Welcome to Studio
What Studio is, how the web, desktop and mobile apps fit together, what's free, and the fastest way to get writing.
Studio is BYOK's writing software. It is a full writing environment: a place to draft, plan, research and shape long work, from a journal to a series of novels. It is also the home for everything you write on your BYOK device.
Everything in Studio lives in projects. A project holds your files, each one of six kinds, and every project also has a Scratch Pad:
| File | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Text | Drafting and notes. The everyday writing file, and the only kind that syncs to your BYOK. |
| Manuscript | Joins text files into one long document you can read, reorder and export as a book. |
| Outline | A three-level plan: acts, chapters and scenes, or parts, sections and points. |
| Wiki | Your story bible: people, places and things, linked from your chapters. |
| Cards | Index cards in sections, for scenes, beats and loose ideas. |
| Grid | An open board for mapping plots, timelines and relationships. |
| Scratch Pad | Not a file but a pad every project has: quick notes, tasks and ideas captured on your BYOK. |
The three apps
Studio comes in three apps that share one library. Most features work the same in all three. Where an app does something differently, this guide says so.
| App | Where | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Web | app.byok.io in Chrome, Safari, Edge or Firefox | Needs a Studio account and an internet connection. |
| Desktop | Mac (macOS 13 Ventura or later) and Windows (10 or later). Download | Works with no account and no internet. Every tool is free on your computer. The only app that can read your BYOK's card directly. |
| Mobile | iPhone, iPad and Android phones and tablets (App Store, Google Play) | Needs a Studio account. Built for touch, with a few desktop extras left out. |
The web app and the desktop app share the same screens, so the screenshots in this guide (most of them taken in the desktop app) show the web app too. The mobile app is laid out for a small screen; where its steps differ you'll see a Phone tab next to the Computer steps.
Free and Premium
Studio has two plans: Free and Studio Premium. What's free depends on where you write.
| Free on the web and mobile | Free in the desktop app | Studio Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text files and the Scratch Pad | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Manuscripts, outlines, wikis, cards and grids | No | Yes | Yes, everywhere |
| Works offline | No | Yes | Desktop app |
| Sync your desktop library with the web and mobile apps | No | No | Yes |
| Wi-Fi sync with your BYOK | Text files | No | Text files |
| Bring writing in from your BYOK's card | No | Yes | Desktop app |
| Version history | Yes | Yes | Yes |
The web and mobile apps always show the same library, on either plan, because both work from your account. Premium is what brings the desktop app into that sync.
Premium starts with a 14-day free trial. See Accounts, plans and billing for prices and how to manage your plan.
Studio and your BYOK
Studio and the BYOK device are made to work together, and there are three ways to move writing between them:
- Wi-Fi sync (with a Studio account). Text files go both ways between the device and Studio whenever the BYOK syncs. See Wi-Fi sync with your BYOK.
- The card or a USB cable (desktop app, free, no account). Studio reads the BYOK's microSD card and brings in what you wrote. See Bring writing in from your BYOK.
- Captures (over Wi-Fi sync, with a Studio account). Lines you start with
::on the device, like::cardor::wiki, arrive in Studio as cards, wiki entries, outline rows, notes and tasks. See Captures.
The device itself (keyboards, Wi-Fi, firmware) is covered in the BYOK device manual.
Quick start
- Open Studio: sign in at app.byok.io, or open the desktop app (no account needed).
- On the Projects page, click Start a new project (or + next to Projects), name it and click Create.
- In the project, click Text to make your first file. Give it a name and click Create. It opens, ready for typing.
- Write. Studio saves as you go; there is no save button.
- Press Cmd+K at any time to find a file or a command by typing its name.
- Install Studio from the App Store or Google Play and sign in (or tap Create an account).
- Tap Start a new project (once you have projects, it's the + at the bottom right), name your project and tap Create.
- Open the project, tap New file, choose Text, name it and tap Create.
- Write. Studio saves as you go.
- Use the Files tab to browse your project and the Pad tab for quick notes.
From here, Projects and Inside a project are the best next reads.
Still stuck?
Send us a note from Contact Support, or choose Report Bug in Studio’s account menu so your app version comes along with it. For the device itself, see the BYOK device manual.