# Your first project

> Create a small test image, change its pattern, save the editable workflow, and download the result while learning Studio’s basic graph controls.

Source: https://kaitoi.io/docs/start/first-project/
Section: Start here / Getting started
Written for: Anyone building their first workflow in Kaitoi Studio.
Prerequisites: A signed-in Kaitoi Studio account; A computer with access to the Graph view
Last reviewed: 2026-10-24

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Make one image, change it, and keep both the workflow and the result. You will
use **Color Bars**, a built-in node that creates test patterns from its settings.
It does not call a model provider or require a provider API key.

This walkthrough uses the desktop **Graph** view. If Lab or another view is
open, choose **Graph** in the view dock. Save any existing work before starting
so you can return to it later.

## 1. Create a named project

1. Choose **New Project** in the toolbar, the document-with-a-plus icon.
2. Enter **First color bars** as the project name.
3. Choose **Create** and wait for the **Project Saved** confirmation.

Creating a named project saves its initial state and opens it for editing.
The nodes and settings you add next belong to this project.

## 2. Add Color Bars and set its inputs

Open the node library with the **Show node library** control at the left edge
of the canvas. You can also press **Tab** when you are not editing a field.

If the sidebar is showing **Projects**, open its **Library selector** menu
and choose **Nodes**.

Search for **Color Bars** and click its entry to add it to the graph.
Use the built-in Color Bars node for this example. Set its inputs to:

| Input       | Value     | Purpose                  |
| ----------- | --------- | ------------------------ |
| **Pattern** | **smpte** | A color-bar test pattern |
| **Width**   | **640**   | Output width in pixels   |
| **Height**  | **360**   | Output height in pixels  |

The node starts with dimensions of 1920 × 1080. This example uses 640 × 360
to keep the image small. **Color Bars** is also the label of its image output
on the right. You do not need to connect another node to make this first image.

Press **Enter** after typing each dimension to finish editing the value.

## 3. Run it and inspect the result

Color Bars starts in **manual** evaluation mode. Leave the switch to the left
of the run control (tooltip **Auto evaluate**) off. Adding this node or changing
a setting does not generate a new image by itself in manual mode.

Click the circular run control in the node's header. Its tooltip is **Evaluate node**.
Wait for it to finish; the image appears in the node's preview.

The preview should show vertical colored bars with smaller reference areas
underneath. The output is a 640 × 360 PNG.

A yellow play icon means the node needs a run, including after you change a
setting. After a successful run, it becomes a green check. While the pointer
is over the node, that check changes to a green play icon.

Compare the first color-bar result with the grayscale version below.


With **Pattern = smpte**, the result is a color-bar image with smaller reference
areas underneath. With **Pattern = grayscale**, the result is eleven vertical
steps from black to white. Both examples use **Width = 640** and **Height = 360**.
The node has these three inputs and one image output labelled **Color Bars**.

![Color Bars output with the smpte pattern at 640 by 360 pixels](/docs/first-project/smpte.png)

![Color Bars output with the grayscale pattern at 640 by 360 pixels](/docs/first-project/grayscale.png)

*Figure: The same Color Bars node at 640 × 360, after running smpte and after rerunning grayscale. Simplified node excerpt.*

Now change **Pattern** to **grayscale** and click the node's run control again.
You should see the black-to-white step pattern. Leave **Width** and **Height**
unchanged so you can compare the results.

### Running this node or a selection

The node's header control targets that node. The toolbar's **Run Graph** uses
your current node selection, so select the intended nodes first. With no
selection it asks you to select one or more nodes. On a larger graph,
required upstream work can also run to supply the selected nodes' inputs.

## 4. Save the workflow

Choose **Save Project** in the toolbar, then **Save**. Wait for the
**Project Saved** confirmation before treating the named version as updated.

Autosave also protects the working session, but it has a different role from
an explicit save. Use **Save** when this named project should contain the
current nodes and settings. **Save As...** creates a separate saved project
when you want to keep a variation. See [Saving and recovery](/docs/studio/saving-and-recovery/)
for autosaves, reopening, and backups.

## 5. Download the image

In the node's image preview, hold **Command** on macOS or **Ctrl** on
Windows/Linux, right-click the image, and choose **Download**.
That modifier opens the preview's menu rather than the canvas gesture.
If your browser opens the image in a new tab, save the image from that tab.

The downloaded PNG is the result of the run. It does not contain the editable
node graph. Keep the saved project as well when you want to change the image
again later.


**Editable project — Save Project → Save.** Keep the nodes, settings, and
connections so you can edit the workflow later.

**Image file — preview menu → Download.** Keep a PNG you can use outside
Kaitoi. The image file does not contain the editable graph.

Saving the project and downloading the image are separate actions. Keep both
when you need a reusable workflow and a portable result.

*Figure: Save the editable project and download the image for different purposes.*

For ways to keep outputs inside Kaitoi, continue to
[Files and results](/docs/studio/files-and-results/).

## If something does not match

| What you see                           | What to check                                                                                 |
| -------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| No image after adding the node         | Run it with the header control; this node starts in manual mode.                              |
| The old pattern after changing Pattern | Finish editing the input, then run again.                                                     |
| Run Graph asks you to select nodes     | Select Color Bars, or use its own header control.                                             |
| A node error                           | Read the node's error message, check the three inputs, and correct the cause before retrying. |
| No Download menu                       | Hold Command or Ctrl while right-clicking the image preview itself.                           |
| A save or sync error                   | Keep the tab open and follow the message. Do not assume the named save reached the server.    |

## Build on this first result

You have created an image, changed an input, rerun the node, saved the workflow,
and downloaded a result. Next, [find your way around Studio](/docs/start/navigation/)
or [connect more nodes](/docs/studio/graphs/).

If templates are available on your account, open **Browser → Templates** and
double-click a template. It opens as a temporary project; save your own copy.
Review its requirements before running it: other nodes may need provider
access or spend credits.

You can also ask Penny **in Graph** to build a workflow. Say what you want it
to create, whether it should stop after building or run the graph too, and
any spending constraint. [Working with Penny](/docs/studio/penny/) explains
that way of building.