Beginner overview
This guide is for people who aren’t full-time developers. It’s built to walk you, one step at a time, from setting the book identity with /start, to writing one chapter at a time, to carrying a whole book to the end while keeping continuity. If you get stuck along the way, keep troubleshooting open in a side tab and look for the same symptom.
Who this was written for
Section titled “Who this was written for”Quite a few people picking up this base aren’t full-time developers. So the tone is hand-holding. There is one assumption about your starting level, though.
The assumption that you’ve opened a terminal at least once and have experience working with AI. It spells out commands one line at a time, but it doesn’t explain from scratch “what a terminal is” or “what git is.” For that, keep free learning material open in a side tab (a git/terminal intro on YouTube, Anthropic’s Claude Code quickstart).
It assumes these three things.
- You know the names and rough uses of the terminal and git. Commands are spelled out one line at a time on top of that.
- The first run barely connects to external services. book-studio is a product you can write a book with even without an API key, so the entry barrier is lower than other bases. It guides keys separately, in place, only when external search or illustration is needed.
- AI does the writing. This guide uses Claude Code. You only need to know what book you want to write.
If parts are already familiar, skim those steps.
Step guide
Section titled “Step guide”| Step | What you do | Rough time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 prerequisites | Install git, a markdown viewer, Claude Code | 20–40 min the first time |
| 2 clone-and-install | Get the base | 5–10 min |
| 3 first-run | Set the book identity and enter Tier 1 with /start | 20–40 min |
| 4 write-first-chapter | Write the Tier 2 outline and the Tier 3 first chapter | 30 min–1 hr |
| 5 continuity | Understand how continuity is kept | 10 min |
| 6 multiple-books | Run several books at once | 10 min |
| 7 automated-safety-net | Understand the per-chapter gate and the hooks | 10 min |
| 8 when-ai-gets-stuck | Unblock the AI workflow itself | only when needed |
| 9 troubleshooting | A collection of common sticking points | only when needed |
| 10 finishing | Gather chapters into the final assembly | when finishing a book |
| 11 staying-up-to-date (optional) | Bring base updates into your work | 10–30 min per cycle |
If you’re already comfortable with AI writing tools, the expert manual covers the same base at a shorter pace.
When you’re stuck
Section titled “When you’re stuck”The first place to look is troubleshooting. If the same symptom isn’t there, copy the error message verbatim, paste it into Claude Code, and ask “how do I fix this?”
If it still doesn’t resolve, open a GitHub issue or post in the team Slack. Write down where you got stuck, the full error, and environment info (operating system) together.
The first run is the slowest. Once the environment is set up, you skip step 1 wholesale for the next book.
How far the manual goes, where the base begins
Section titled “How far the manual goes, where the base begins”What this step table covers is what the base handles automatically — the per-chapter AI-smell gate, the continuity index, multi-book isolation, the 4-Tier flow, and other differentiators. The manual text is free, and you keep it open in a side tab as you follow along.
The actual base code and the full .claude/ set (agents, skills, hooks) will be released soon as a license plus an update channel. When pricing and the payment channel are set, it’ll be announced here and on the landing.