Desktop app

Prompt Studio can ship as a Tauri window on macOS, Windows, and Linux. The installer bundles the Next.js standalone server and a Node 22 runtime. It does not bundle ComfyUI or model weights.

Install

Latest GitHub Release on vX.Y.Z tags attach:

OS	Artifact
macOS	.dmg
Windows	.exe (NSIS)
Linux	.deb (preferred), .AppImage

Linux installers use the name PromptStudio (no space). The window title stays Prompt Studio.

On Arch/Fedora/other rolling distros, prefer the .deb: it links your system WebKitGTK (GPU Skia). The AppImage bundles an older Ubuntu WebKit that often falls back to CPU painting and feels sluggish even when it launches cleanly.

Install the .deb on Arch (without clobbering Node)

Stock Tauri .deb packages also drop a Node sidecar at /usr/bin/node. Prefer the in-repo installer:

sudo ./desktop/scripts/install-from-deb.sh ~/Downloads/PromptStudio_*_amd64.deb
prompt-studio

That installs under /usr/lib/PromptStudio/ (binary + Node sidecar) and only symlinks /usr/bin/prompt-studio. Updates: Settings → Overview → Check for updates, then re-run the script with the new .deb.

First desktop launch opens Settings → ComfyUI → Connection and auto-runs Heal & ready (?heal=1).

First launch

1. Open the app. The first launch goes to Settings → ComfyUI → Connection.
2. ComfyUI is expected at http://127.0.0.1:8188. Leave Use server defaults on if that is your URL; otherwise uncheck it and set ComfyUI API URL.
3. Gallery, settings, and server.log live in the OS app-data folder (PROMPT_DATA_DIR).
4. Later launches open the home page.

Adult Roleplay ratings and the Adult generator plugin are on in desktop builds (PROMPT_NSFW_GENERATOR_ENABLED and NEXT_PUBLIC_PROMPT_NSFW_GENERATOR_ENABLED). Rebuild with those flags unset to ship a locked build. Web/Docker stays env-gated. See configuration.

If the window stays on “Starting the local server…”, the splash shows the error. Check desktop.log and server.log in the app-data folder (Linux: ~/.local/share/app.promptstudio.desktop; macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/app.promptstudio.desktop). The bundled Node binary is named node-<target-triple> (for example node-aarch64-apple-darwin); the server files live under Contents/Resources/resources/server.

Linux notes

Prefer .deb for day-to-day use (especially Arch/CachyOS/Fedora). It uses system webkit2gtk-4.1, which can keep Skia on the GPU (SkiaGPUWorker). Do not set WEBKIT_DISABLE_DMABUF_RENDERER=1 unless the window is black — that forces software compositing and pegs a CPU core.

AppImages are for portable/distro-agnostic installs. Release builds:

1. Un-bundle libwayland-{client,cursor,egl,server} (must match host Mesa).
2. Stop forcing GDK_BACKEND=x11 in the linuxdeploy GTK hook.

That avoids Could not create GBM EGL display without the DMA-BUF disable hammer. The AppImage still ships Ubuntu’s WebKit, so UI chrome can remain heavier than the .deb on rolling distros.

If an older AppImage black-screens:

WEBKIT_DISABLE_DMABUF_RENDERER=1 ./PromptStudio_*.AppImage

Local build

See desktop/README.md. From the repo root:

npm install
cd desktop && npm install && cd ..
npm run desktop:build

How it runs

1. The shell looks for a server already on 127.0.0.1:47832.
2. If none, it starts the bundled server.js with the bundled Node sidecar.
3. PROMPT_DATA_DIR is the OS app-data directory. PROMPT_DESKTOP=1 and auth-off are set for the child process.
4. The window navigates to the local server (connection settings on first launch).
5. Quitting the app stops the child server.