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Product workflow

Use this page when you are clicking through pindeck.dev and want to know what step comes next and what each step is for. For backend diagrams (storage, tagging, Trigger), see Architecture overview.
Sign in with email (not guest) if you need boards, decks, or storyboards to persist. Guest can browse the library, but boards and saved decks do not sync to your account.

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Pipeline at a glance

An empty Decks gallery usually means you have no deck yet, not that the app is broken. Decks get slide images from a board. Build the board first (step 4), then Convert to Deck (step 5).

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Step 1 — Sign in

1

Open the app

Go to www.pindeck.dev.
2

Use email sign-in

Enter email and password, then Sign in. Avoid Continue as guest when testing boards, decks, or uploads you need to keep.
3

Confirm the shell loaded

You should see the sidebar (Gallery, Table, Boards, Decks, Upload), search, and library content—not a blank main area after sign-in.
What this step does: Connects the UI to your Convex user so mutations (boards, uploads, generation) run as you—not an anonymous guest session.

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Step 2 — Get images into the library

1

Open Upload

Sidebar Upload (U) or top bar Upload.
2

Choose a source tab

  • Local Upload — pick or drag files (PNG, JPG, GIF, SVG; size limits on the drop zone).
  • Discord / Pinterest / Automation — queue and approve imports (see Uploading).
3

Review and finalize

Follow on-screen states until the image is active in the library. Background Trigger workers finalize media to RustFS and run analysis when orchestration is enabled.
What this step does: Creates images rows and durable media. Until an image is active, bookmark-to-board and variations are limited.
1

Gallery or Table

Gallery (G) for tiles; Table (T) for sortable rows, bulk actions, and palette tools.
2

Open an image

Click a tile (or row) to open the detail drawer: hero, Edit, Variations, Lineage.
3

Check metadata and palette

After analysis, Type / Genre / Shot / Style and tags appear in Edit and in the table. Palette swatches come from images.colors.
4

Generate a variation (optional)

Variations tab → pick mode (e.g. Action Shot), framing, count → Generate …. Watch Work in the top bar for Trigger progress.
What this step does: Validates ingest and optional AI on real assets. Variations stay linked to the parent (parentImageId).

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Step 4 — Build a board (required before decks)

Do this in Gallery first. Use the blue bookmark (Save to board) on gallery tiles. You are not adding images to a board from the empty Boards list—you bookmark from Gallery, then open Boards to lay out or convert.
1

Open Gallery

Sidebar Gallery (G).
2

Save images to a board

Hover a tile → Save to board (bookmark icon, fills blue when the image is on a board). Add to an existing board or Create New Board.
3

Add enough pins

Aim for roughly 10–12 images (or any set you want on a deck). Empty boards cannot become decks.
4

Open Boards

Sidebar Boards (B). You should see collections and pin counts.
5

Open the storyboard workspace

Double-click a board card. The Board tab shows Shots + Storyboard frames.
6

Lay out and lock

Drag thumbnails into slots; adjust Grid / Hero / Strip. Lock Board saves layout to Convex.
What this step does: A board is an ordered set of library image IDs. The storyboard is the visual arrangement; locking persists per board.

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Step 5 — Create a deck from the board

1

Convert

On a board card or inside the board Decks tab → Convert to Deck → (requires at least one pin).
2

Open Decks

Sidebar Decks (D). Deck cards show strip previews from board images.
3

Open the composer

Click a deck to edit slides, blocks, palette, and Present.
What this step does: Copies board image references into deck slides. Skipping step 4 leaves the composer without imagery.

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Step 6 — Present and export

1

Edit in composer

Reorder slides, edit blocks, typography, scroll FX; changes autosave to Convex.
2

Present

Present for fullscreen preview.
3

Export PDF

PDF exports slides client-side.