Installation

This guide covers downloading and installing StudioBrain, system requirements, first-run setup, and connecting to cloud services.

Desktop App (All Tiers)

The StudioBrain desktop app is built with Tauri 2.0 and available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Downloads

Download the latest release from the StudioBrain website or from the GitHub Releases page.

System Requirements

Installing on Windows

1. Download the .msi installer.
2. Double-click the installer and follow the setup wizard.
3. StudioBrain installs to C:\Program Files\StudioBrain\ by default.
4. Launch StudioBrain from the Start menu or desktop shortcut.

Installing on macOS

1. Download the .dmg disk image.
2. Open the .dmg and drag StudioBrain to your Applications folder.
3. On first launch, macOS may prompt you to allow the app. Open System Settings > Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway if needed.
4. Launch StudioBrain from Applications or Spotlight.

Installing on Linux

AppImage (universal):

1. Download the .AppImage file.
2. Make it executable: chmod +x StudioBrain-*.AppImage
3. Run it: ./StudioBrain-*.AppImage

Debian/Ubuntu (.deb):

1. Download the .deb package.
2. Install: sudo dpkg -i studiobrain_*.deb
3. Launch from your application menu or run studiobrain in a terminal.

First Run

When you launch StudioBrain for the first time, the app walks you through initial setup.

Step 1: Select a Project Folder

StudioBrain asks you to choose a project directory. This is the root folder where your entity files, templates, rules, and assets live.

• New project — Select an empty folder. StudioBrain creates the default directory structure including _Templates/Standard/, _Rules/, and starter entity folders.
• Existing project — Select a folder that already contains StudioBrain-compatible Markdown files. The app scans for templates, rules, and entities automatically.

Step 2: Initial Content Scan

After selecting a folder, StudioBrain performs an initial scan:

1. Template discovery — Reads all files in _Templates/Standard/ to determine available entity types.
2. Rules loading — Reads all files in _Rules/ to load validation and generation rules.
3. Entity indexing — Parses all entity Markdown files and builds the local SQLite database cache.
4. Asset scanning — Discovers images, audio, video, and other media files associated with entities.

The scan typically takes a few seconds for small projects and up to a minute for large ones (1,000+ entities).

Step 3: Configure AI Providers (Optional)

If you plan to use AI features, open Settings from the sidebar and enter your API keys:

On the Free tier, you must provide your own API keys (BYO keys). Paid tiers include managed AI through StudioBrain’s orchestration service, with BrainBits credits for usage.

Step 4: Explore

With setup complete, you can:

• Browse entity types in the sidebar
• Create your first entity
• Open the AI Workshop to generate content
• Explore the Relationship Graph to see entity connections

Web Access (Indie+ Tiers)

Paid subscribers can access StudioBrain through the browser at studio.braindead.games.

Signing In

1. Navigate to studio.braindead.games.
2. Sign in with your StudioBrain account (created during subscription).
3. Your cloud-synced projects appear on the dashboard.

Connecting Desktop to Cloud

To sync your desktop project with the cloud:

1. Open Settings > Cloud Sync in the desktop app.
2. Click Connect Account and sign in with your StudioBrain credentials.
3. Choose a sync mode:
   • Push — Upload your local project to the cloud for the first time.
   • Pull — Download an existing cloud project to your local machine.
   • Two-way Sync — Keep local and cloud copies synchronized automatically.

Google Drive Integration (Indie+ Tiers)

StudioBrain can sync entity files to Google Drive for additional backup and sharing.

Setting Up Google Drive

1. Open Settings > Storage Providers in the desktop or web app.
2. Click Connect Google Drive.
3. Complete the OAuth consent flow — StudioBrain requests access to a dedicated folder in your Drive.
4. Choose which project folders to sync.

StudioBrain creates a StudioBrain/ folder in your Google Drive and mirrors your project structure there. Only entity Markdown files and metadata are synced — large binary assets remain local unless you choose to include them.

What Gets Synced

Enterprise: Self-Hosted Instance

Enterprise customers can deploy StudioBrain on their own infrastructure.

Connecting to a Self-Hosted Instance

1. Open the desktop app.
2. Go to Settings > Cloud Connection.
3. Under Instance URL, enter the URL of your self-hosted StudioBrain server (e.g., https://studiobrain.yourstudio.com).
4. Sign in with your organization credentials.

For self-hosted deployment instructions, see the Self-Hosting Guide.

Updating StudioBrain

Desktop App

StudioBrain checks for updates on launch. When an update is available:

1. A notification appears in the app.
2. Click Update to download and install the new version.
3. The app restarts automatically after the update.

You can also check manually in Settings > About > Check for Updates.

Web App

The web app at studio.braindead.games is always running the latest version. No action required.

Troubleshooting Installation

Desktop app will not launch

• Windows: Make sure WebView2 Runtime is installed. StudioBrain requires it for rendering. Download from developer.microsoft.com.
• macOS: If blocked by Gatekeeper, open System Settings > Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway.
• Linux: Ensure webkit2gtk (4.1+) and libjavascriptcoregtk are installed. On Ubuntu: sudo apt install libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev.

Initial scan is very slow

• Large projects with thousands of files may take longer on the first scan. Subsequent launches use the SQLite cache and are much faster.
• Ensure your project is on a local or fast-access drive, not a network share with high latency.

Cannot connect to cloud

• Verify your internet connection.
• Check that your subscription is active at studio.braindead.games/settings/billing.
• If using a self-hosted instance, confirm the instance URL is correct and the server is running.

Next Steps

• Getting Started — Overview of the application and interface navigation
• Managing Entities — Creating and editing entities with the template system
• Settings & Configuration — Detailed configuration options