# Playbooks

> Give Penny reusable written instructions for a conversation, import a Markdown Playbook, activate it, and maintain a consistent creative method.

Source: https://kaitoi.io/docs/studio/playbooks/
Section: Kaitoi Studio / Penny
Written for: Anyone who wants consistent guidance across creative tasks.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-24

---

A Playbook is a document Penny reads as guidance. Use one for a house style,
creative process, or review criteria you would otherwise repeat in every prompt.
You choose the Playbook for a conversation in Graph or Lab.

## Reuse the method, change the brief

Put lasting instructions in the Playbook: tone, composition, what to preserve,
and how to judge the result. Keep the current subject, references, format,
output count, and requested actions in your message.


Example active Playbook, Product imagery: use soft, natural side light; choose
a warm, neutral surface; keep the product label readable and add no extra
lettering. The current request asks for one written image prompt for a green
tea tin in a square composition, without generating an image. An illustrative
composition combines that subject and format with the Playbook's lighting,
setting, and label instructions. Changing the brief to a kraft coffee bag in
a wide composition changes the subject and format while retaining the method.
These are authored examples, not a model response or a generated result.

*Figure: Keep the creative method steady while changing the task.*

A Playbook supplies guidance for composing the work. An executable
[Skill](/docs/studio/skills/) supplies an action Penny can call. Activating a
Playbook does not execute a workflow, add provider access, or grant permission
to spend.

## Add a Playbook

Open **Browser** from the view dock, choose **Playbooks**, then **Add**:

- **Write a new one** opens an editor with **Title**, **Description**, and
  **Content**. Fill all three, then save.
- **Load from disk** reads Markdown files. You can also drop files into the
  Playbooks library.
- **Paste from clipboard** imports a complete Playbook document, or opens the
  editor so you can add a title and description to plain text.

The **Description** helps you choose a Playbook in the picker. Put the actual
instructions in **Content**; the description is not included as Penny's
guidance.

Imports show a review step before saving. Check the title, description, size,
and any **replaces an existing playbook** notice, then choose **Save playbook**
or **Save all**. Reusing a document's `name` can replace the existing Playbook.
Use a distinct name when you want to keep both versions.

## Write an importable document

Include a `name` and `description` in frontmatter, with the instructions below
it. This is a complete example you can adapt:

```markdown
---
name: product-imagery
description: Use when composing product image prompts for our catalogue.
---

# Product imagery

- Use soft, natural side light.
- Choose a warm, neutral surface.
- Keep the product label readable. Add no extra lettering.
```

Review imported instructions before activating them. Short, concrete rules are
easier to apply than a long document mixing several unrelated methods.

## Activate it for a conversation

1. Open the intended Penny conversation in **Graph** or **Lab**.
2. Click the **Playbooks** book icon in the message bar.
3. Tick the Playbook you want to use. The footer shows **1 of 1 active** and an
   approximate token count.
4. To switch Playbooks, untick the current one or choose **Clear**, then select
   the replacement. The other entries are unavailable while one is active.

Penny uses your selection; it does not choose a Playbook automatically. Saving
one to the library is separate from activating it. A new conversation starts
without an active Playbook, so check the book icon when changing conversations.

The token count estimates how much context the document uses. It is not a
price or a quote for the whole task. A focused Playbook leaves more room for
the conversation and references.

## Edit and reuse the text

Open its card in **Browser → Playbooks**. Existing content opens in a rendered
view; choose **Edit** beside **Content** to change the Markdown and **Preview**
to check it before saving. The title and description can be edited there too.

The card's **Playbook actions** menu offers **Send to graph as a Text node**.
That copies the document body into the current project so another operation
can use it as data. It does not activate the Playbook, and later Playbook edits
do not update the copy already placed in the graph.

## Size limits

| Field            | Limit              |
| ---------------- | ------------------ |
| Content          | 150,000 characters |
| Title            | 80 characters      |
| Description      | 2,000 characters   |
| Saved Playbooks  | 200 per user       |
| Active Playbooks | 1 per conversation |

Oversized content is refused rather than silently shortened. Split unrelated
methods into separate Playbooks and activate the one the current task needs.

## If the guidance is not taking effect

Check that the Playbook is active in this conversation, the latest edits were
saved, and the instructions are in **Content** rather than only the
description. If you cannot select another Playbook, clear the current one
first. If import fails, read the named document's error and check its
description, nonempty content, and size.

Guidance is not a guarantee that a generated result meets every requirement.
Inspect the actual work, give Penny specific feedback, and keep the requested
action explicit when moving from a draft to execution.

For a reusable operation, use a [Skill](/docs/studio/skills/). For graph changes,
ask Penny to report what changed and what actually ran; see
[Building and editing graphs with Penny](/docs/studio/penny-graphs/).