CineBraid

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Source candidate: 7.0.0-alpha.1 · Apache License 2.0 · In development

The production layer that keeps AI cinema tied together. Your production, your control.

This tree prepares CineBraid 7.0 Public Alpha. A version string is not a released artifact: this source does not establish that a GitHub Release, tag or Windows download exists. Install only an exact reviewed source commit or a supplied package whose manifest/checksums identify it. Never substitute moving main for a frozen package. Release publication is a separate owner decision.

For filmmakers building multi-shot productions, CineBraid keeps planning, references, shot intent, candidate media and approval receipts connected. Import media made anywhere; generation and assistance are optional. This is not a stable release or a production-ready support guarantee.

Working now

• Production and Shot Desk: organize scenes and shots, move directly between Inputs, Look & blocking, Frames, Motion & sound and Deliver. Shots owns its contextual scene/shot navigation in the single sidebar.
• Project Bible and References: author production context; manage exact entity/state/view assets, coverage and human approval history. Selected media is not approved media; a new decision can supersede a previous receipt for the same target without granting authority to another target.
• Editorial work: Existing media / editorial is a first-class shot production method. Planned duration belongs to Shot Intent, independently of provider clip duration.
• Results and Screening: compare attempts, inspect artwork, deliberately approve or reject the exact candidate. Revision may use an unapproved edit canvas without promoting it to approval authority.
• Native candidate repair: current approved appearance references, explicitly non-authoritative technical guides and a durable mask bound to the exact base flow through Build and normal exact request review.
• Motion and sound: review generation requests, ingest returned candidates, play video/imported or recorded audio, approve exact audio and place it with a role/timing. Placement is editorial intent, not a mixed render.
• Provenance: linked jobs retain submitted prompts, ordered inputs, provider/job/result identities and request fingerprints. Media Inspector reads the linked submitted prompt, not a newer draft.
• Delivery: record a deliberate Final/Delivered decision and download records. Physical handoff is manual copying of chosen media with identity, hash, provenance and decision records; there is no built-in NLE/export pipeline.

Human approval stays explicit. Build, selection, AI recommendations and returned files do not approve a reference or frame. Do not mark Final merely to try a feature. An unavailable provider does not block the manual workflow.

Start

Requires Node.js 18 or newer and npm; Node.js 24 is the qualified Windows runtime. Git is needed for cloning, not for an extracted source ZIP. There is no frontend build step or bundled native installer.

For an already supplied, verified 7.0 source folder:

npm ci
if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { throw 'Dependency installation failed.' }
npm start

Open the printed URL, normally http://127.0.0.1:4477. Keep the terminal open; Ctrl+C stops CineBraid. Use an unused PORT for a second instance.

npm ci uses the lockfile and needs network access. Runtime dependencies are express and pngjs (pinned to 7.0.0). Source packages omit node_modules. No credential is needed for installation, the sample or manual work. ffmpeg is optional, separately installed for media inspection/proxy utilities.

Setup covers exact-source installation, isolated trials, credentials, backup and upgrades. Ordinary startup uses this account's existing settings and projects; a second application folder alone does not isolate production data.

Try a first shot

1. Choose Add the CineBraid sample. This makes an editable Blue Parcel copy; the bundled source remains unchanged.
2. Inspect References and an exact state/view. Fresh sample selections still need human decisions. Approve only inspected media you intend to authorize; do not repeatedly approve existing current receipts.
3. Open Shots → SAMPLE-03 → Frames. Review SAMPLE-03-OPEN.png in Results/Screening. Approve result… records a deliberate Frame A decision.
4. If the approved still is the intended delivered work, use Deliver and confirm the final decision. Generation is not required; approval and delivery differ.

Follow Getting started for reference enrollment, editorial duration, review and save/reopen. The bundled sample lives at projects/cinebraid-sample/; work in its editable copy.

Qualified generation targets

“Qualified” means the named compiler/request/authority path is qualified with provider constraints. It does not guarantee artistic fidelity, uptime, future pricing, or real paid execution of every mode.

Exact target / provider	Qualified request modes
GPT Image 2 / fal openai/gpt-image-2	T2I, blocking
GPT Image 2 / fal openai/gpt-image-2/edit	Edit, multi-reference, explicit inpaint/mask mapping
MiniMax H3 FL2VA / fal	T2V, I2V, first/last frame
MiniMax H3 Ref2VA / fal	R2V with explicitly selected ordered inputs

Read Optional services and the H3 guide before configuring/paying for generation. Catalogue entries may be Experimental/available, In development or Research/watchlist. Catalogue presence or an old prompt profile is not qualified native support. ComfyUI/Civitai and other assistant routes remain optional, with workflow/model-specific limits, not blanket qualification.

Known limitations / experimental

Desktop production is primary; basic responsive/mobile navigation exists. Dedicated mobile polish is lower priority. This alpha is still in development.

Deterministic model-specific Build is the trusted production baseline. Braidy is optional/advisory/experimental. Inspect coverage/omissions before Accept/Edit; Reject leaves Build. Acceptance changes the generation package, not Canon or approvals. Even stronger models can drop directed intent. Connection readiness is not task qualification; choose the model in Settings rather than assuming a default.

Optional assisted continuity repair and per-frame AI critique remain unqualified. Other automation/review controls may be available experimentally; a visible button is not a qualification certificate. Manual production remains usable without AI.

Generated output may drift, even outside a mask. Paid dispatch is not artistic approval. Inspect the exact request and current cost before submission. Audio placement is not an automatic video mix; physical media handoff remains manual.

Your data and network

CineBraid is local-only by default, bound to 127.0.0.1. Its interface has no third-party analytics, fonts, scripts or stylesheets. Requested external work sends selected prompts/context/media and can incur cost. Model-list/health checks can contact configured services too.

Projects normally live outside the app in %USERPROFILE%\CineBraid Projects on Windows or ~/CineBraid Projects elsewhere. Settings normally use %LOCALAPPDATA%\CineBraid\config.json. Startup and Settings → Files & storage identify actual paths; overrides/legacy roots may differ.

Settings/credentials are server-side plaintext JSON, not an encrypted vault. Readbacks mask keys; local files/recovery backups require OS account protection. Back up full project/media folders and config separately; a JSON backup alone is not a complete media backup. Never share keys/private configs.

LAN is opt-in: set an Editor passcode first, then npm run start:lan on a trusted network. Do not expose CineBraid directly to the internet. A self-hosted endpoint label does not prove its operator never forwards data elsewhere.

Coming next / 7.x

Real-production refinement, inherited production libraries, start from existing production, model benchmarking/recommendations, broader evaluated provider/model coverage and workflow/density polish. DF-04/05/06 remain deferred editorial follow-ups, not new 7.0 features. These are plans, not shipped capabilities.

Longer-term direction

Shared/series production systems, richer handoff/export, deeper local AI and larger collaborative/automated production workflows. Direction, not commitments.

Give feedback

Open a GitHub issue for bugs or workflow friction. Include version/build, OS, workflow, model/provider/mode where relevant, expected/actual behavior and safe screenshots/logs. Redact keys/private production material. Report vulnerabilities privately using SECURITY.md.

Documentation and contributing

Documentation index · Setup · Project Builder prompt kit · Model packs. The Project Builder feeds Project Bible, References and Shots; it is not the queued start-from-existing-production feature.

Every pushed branch is public. Use DCO sign-off and the installed history-aware pre-push gate. See Contributing and Publication. Windows validation is required; browser CI is advisory pending runner stability. Strict browser/release commands still require real browser execution.

npm run check:quick
npm run check:ci-census
npm run check:release
npm run check:authority-browser

Code: Apache License 2.0 (LICENSE); name/logo/Braidy artwork have separate terms (TRADEMARKS.md).