AI Tools setup
What the optional runtime installs, what it needs, and how to keep it offline.
Generation, stem separation, and the larger analysis models are optional in OpenStudio. They are never bundled with the base download and never block launch. This page covers what the AI Tools install actually puts on your disk, what each platform can run, and how to start each workflow. The rules it follows are the upstream runtime dependency contract and manual section 18. Shortcuts shown are the OpenStudio default keyboard profile.
What is optional, and why
The base app is a complete DAW on its own. Python, the AI helper runtime, and every generation or separation model are classed as optional prerequisites: if they are missing, the feature that needs them shows guidance, setup runs in the background when you ask for it, and the main app thread stays responsive. Keeping large model assets out of the installer is what keeps the base download small.
One small model does ship with the app: Basic Pitch, used for audio-to-MIDI. It is bundled for provenance, but running it needs ONNX Runtime, which only the Windows and Linux release pipelines provision today. That has nothing to do with the AI Tools install and is covered under platforms below.
Installing from inside the app
- Click the AI Tools button in the main toolbar, beside the Settings gear, or click Install AI Tools inside the Stem Separation dialog. A generation or stem workflow that finds its runtime missing also points you to AI Tools Setup.
- A small popup confirms that setup is running in the background. You can keep working; the top-right AI button is the persistent progress surface.
- If a download stalls or you change your mind, open the setup modal and use Cancel, Reset, or Retry.
- When setup finishes, rerun the workflow you started from. Generated and separated audio comes back into the project as ordinary clips and tracks.
Request access on the Hugging Face model page and accept the Stability AI and Gemma licenses. Then choose Download and Set Up in the app, using a read token from your approved account or an existing Hugging Face login. OpenStudio downloads and converts the model automatically; local folder import remains optional. Allow extra disk space and time for conversion. This model supports text-to-audio, variation, selected-range replacement and continuation.
What it downloads
The install has two parts: a managed Python runtime that OpenStudio provisions for you, so there is no separate environment to wire up, and the model files, which are downloaded on demand for the workflow you use. The runtime is published as its own release stream with per-platform entries.
ffmpeg; the runtime does not bring its own.| Model | Used by | How it arrives |
|---|---|---|
| BS Roformer | Six-stem separation into new project tracks | Guided setup |
| ACE-Step | Text to Music, Lyrics + Style, variation, inpaint selection, continuation | Guided setup · Diffusers |
| Stable Audio 3 Medium | Text to Audio, variation, inpaint selection, continuation | Guided setup · Diffusers |
| MiniMax Music 3 | Lyrics + Style and Song Sections (structured songs) | Guided setup · Diffusers |
| Basic Pitch | Audio to MIDI | Bundled model; inference in ONNX-enabled Windows and Linux builds |
ACE-Step runs through the Hugging Face Diffusers ACE-Step pipeline rather than a node-graph app. In the published ACE-Step benchmark, that change made generation almost three times faster and gave the UI real progress reporting; the ACE-Step post explains what moved and what did not.
Hardware notes
Availability and speed depend on your machine. The upstream feature list is explicit that the optional runtime, model licenses, local hardware, RAM, and VRAM decide whether a generation workflow is available and how it performs, and that the result still needs your ears. Use the model-specific hardware checks in AI Tools Setup for the requirements of your installed build.
- The accelerated ACE-Step path uses CUDA with bfloat16 where supported. Backend and precision choices vary by model and hardware. First use includes model validation and process startup; MiniMax needs substantial system RAM, particularly with CPU offload.
- Full VAE decode is the quality path for generation. If your machine cannot carry a request, you get a clear failure rather than a silently degraded WAV.
- Setup and downloads run in the background and the main app thread stays responsive, but expect the machine to be busy while a generation or separation job is in flight.
The workflows
| Workflow | What it does | Start it from |
|---|---|---|
| Text to Music | Generates a fresh clip with ACE-Step from a style or arrangement prompt, optional lyrics, BPM, duration, time signature, language, key and scale, seed, and generation controls. | An AI track: Insert menu, the Command Palette, or Ctrl+Alt+T |
| Lyrics + Style | Generates a song with ACE-Step or MiniMax Music 3. | An AI track |
| Song Sections | MiniMax Music 3: structured verse, chorus and bridge lyrics and arrangement direction. | An AI track |
| Text to Audio | Generates audio from a prompt with Stable Audio 3 Medium when that runtime and model are installed. | An AI track |
| Create Variation | Generates a related version of the selected clip using the source and variation controls; how much it preserves varies with the model and settings. | Right-click an audio clip → AI Generation |
| Inpaint Selection | Regenerates the time selection that overlaps the clip using surrounding audio as context. Make a time selection first and audition the transition. | Right-click an audio clip → AI Generation |
| Continue Clip | Generates a continuation tail from the selected clip using the prompt and tail-length controls. | Right-click an audio clip → AI Generation |
| Stem separation | Splits a source clip into vocals, drums, bass, guitar, piano, and other, imported back as editable clips on their own tracks. | The Stem Separation dialog |
| Audio to MIDI | Extracts MIDI notes from an audio clip with Basic Pitch and creates an adjacent MIDI track, with undo. | An audio clip; the new MIDI track is created beside it |
Generated audio is written as WAV. Variation and inpainting return a full result on a new track, while continuation returns a tail; MiniMax supports lyrics and structured songs rather than source-audio edits. Results become ordinary session material, so the next step is editing, routing, and mixing rather than importing. For stems that means the usual Mixing & routing tools; for extracted notes, the piano roll.
Staying offline
Internet access is needed for dependency downloads and to obtain model snapshots. Providers may require an account or license acceptance. Once setup and local model validation finish, generation runs locally without uploading your audio, prompts or lyrics. Available models and acceleration depend on your installed app version and hardware.
Two other features in the app do talk to the network, and neither is part of AI Tools: automatic update checks (also manual under Help → Check for Updates…), and the optional TONE3000 sign-in in the NAM Rack.
Accept the model license and choose Download and Set Up in the app. OpenStudio downloads the required Diffusers components from Hugging Face; a token is optional for this public model. Local folder import remains available. MiniMax supports lyrics and structured songs; source-audio editing uses another model. It needs substantial system RAM, and CPU offload trades GPU memory for more RAM and longer generation time.
Generated and separated audio is judged by listening. The upstream project does not treat automated diagnostics as proof that a result sounds right, and results vary with the source material and the model.