--- title: "Example Apps — Curation Spec" description: "Local-first visual environment for building and running AI workflows. Build agents visually, deploy anywhere, privacy by design." canonical: https://docs.nodetool.ai/plans/example-apps markdown: https://docs.nodetool.ai/plans/example-apps.md product: NodeTool source: https://github.com/nodetool-ai/nodetool/blob/main/docs/plans/example-apps.md --- # Example Apps — Curation Spec # Example Apps — Curation Spec Status: draft, 2026-07-26. Companion to [applications-canonical.md](applications-canonical.md) T11. Scope: which of the 36 shipped templates in `packages/base-nodes/nodetool/examples/nodetool-base/` get a shipped example app (an `ApplicationBundle`, T12), and what each app contains. No code. Today every template gets a generated app from the CURATION table in `scripts/generate-template-apps.mjs` — 36 variations of one form. This spec replaces that with **11 curated apps binding 23 workflows**; the remaining 13 templates ship as workflows only. ## Selection criteria Applied in priority order, recorded per app as C1/C2/C3: 1. **C1 — a real person wants the app, not the graph.** A form, dashboard, or gallery is the natural interface for this job. 2. **C2 — it exercises the platform.** Several workflows behind one surface, variables carrying state between operations, streaming, live property bindings. 3. **C3 — it runs on a fresh install, or degrades legibly.** Keyless, local, or an explicit note naming the key and the cost. ## The apps | App | Workflows bound | Operations | Key widgets | Criteria | Needs | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Photo Studio | Image Enhance, Photo Enhancement Suite | `enhance`, `batch` | ImageInput, 5 Sliders, Image, Table | C1 C2 C3 | none for `enhance`; FAL key for `batch` | | Meeting Room | Transcribe Audio, Meeting Transcript Summarizer, Private Assistant | `transcribe`, `summarize`, `ask` | AudioInput, Markdown, Table, TextInput | C1 C2 | FAL (Whisper) + OpenAI; `ask` needs Ollama | | Concept Studio | Concept Art Iteration Board, Pokemon Maker, Image Enhance | `concepts`, `creatures`, `polish` | Select, Slider, Image gallery, Button | C1 C2 | OpenAI + FAL; `polish` keyless | | Research Desk | Research Agent, Hacker News Agent, Summarize RSS | `brief`, `pulse`, `digest` | TextInput, Markdown ×3, Progress | C1 C2 | OpenAI (+ web search tool) | | Ask Your Documents | Chat With Your Documents, Private Assistant | `ask`, `askLocal` | TextInput, Switch, Markdown ×2 | C1 C2 C3 | Ollama (embeddings, `askLocal`); OpenAI for `ask` | | Brand & Social | Brand Asset Generator, Hook & Thumbnail Factory, Social Media Calendar Filler | `kit`, `thumbnails`, `calendar` | ColorInput, Image, Table, Columns | C1 C2 | OpenAI + FAL | | Product Launch Kit | Product Mockup Generator, Product Video Generator | `mockups`, `video` | ImageInput, Slider, Image, Video | C1 C2 C3 | OpenAI + FAL; Gemini (Veo) for `video`, cost note | | Film Studio | Script to Screen, Directed Film to Timeline, Movie Posters | `produce`, `cut`, `poster` | TextInput, Select, Progress, Video, Image | C1 C2 C3 | OpenAI + FAL + Gemini (Veo) + Replicate; cost note | | Study Buddy | Flashcard Generator, Prompt Template | `cards`, `explain` | NumberInput, Table, Markdown | C1 C2 | OpenAI | | Model Arena | Model Arena | `compare` | TextInput, Columns, Markdown ×3 | C1 C2 | OpenAI + Anthropic + Gemini keys | | Dataset Builder | Data Generator | `generate` | TextInput, NumberInput, Table | C1 | OpenAI | Nine of eleven bind more than one workflow. Two are usable with no cloud key (`Photo Studio`'s `enhance`, `Ask Your Documents` in local mode). ## Per-app detail Output names below are the ones in the shipped graphs. Names marked † come from the Output-augmentation table in `generate-template-apps.mjs`; T12 must bake those Output nodes into the bundled graphs (see Prerequisites). ### 1. Photo Studio Generate-free, refine-heavy: the flagship for live property bindings. - `enhance` — Image Enhance. Inputs: `image` from an ImageInput widget; five node properties bound to sliders — `denoise-node.radius`, `tone-node.brightness`, `tone-node.contrast`, `color-node.saturation`, `sharpen-node.amount`, all `pace: "release"`. Policy `replace`. Output `enhanced_image`† → display. - `batch` — Photo Enhancement Suite. Inputs: `photos` (ImageListInput), `brightness_adjust` / `color_boost` sliders. Output `enhanced_photos`† → variable `batchResults`, rendered as a grid. - Variables: `sourceImage` (instance) shared by both operations so the single photo and the batch use the same drop zone. - Degradation: `enhance` is pure GPU filters (`lib.image.*`) and runs with no keys; `batch` adds a FAL `ImageToImage` grade pass and says so in a note. ### 2. Meeting Room Recording in, minutes out, then question the transcript — the transcribe → summarize → interrogate chain across three workflows. - `transcribe` — Transcribe Audio. Input `audio` from an AudioInput widget, event on `change` (auto-run on upload). Output `transcript`† → variable `transcript`. Policy `replace`. - `summarize` — Meeting Transcript Summarizer. Input `Transcript` from variable `transcript` (the graph's `IsEmpty`/`If` pair already skips its own ASR branch when a transcript is supplied). Outputs `Summary` → Markdown, `Action Items` → Table (it emits a dataframe), `Transcript` unused. - `ask` — Private Assistant. Inputs `document` from variable `transcript`, `question` from a TextInput, `tone` from a Select. Output `answer` → Markdown. Local Ollama, so the follow-up Q&A costs nothing and works offline once the transcript exists. - Variables: `transcript` (instance) is the whole point — one value written by op 1 and read by ops 2 and 3. ### 3. Concept Studio Generate a gallery, pick one, polish it. The creative iteration loop. - `concepts` — Concept Art Iteration Board. Inputs `creative_brief`, `art_style`, `mood_keywords` (TextInput/Select), `variations` (Slider 1–8). Output `Concept Art` → append-disposition gallery. - `creatures` — Pokemon Maker. Inputs `animals` (TextInput), `style` (Select fed from the graph's existing `SelectInput` options: cel-shaded, 3D render, watercolor, 16-bit, holographic). Output `pokemon`† → the same gallery. - `polish` — Image Enhance, bound a second time with different mappings: input `image` from variable `picked`, sliders as in Photo Studio. Policy `replace`. - Variables: `picked` (instance) — the gallery selection feeds `polish`. - Both generators use `ListGenerator` → `TextToImage`, so results stream in one at a time; a Progress widget shows the batch filling. ### 4. Research Desk One topic, three sources, three streamed briefings side by side — the case where a dashboard beats a chat box. - `brief` — Research Agent. Inputs `topic` (variable `topic`), `audience` (Select: engineers / executives / general). Output `brief` → Markdown, streams as the agent works. - `pulse` — Hacker News Agent. Input `topic` from the same variable. Output `analysis` → Markdown. - `digest` — Summarize RSS. Input `feed_url` (TextInput with a shipped default). Output `summary`† → Markdown. - All three run `parallel` from one Button, each into its own panel with its own Progress label. ### 5. Ask Your Documents RAG with a legible offline fallback. - `ask` — Chat With Your Documents. Inputs `question`, `search`, and the three document text areas `doc_specs` / `doc_charging` / `doc_warranty` (shipped with the bundled Aurora sample text). Outputs `Answer` → Markdown, `Retrieved Passages` → Markdown (the citation panel). - `askLocal` — Private Assistant. Inputs `document` from variable `pastedDoc`, `question` from the same question variable. Output `answer` → Markdown. - Widgets: a Switch bound to variable `localOnly` decides which operation the Run button triggers, and `visibleWhen` swaps the results panel. - Note: the vector collection embeds with Ollama `nomic-embed-text`, so `ask` needs Ollama running *and* an OpenAI key; `askLocal` needs only Ollama. The app note must say this — it is the one place a user can be surprised. ### 6. Brand & Social The marketing dashboard: one brand identity drives three deliverables. - `kit` — Brand Asset Generator. Inputs `brand_name`, `brand_description`, `tagline` (TextInputs, written into variables), `primary_color` (ColorInput). Outputs `social_assets` → Image grid, `brand_brief` → Markdown. - `thumbnails` — Hook & Thumbnail Factory. Inputs `Video Topic` (TextInput), `Target Audience` from variable `audience`, `Number of Hooks` (Slider 3–8). Output `thumbnail_gallery` → gallery. - `calendar` — Social Media Calendar Filler. Inputs `brand_name`, `target_audience`, `brand_voice` from variables; `monthly_theme` TextInput; `posts_per_week` Slider. Outputs `content_calendar` → Table (dataframe), `post_images`† → gallery, `captions`† → Markdown. - Variables: `brandName`, `audience`, `voice` (user-scoped, `persist: true`) — fill them once, every operation reuses them across sessions. ### 7. Product Launch Kit Photo in, mockups and a launch video out; the expensive step is opt-in. - `mockups` — Product Mockup Generator. Inputs `product_image` (ImageInput → variable `productPhoto`), `product_name`, `product_description`, `target_audience`, `num_scenes` (Slider 1–6). Outputs `mockup`† → gallery, `scene`† → Markdown shot list. - `video` — Product Video Generator. Inputs `image_input_1` from variable `productPhoto`, `campaign_brief`, `target_audience` (shared variable), `key_features`. Output `product_video`† → Video. Its own Button with a cost note; policy `queue`, `timeoutMs` generous — Veo runs are long. - Runs `mockups` on a fresh install without touching Veo, so the app is useful at the FAL tier alone. ### 8. Film Studio The showcase run: brief → direction → storyboard → cut → key art. - `produce` — Script to Screen. Inputs `Brief` (variable `brief`), `Visual Style` (Select), `Shot Count` (Slider 3–8). Outputs `direction` → Markdown, `storyboard` → gallery, `film` → Video. - `cut` — Directed Film to Timeline. Input `Brief` from the same variable. Output `film` → Video, presented as "the editable rough cut". - `poster` — Movie Posters. Inputs `Movie Title`, `Genre`, `Visual Style` (shared Select). Output `Poster` → Image. - Progress widget per operation; policy `queue` throughout; a standing note that this app spends real money (Veo 3.1 + Replicate MusicGen) and should be run once, deliberately. ### 9. Study Buddy Structured data an app renders better than a graph does. - `cards` — Flashcard Generator. Inputs `topic` (variable `topic`), `num_cards` (NumberInput). Output `Flashcards` → Table, with front/back columns; the graph persists them in SQLite, so re-opening the app shows the stored set. - `explain` — Prompt Template. Inputs `Topic` from the same variable, `Audience` (Select). Output `Explanation` → Markdown, shown beside the cards as "the concept behind this deck". - Variables: `topic` (user-scoped, persisted) is the study session. ### 10. Model Arena Single workflow, but the app is the point: three answers in three columns is unreadable on a canvas. - `compare` — Model Arena. Inputs `brief`, `context` (TextInputs). Outputs `openai`, `anthropic`, `gemini` → three Markdown panels inside a Columns layout, each streaming independently with its own Progress label. - Degradation: a missing provider key fails one column, not the run. The note names all three keys. ### 11. Dataset Builder - `generate` — Data Generator. Inputs `topic` (TextInput), `row_count` (NumberInput 5–50). Output `generated_data` → Table. - The smallest app in the set, kept because a table view of a dataframe is a genuinely better surface than a Preview node, and it is the reference for the Table widget. ## Templates that stay workflow-only 13 templates ship without an app: | Template | Reason | |---|---| | Ad Creative Factory | Terminal nodes are Previews, not Outputs — nothing for widgets to bind; the video matrix is also the most expensive run in the catalog. | | Audio To Image | One input, one image; the template card already tells the whole story. | | Cold Outreach Co-Pilot | Preview-only terminals, and the structured draft fields need an app-side email composer this spec does not define. | | Color Boost Video | Per-frame grading of an uploaded video is minutes long with one slider — a bad first-run experience; the sliders belong in the editor. | | Conditional Logic Engine | Teaching example. Its value *is* the graph. | | Image To Audio Story | One image in, one audio clip out — a Run button with extra steps. | | Image to Video Animation | Text-to-image → Veo; it has no image input, so it cannot be the "animate this" step of any gallery app (see Findings). | | Movie Trailer Generator | Overlaps Film Studio's `produce` at higher cost and with a weaker output set. | | Music Video Visualizer | Strong candidate deferred: one upload, one long paid run, one video. Revisit once a Podcast/Audio app justifies the surface. | | Podcast Repurposing Studio | Preview-only terminals; needs Output nodes and structured quote-card output before an app can render it. | | Research Paper Summarizer | Overlaps Research Desk's `brief`; its 22-node fetch/filter chain is the interesting part and lives in the editor. | | SEO Content Engine | Preview-only terminals; the typed article fields want a per-article editor, not a results panel. | | Workflow As A Tool | Composition demo for graph authors. An app hides exactly what it teaches. | ## Prerequisites and findings Things T12 must handle, found while reading the graphs: - **Output augmentation must move into the graphs.** Eight bound workflows have no Output node today and rely on the `AUGMENT` table in `generate-template-apps.mjs`: Transcribe Audio, Summarize RSS, Pokemon Maker, Image Enhance, Photo Enhancement Suite, Product Mockup Generator, Product Video Generator, Social Media Calendar Filler (2 of its 3 outputs). Bundles carry graphs, not a generator, so those nodes must be committed to the example JSON. - **Preview-only templates cannot back an app.** Ad Creative Factory, Cold Outreach Co-Pilot, Podcast Repurposing Studio, and SEO Content Engine end in `nodetool.workflows.base_node.Preview` with zero Outputs. All four are in the workflow-only list for that reason; promoting any of them later is a graph change first. - **Image to Video Animation has no image input.** The obvious "animate the concept I picked" operation for Concept Studio is not buildable against the shipped graph (`TextToImage` → `ImageToVideo`). Concept Studio uses Image Enhance for its second step instead; adding an ImageInput to that template is a separate, small change if the animate step is wanted. - **Chat With Your Documents needs Ollama even in "cloud" mode.** Its `vector.Collection` embeds with `nomic-embed-text` on Ollama while the answer agent is OpenAI `gpt-5-mini`. Either the app note says both, or the template switches to a cloud embedding model. - **Multi-binding is real here.** Image Enhance is bound by two apps (Photo Studio, Concept Studio) and Private Assistant by two (Meeting Room, Ask Your Documents) — with different input mappings each time. The bundle format's `workflows[].key` indirection covers this; the installer must not create duplicate workflow rows when both bundles are installed. - **Marketing impact.** `/apps/*` drops from 36 generated pages to 11 curated ones. Every retired slug needs a redirect to the app that absorbed it (or to its `/templates/` page, which survives) — the redirect map is T13 work, but the mapping is this table.