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Settings, Workspace, and Help

Use Studio's Settings window to manage provider keys, project defaults, activity history, and the Help Center without leaving your project.

What Settings Is For

Settings is where Studio keeps the app-level and project-level controls that do not belong in the main editing workspace.

Open Settings when you want to:

  • Add or update provider keys.
  • Review recent generation and export activity.
  • Set provider defaults for image, video, audio, analysis, and transcription.
  • Manage provider profiles for a project.
  • Read the built-in Help Center.

Settings opens as a separate native macOS window. You can keep it open while you work in the main Studio window.

The Settings Sidebar

The Settings window has a left sidebar with three main sections:

  • Settings — Provider credentials and privacy notes.
  • Workspace — Activity, provider keys, and project defaults.
  • Help — Getting started and current Studio documentation.

The selected section appears on the right. The layout is intentionally simple: pick a section on the left, then use the controls or article list on the right.

Settings: Provider Credentials

The Settings section is where you add and manage provider keys.

Provider keys let Studio send generation requests to services such as OpenRouter and ElevenLabs. Keys stay in macOS Keychain. They are not written into .studio project packages, generated assets, provider job snapshots, logs, or diagnostics.

Add or Update a Provider Key

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Select Settings in the sidebar.
  3. Find the provider you want to use.
  4. Paste the provider's API key into the key field.
  5. Click Save.

When a key is stored and ready, Studio shows a ready state for that provider.

Delete a Provider Key

Use the delete control beside the provider key row. After deletion, generation jobs that need that provider will fail until you save a new key.

Workspace: Activity

The Workspace section includes an Activity tab.

Activity shows recent provider jobs, generation preparation status, export messages, assistant failures, and generation QA notes. Use it when you want to answer questions like:

  • Did the job start?
  • Did the provider return an error?
  • Where did the generated output go?
  • Did Studio log QA for a generated result?

Activity is often the best first place to look when something feels confusing.

Workspace: Provider Keys

The Workspace Settings tab shows provider keys in context with the current project workflow.

This is useful when you are setting up a project and want to confirm that the providers you plan to use are ready before generating media.

Keys still stay in Keychain. The project can remember provider profiles and defaults, but it does not store the secret key values.

Workspace: Defaults

The Workspace Defaults tab controls project generation defaults.

Defaults tell Studio what provider, model, and profile to use when you switch between Generate modes. For example, your project can use one default for image generation, another for video generation, and another for audio generation.

When you switch between Image, Video, and Audio in the Generate rail, Studio can reapply the default provider and model for that mode. This is intentional. Check the provider and model pickers after switching modes if you want to confirm what will be used.

Provider Profiles

Provider Profiles are reusable routing preferences saved inside the project package.

Use profiles when a project needs a repeatable provider setup, such as:

  • One OpenRouter model for image generation.
  • One OpenRouter model for video generation.
  • One ElevenLabs setup for voiceover work.
  • A separate transcription or analysis routing preference.

Profiles do not contain provider keys. They store routing preferences and safe metadata. Provider credentials still stay in Keychain.

Help

The Help section brings Studio documentation into the Settings window.

Use Help when you want to:

  • Learn the app layout.
  • Understand a Generate control.
  • Look up timeline lanes.
  • Review provider privacy behavior.
  • Troubleshoot a failed job.

The Help list and article body scroll independently, so you can browse articles on the left while keeping the current article position on the right.

Tips

  • Open Settings before a long session. Confirm provider keys and defaults once, then work without interruption.
  • Use Activity before guessing. Failed jobs usually include enough detail to decide the next step.
  • Set defaults per mode. Image, video, audio, analysis, and transcription can each use different routing.
  • Keep Help open while learning. The Settings window can stay open beside the main workspace.

Watch Out For

  • A saved profile is not a saved key. Profiles remember routing preferences. Keys stay in Keychain.
  • Defaults can change the selected provider when you switch modes. If the Generate rail appears to change after switching Image, Video, or Audio, check the defaults for that mode.
  • Deleting a provider key affects future jobs. Existing project records remain, but new jobs that need that provider cannot start without a valid key.