The automatic safety net
What scene-studio handles for you automatically splits in two: the gate that stops at each stage, and the three hooks that run outside your work flow. You don’t need to memorize commands, but knowing what stops and why makes a block less alarming.
The approval gate
Section titled “The approval gate”It isn’t a flow where AI makes a finished product in one shot. Each phase stops at a gate, and a human approves, edits, or rolls back. Generative has four gates (plan, scenes, images, video); remix has three (analysis, editing, publish).
The gate matters because outputs are kept as files in _workspace/ rather than chat. Even after a session break, which gate you cleared is planted in a file, so you come back to the exact spot. preview mode’s fast-preview auto-passes the planning gates and runs through to the video in one go, but you can roll back to any stage at Gate C.
The license gate — remix only
Section titled “The license gate — remix only”A gate that exists only on the remix track. If the source has no license label, it refuses to proceed, and it requires Fair Use of 30% or less and at least three transformation duties. It’s the spot that blocks copyright accidents at the code level. To bypass it, the user has to explicitly accept responsibility (license_responsibility.json). The generative track doesn’t take a source, so it has no such gate.
Three hooks
Section titled “Three hooks”A hook is a script that runs automatically at a certain moment without you calling a command. They’re planted in .claude/hooks/.
| Script | When | What |
|---|---|---|
session-start.sh | session start | pulls the previous work, the active video’s progress, and the channel identity into context automatically |
stop-reminder.sh | response end | alerts you to update the next-session note (active.md) if it’s empty |
pre-commit-check.sh | right before git commit | blocks secrets and video outputs from getting committed by mistake |
session-start.sh — coming back from where you left off
Section titled “session-start.sh — coming back from where you left off”When you start a new session, this hook pulls the previous work, the active video’s progress, and the channel identity into context automatically. Even if you forgot which video is active while running several, this spot attaches to the front automatically.
stop-reminder.sh — the note for the next session
Section titled “stop-reminder.sh — the note for the next session”When the AI finishes a response, if active.md is empty, it gives one alert. It’s guidance to write down what you just did, the next starting point, and any deferred decisions.
pre-commit-check.sh — preventing secret and output accidents
Section titled “pre-commit-check.sh — preventing secret and output accidents”This check runs automatically right before git commit. It blocks files that contain an API-key pattern (OPENAI_API_KEY, REPLICATE_API_TOKEN, AWS keys), and blocks a _workspace/ video, image, or cache from getting committed wholesale. Video files are heavy and bloat the repository if they get into git, and this hook blocks it. Video and images are in .gitignore and drop out of tracking in the first place.
Security baseline S1–S8
Section titled “Security baseline S1–S8”The rules these gates and hooks enforce are summarized in the eight lines of the security baseline in AI_AUTOMATION.md. Spots like not putting secrets in git (S1, S7), not carelessly touching outside _workspace/ (S2), the license gate (S5), a single Codex entry (S7), and no auto-publishing (S8). From a beginner’s standpoint, you don’t need to memorize these lines; when a gate stops, read the reason and resolve it.
If a gate or workflow blocks and you’re unsure how to get out, go to when-ai-gets-stuck.