Frequently asked questions

Primordio turns plain-English workflow instructions into narrated tutorial videos by operating the application you want to explain. The web product drives a real browser and can also generate a written guide with screenshots. The desktop app extends tutorial recording to Mac apps, iPhone apps in the iOS Simulator, and local web apps.

You describe the workflow instead of performing it for the camera. Primordio carries out the steps, records the application, and adds narration, captions, and visual highlights. To change the tutorial, you update its instructions and run it again. This is especially useful for workflows you need to demonstrate repeatedly as your product evolves.

No. You can create tutorials from plain-English instructions and the application’s interface, without writing automation scripts or supplying source code. Clear steps that use the names of buttons and fields work best. The optional SDK adds code-change-aware updates for teams that want to connect their repository and CI pipeline.

For the web product, you need an invited account, a workspace with an active plan, a verified domain you control, and a list of steps. If the workflow needs a login or sample values, have a dedicated test account and demo data ready.

For the desktop beta, you also need an Apple silicon Mac running macOS 14 or later and the setup required for the kind of app you want to record. The desktop Setup page walks you through permissions and any additional tools.

The hosted web product records browser workflows on verified websites it can reach. The desktop app is in private beta for local web apps, Mac desktop apps, and iPhone apps running in Xcode’s iOS Simulator. iPhone support currently means the Simulator, rather than recording a physical phone.

The desktop app currently runs only on Macs; Windows and Linux computers are not supported yet. Windows desktop apps and Android apps are in development. Compatibility depends on the application and workflow; the desktop setup and rehearsal help you check whether your intended steps can run.

Use the request-access form and tell us about your team and the workflows you want to document. If you want desktop access, mention whether you plan to record a Mac app, an iPhone Simulator app, or a local web app. We review requests and follow up personally. The desktop app does not yet have a public download.

Primordio operates a real browser against your website. Domain verification confirms that your workspace controls the domain before a hosted run can use it. An owner or admin adds the supplied DNS TXT record and verifies it in Settings. Verification covers the domain’s subdomains and is shared across the workspace.

The desktop app does not use this DNS verification flow: it records apps on your Mac, and its local web mode is restricted to sites served from that Mac.

Yes, when the login can be completed through the supported steps. Use a dedicated demo or test account, provide its values through run inputs, and put sign-in steps in Setup so they happen before the tutorial’s recorded portion. Do not put passwords directly in your instructions, notes, or URLs.

Some authentication flows need a different demo setup. Browser-level HTTP basic-auth dialogs, hardware security keys, and other interactive second factors are not supported by the normal hosted login workflow.

Yes. A staging site works with the hosted product when its domain is verified and the recording browser can reach it. A private-network or VPN-only site is not automatically reachable from the hosted recorder.

For a web app running on your own Mac, use the desktop beta’s local web mode. It records localhost in a separate background browser. Use fictional demo data: anything visible in the application can appear in the video and screenshots.

Yes. A new web run presents an outline for you to review, edit, or send back for changes before approving the test walk and build. A Refresh reuses your previously approved storyline and skips that new-outline approval step.

In the desktop app, you review the steps in the editor before recording. It normally rehearses them first. Both rehearsal and the web test walk perform real actions, so use demo data and add cleanup steps where the workflow changes application state.

In ask mode, Primordio pauses and asks you to choose a control or describe it more clearly. Your clarification can be remembered for later runs. If a web walk or build fails, the app can offer a repair or retry so you can address the problem.

Best-guess mode is intended for unattended runs: Primordio records the guesses it makes and can fail when it cannot resolve a step. It does not guarantee that every workflow will complete. Review the result before sharing it.

The web product provides an MP4 video, captions according to your settings, a transcript in the app, and written guides when generated. Guides are available as a self-contained HTML page or a Markdown ZIP with images. Download the files to share them through your help center, video host, or other channels. Primordio does not currently offer public share links or embed codes.

Desktop recordings are saved on your Mac as a video, step images, and caption files according to your settings. Use Show in Finder to access them. They are not currently uploaded to the web workspace’s library.

Yes, in the web product. Generate a step-by-step guide from a completed run’s narration and screenshots, then download it as HTML or Markdown with images. You can regenerate a guide later, including after changing its branding, without recording the video again.

The desktop beta currently produces videos, captions, and step stills. Automatic written-guide generation is not yet available there.

You can choose a narration voice and delivery style, adjust caption settings, and configure highlights. Workspace defaults help keep tutorials consistent, and individual tutorials can have their own settings.

In the web product, your logo and accent color can be applied to generated written guides. That documentation branding does not add a logo or custom brand treatment to the video. Desktop narration and video options are configured in the desktop tutorial editor.

On the web, choose Refresh to record the existing storyline against the current interface. Primordio checks remembered controls, resolves changes where it can, and includes a drift report with the new version. Choose New run when your instructions have changed and you want a newly planned storyline.

Existing versions remain available, subject to your plan’s version cap. If replacing the oldest version is necessary, you are asked to confirm; it is removed only after the new build succeeds. In the desktop app, edit the tutorial’s steps as needed and record it again.

Yes, through the optional doc-gen SDK and CI workflow. You declare which files each demo depends on. A check identifies relevant changes, proposes updates or hints, and can request regeneration either automatically or after approval, according to that demo’s policy.

The SDK reads source files in your repository environment. The change summary sent to Primordio contains paths, changed interface strings or symbols, and hashes rather than source files or diff hunks. You can also keep tutorials current through the interface alone, without connecting a repository.

The web product processes runs in hosted infrastructure and keeps generated files private to your workspace. Instructions and narration are processed using AI services. Put test-account values in run inputs, not in instructions. Web inputs are per-run by default; saving them for future runs is optional. Saved values are stored in plaintext, so use demo or test credentials only.

Desktop tutorials and recordings stay on your Mac. The app sends account, usage, and policy information to Primordio, and sends step text for narration. When model assistance is enabled, finding an unclear Mac control can also send a picture of the app window and related step information through Primordio to its AI provider. You can turn that assistance off in Settings → Privacy.

Anything visible in the app can appear in recordings, screenshots, or a model-assistance picture. Use fictional demo data and review what is on screen. The Privacy Policy and detailed guides explain the handling for each mode.

Yes. An organization workspace gives your team a shared web tutorial library, verified domains, settings, and plan allowances. Roles control who can create tutorials and manage billing, members, or settings. Seat limits depend on the plan; a personal workspace is for one person.

Desktop recordings can count toward an organization’s plan, but their files currently stay on the Mac that created them rather than appearing in the shared web library.

Plans are paid subscriptions with allowances for tutorials, video minutes, written-doc generations, storage, and other features. There is no free tier or free trial during the beta. The pricing page lists the current plans and limits.

On the web, a new tutorial or New run spends a tutorial credit at launch. Refresh does not. Video minutes are charged only for a finished video, rounded up to whole minutes. Walk retries and retries of a failed build within the same run do not spend another tutorial credit; generating or regenerating a written guide uses a docs generation.

On desktop, the first recording of a tutorial in a workspace uses one tutorial credit; subsequent recordings of that tutorial in the same workspace do not. Every finished recording uses rounded-up video minutes. A failed or stopped first recording still uses its launch credit, but no video minutes.

Cancel through Settings → Billing. Access under your paid plan continues until the subscription period ends. After that, you can still view and download existing web tutorials, but creating new tutorials, rerunning them, and generating written documentation require an active plan. Cancellation does not itself delete the web library.

Desktop recordings already saved on your Mac remain local files. Keep copies of any outputs you need for your own records.