop — select an entity, open the AI Workshop from the sidebar, and generate content. The AI uses your templates and rules as context for consistent, lore-accurate output.

Navigating the Interface

Sidebar Navigation

The left sidebar provides access to all major sections:

Entity List Pages

Clicking an entity type in the sidebar opens the list page. From here you can:

• Browse all entities with search and filtering
• Create a new entity with the “New” button
• Sort by name, date created, or other fields
• View entity cards with primary images and key metadata

Entity Detail Pages

Clicking on an individual entity opens its detail/edit page. The edit page is organized into tabs:

• Visual — A structured form editor with sections defined by the entity’s template and layout
• YAML — Raw YAML editor (Monaco Editor) for direct frontmatter editing
• Markdown — A rich Markdown editor for the entity’s body content
• Preview — Read-only preview of how the entity will look
• Assets — Image and media management for this entity
• Generation — AI content generation scoped to this entity

Editing an Entity

Visual Editor

The Visual Editor tab presents form fields organized into collapsible sections. The layout of these sections is defined by layout JSON files and can be customized through the Layout Designer.

Each section can contain:

• Form fields — Text inputs, dropdowns, date pickers, array editors, number inputs, entity references, and rating selectors
• Component blocks — Rich UI widgets like the asset browser, timeline, chat panel, relationship viewer, production status tracker, and plugin panels

YAML Editor

The YAML tab provides a full Monaco code editor for directly editing the entity’s frontmatter. Changes are validated in real-time, and you can switch back to the Visual tab to see your edits reflected in the form.

Saving Changes

Changes are saved by clicking the Save button in the editor toolbar. The application validates the entity data against the rules defined for its type, and the Validation Panel displays any errors or warnings.

Understanding Templates and Rules

Templates and rules are the backbone of StudioBrain. They determine what fields every entity has, how those fields are validated, and what the AI knows when generating content.

• Templates (_Templates/Standard/) define the schema for each entity type. Every field in the editor comes from a template.
• Rules (_Rules/) define validation constraints and AI generation context for each entity type.

For a deep dive into how templates and rules work, see Managing Entities.

Settings

Access Settings from the sidebar to configure:

• AI providers — API keys and model preferences for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Grok, and local models
• Theme — Toggle between light and dark mode, customize semantic surface colors
• Storage providers — LocalFS, Google Drive, S3/Azure (tier-dependent)
• Plugin management — Browse, install, enable/disable plugins
• Template layouts — Customize the Layout Designer for each entity type

Next Steps

• Installation — Detailed setup instructions for desktop, web, and cloud
• Managing Entities — Deep dive into entities, templates, rules, and validation
• AI Workshop — Learn how to use AI features for content generation
• Sync & Collaboration — Desktop-to-cloud sync and real-time collaboration
• Billing & Plans — Plan comparison and BrainBits credits