Make your first piece

This walk-through takes you from an empty studio to a piece you've played, tuned, changed and shared. Most of the five minutes is Perlin working; the rest is you trying things.

Perlin works for signed-in accounts, so have one ready, or make one at the first step. New accounts start with 150 Vybe Tokens; How Vybe Tokens work explains what a request is charged.

From idea to shared piece

1. Open the studio

   Go to the studio, or click Open the studio on the home page. On a computer, the stage fills the middle of the screen: that's where pieces play. Perlin's panel is on the right, with the prompt box at the bottom.

   Signed out, the panel shows Create an account to get started with Perlin where the prompt box would be. Click Create an account or Sign in; you come back to the studio when you're done.

2. Describe an idea

   Click the prompt box, or press /, and say what you want in plain words: what it is, what it looks like, how it moves and what you can do with it. Press ↵ to send. Shift ↵ starts a new line.

   “A shoal of glowing jellyfish drifting up through dark water, that scatter away from my cursor, with sliders for their colour and speed” Try it in the studio

   Short of an idea? The dice button under the prompt box (Surprise me) fills it with one.

   If Plan first is on in the toolbar under the prompt box (it is to begin with), Perlin answers with The plan: a few points about what it will build, and some questions with answers to pick. Pick the ones you care about, or skip them and Perlin will decide. Then click Build it, or reply to change the plan. Switch Plan first off and Perlin builds as soon as you send.

3. Watch Perlin build

   While Perlin works, the stage shows what it's doing (Imagining, Writing, Checking, Rendering) and the code arriving line by line. Its reply in the panel lists the same steps.

   You don't have to watch. The build carries on if you start another piece, switch away or close the tab, and the finished piece is waiting when you come back.

   When the piece starts, Perlin's reply ends with a version chip: the title, v1 and the engine it runs on. With Look it over on at the top of Perlin's panel, Perlin then watches the new piece run and polishes what it sees. That adds v2, marked refined from v1.

4. Play it

   Click into the piece and use it: move the pointer, drag, click, or press the keys it asks for. Sound starts after your first click or tap in the piece, because browsers hold sound back until you interact.

   The bar along the bottom of the stage has Pause (Space), Restart (R) and Present (F), which plays the piece full screen. Esc brings you back.

5. Tune the parameters

   The Parameters panel at the top right of the stage holds the controls Perlin built for this piece. Drag a slider and the piece changes as it runs. Click a value to type an exact number, or drag a control's name sideways to nudge it, with Shift held for finer steps.

   The dice button at the top of the panel (Randomize) tries a random set of values, and the arrow beside it (Reset to defaults) puts them back. Press P to show or hide the panel. On a phone, the controls are on the Parameters tab under the piece.

   The values you set are kept with the version.

6. Ask for a change

   Type what you'd change into the same prompt box: "make the motion calmer", "add a second colour", "make them glow when they touch". Perlin changes the version on stage rather than starting again, and the result arrives as the next version. With Plan first on, it proposes the change first; click Build it to go ahead.

7. Step back a version

   Every version is kept. To go back:

   • Use the arrows beside the title in the top bar, or press [ and ].
   • Click an earlier version chip in the conversation; it says Restore as you point at it.
   • Open Versions on the rail (H) and pick one.

   Whatever is on stage is what your next change is made to, so you can go back and take the piece in another direction. You can't switch versions while Perlin is working.

8. Share or publish

   When you like it, use the buttons at the top right of the studio:

   • Share gives you a link. Click Copy link: anyone with it can play and remix this version, and it shows a preview when you post it. It stays off the community page.
   • Publish makes the piece public. Click Publish in the popover and it's listed under Recent on the home page and on the community page, with your name on it. Later edits stay in the studio until you click Update published piece.
   • Export downloads the piece as a standalone HTML file, a still image or a video, or gives you its embed code.

Finding it again

Pieces save as you work: the top bar reads Saving, then Saved. This one is under My pieces on the rail (L) and on your account page. New piece in the top bar starts the next one, and the last stays where it is.

If it isn't right

• It broke. With Auto-fix on, Perlin repairs a piece that fails as it starts. If an error panel stays up, click Fix with AI.
• It isn't what you meant. Say what's off and what you'd like instead, as specifically as you can: the colour, the speed, what should happen when you click.
• It needs a fresh start. Click New piece and describe it again with what you've learned.

For anything else, see Troubleshooting.

Related

• Asking Perlin for a piece
• Tuning with parameters
• Versions and history
• Share links and publishing