Studio Overview
Studio is SiteKnock's visual control panel. Configure apps, modules, themes, pages, emails, and deploys without writing code.
What Studio is
Studio is the visual management interface for your SiteKnock projects. Anything that can be configured — apps, module toggles, themes, translations, page and email templates, billing, and deployment — can be done in Studio instead of editing config files by hand.
As a rule of thumb: if a task is about configuration or design, do it in Studio. If it's about business logic, do it in code. Studio writes your config and regenerates the project for you.
Starting Studio
siteknock studio start
Studio runs as a desktop (Electron) app with your workspace attached — native file pickers, remote workspaces, and multi-window support. See Running Studio for all options.
What you can do in Studio
Manage projects
Create, rename, remove, and switch between projects; install dependencies; edit the project manifest.
Manage apps
Add frontend, backend, fullstack, or e2e apps and configure ports and hostnames.
App Generator
Configure one app end-to-end — modules, layout, branding, SEO — and regenerate it.
Configure modules
Toggle auth, billing, organizations, email, i18n, database, storage, cache, and rate limiting.
Languages
Add locales and translate every user-facing string.
Schema Desk
Design Prisma models and enums visually or in code.
Data Manager
Browse and manage the project's database directly.
Design pages
Build page templates and shared shells with a drag-and-drop editor.
Design emails
Create transactional email templates and manage message copy.
Inspect & test routes
Edit endpoints, entry points, and route source; send test requests.
Theme & brand
Switch themes and customize colors, fonts, logos, and assets.
Integrations & remote
Configure SSH connections, external tools, and remote workspaces.
Deploy
Build containers, run migrations, and health-check your services.
Upgrade the kit
Move a project between SiteKnock versions with backups and merge tools.
Docks & windows
Terminals, in-app browsers, and docs in the activity dock; popouts and multi-window.
Settings & activation
Studio preferences, external tools, and license activation.
Studio vs. code
| Task | Studio | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Create / remove apps | ✓ | — |
| Change ports / hostnames | ✓ | — |
| Toggle modules | ✓ | — |
| Configure auth providers | ✓ | — |
| Configure billing & plans | ✓ | — |
| Add locales | ✓ | pnpm sk:scaffold locale |
| Edit translations | ✓ (key-value editor) | Manual JSON |
| Design email / page templates | ✓ (drag & drop) | — |
| Edit / test routes | ✓ (Routes Desk) | pnpm sk:scaffold route |
| Scaffold features / pages / routes | — | pnpm sk:scaffold |
| Write business logic | — | ✓ |
| Add database models | ✓ (Schema Desk) | .prisma.part files |
| Browse / manage data | ✓ (Data Manager) | — |
| Upgrade the kit version | ✓ (Upgrades) | — |
| Deploy | ✓ | — |
Multiple windows
Studio can run multiple windows at once — Ctrl/Cmd-click a link to open a second window, or pop a terminal out into its own window. Each window keeps its own project scope and live updates, so windows on different projects stay independent. Hidden windows pause their live connections and resync automatically when focused again, so extra windows cost almost nothing on low-end machines.