Layer 2 runbook: the human-only Studio web steps

Last updated September 14, 2026

Studio setup happens in two layers:

Layer 1 (code): install SDKs, register components, write the canvas + template routes, configure .env, studioSdk.init. An LLM or CLI script can do all of this. The skills (install-studio, register-component, setup-section-preview, setup-template-preview-routes, configure-csr-vs-ssr) cover it.
Layer 2 (Studio web app): create the project, link the stack, configure environment + locale + Canvas URL, drop components on a canvas, save sections, save templates, publish. A human in a logged-in browser session must do all of this. No LLM can drive Studio's canvas reliably (the drag-drop iframe doesn't honour synthetic events. The project + composition primitives are session-scoped).

This page is the consolidated Layer 2 runbook. Walk it once per stack after Layer 1 is complete. Verify each step in the live product.

What an LLM / CLI can (and cannot) do

Step	Who does it
install-studio: install the three SDKs into your app	LLM / CLI
register-component: read your component, write registration	LLM / CLI
setup-section-preview: add /canvas route	LLM / CLI
setup-template-preview-routes: add template render routes	LLM / CLI
configure-csr-vs-ssr: pick + wire the render path	LLM / CLI
import-design-tokens: register tokens from your design system	LLM / CLI
Create the Studio project, link to a stack	Human in app.contentstack.com
Set Environment / Language / Canvas URL on the project	Human in Studio Settings
Drop sections / components on a canvas	Human in Studio canvas
Save sections / templates	Human in Studio canvas
Publish compositions	Human in Studio canvas
verify-setup: confirm all four layers green	LLM / CLI (after Layer 2 is done)
troubleshoot-canvas: symptom-mapped diagnostic	LLM / CLI

Skills like build-section, build-connected-template, use-repeater, use-condition-block, use-section-slot are author guides: they describe what a human should do in Studio's UI step-by-step. An LLM can read these to coach the user. It cannot execute them.

The runbook: do these in order, in app.contentstack.com

1. Create the Studio project (~1 min)

In Studio, open New Project, then pick the stack you wired in Layer 1.

Provisioning creates the compositions content type in your stack. Note the UID. To find it, open your project, go to Settings, then Configuration, and read "Composition Content Type". If it isn't compositions, set <PREFIX>_CONTENTSTACK_STUDIO_CONTENT_TYPE=<uid> in your app's .env.local (the install-studio skill writes a reasonable default that you may need to override).

2. Configure the project (~2 min)

Open your project, then Settings, then Configuration:

Environment: pick the environment your app reads from (typically preview for authoring, production for visitor surfaces).
Language: pick your default locale (e.g. en-us). The UI calls this "Language". The SDK/API call it "locale". Same thing.
Canvas URL: the path of the route setup-section-preview mounted <StudioCanvas /> on (e.g. /canvas), NOT a full origin. Studio composes the iframe address as Base URL (origin) + Canvas URL (path). The origin is the per-locale URL on the environment selected above. To find that value, open your stack, go to Settings, then Environments, then <env>, and read the URL for <locale>. Locally that is your dev origin (e.g. http://localhost:5173). An empty env Base URL = blank canvas.

Save. The Save button greys out post-save. That's confirmation.

3. Confirm your components appear (~30 sec)

Open any section workspace. In the palette, expand Registered Components. Every component you registered in Layer 1 should appear as a tile with its displayName + thumbnailUrl. If you see blank tiles, the registration didn't take. Re-run register-component and check troubleshoot-canvas for the "bootstrap-missing" symptom.

4. Build a section (~3-10 min, depending on complexity)

Open Sections, then New Section:

Connect A Schema: pick a structural shape (Content Type / Global Field / Group / Modular Block / Block / Reference). NOT a scalar field (a section composes against a shape, not a value).
Drop components: drag your registered components from the palette onto the section canvas.
Bind props: for each component, the right-panel Data picker maps its props to fields on the linked schema via template.<field> paths. (Inside a Repeater, use repeater.<field> instead.)
Expose Section Props (on Save): choose which component props template authors can override per-instance. Skip this and the section is locked at template-drop time.

Skill counterparts: build-section for the full task, use-repeater + use-condition-block + use-section-slot for the smart-container patterns inside a section.

5. Build a template (~3-10 min)

Open Templates, then New Template:

Pick the connected content type.
Pick a preview entry to author against.
Drop sections on the template canvas.
Set the URL pattern: e.g. /blog/{{entry.slug}}, /products/{{entry.sku}}. This must match the route shape your app handles for <StudioComponent />. See URL variables reference for everything you can put in the pattern.
Save.

Skill counterparts: build-connected-template, wire-external-data.

6. Publish + visit (~30 sec)

Deploy the composition (top-right in Studio canvas). Then hit the URL your template's pattern resolves to. Your app's <StudioComponent /> route should render the composition.

If it doesn't:

422 "compositions content type not found": see the 422 entry in Troubleshoot.
Canvas blank / wrong content: run verify-setup to walk the four-layer smoke test.
"Component 'X' is not registered": run troubleshoot-canvas with the symptom.

Common questions

Q: Can I script this with the Content Management API (CMA)? A: Most steps yes (project creation + configuration + composition writes are all CMA-accessible), but the canvas-authoring UX (drag-drop, exposed props, preview entry selection) is intentionally human-driven. Studio is built so authors compose. Engineers prep. Don't try to script Layer 2 wholesale.

Q: Can the LLM watch me do this and verify? A: Yes. After each step, the LLM can call verify-setup to confirm the wiring downstream of that step is consistent. It can also drop into troubleshoot-canvas if anything looks off.

Q: I'm provisioning a project from a continuous integration (CI) script. Can I skip Layer 2? A: Partially. CMA endpoints exist for project creation + linking + environment/locale/canvas-URL setting. You can automate steps 1-2. Steps 4-6 (the actual composition authoring) are author-driven and shouldn't be in CI.