Runway launches App Studio to build creative apps from descriptions

• Runway builds creative apps from descriptions, with image, video and audio generation plus Brand Kits, according to its announcement.
• Ready-made apps handle video recasting, character styling, annotated retouching, product campaigns and voiced script readings.
• App Studio began as an internal tool, Runway co-CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela said in his launch post.

Generated satellite imagery becomes a 3D landscape with saved camera positions in iamneubert's location scout. An early-access customer built an instrumental-album generator that also makes cover art. Builders can even download their app's source code after publishing.

Runway's October 26 launch includes a standout shortcut: turning an existing Agent session or Workflow into an app in one click. Its prompt, model chain and settings become a reusable tool with only the inputs teammates need.

Building from scratch follows this process:

1. Describe the job. Runway's building guide uses “Convert ad scripts into shot-by-shot visual storyboards” as an example starting prompt.
2. Refine the preview. The agent plans and builds the interface, asking for choices such as colors and a logo. Users can select an element, draw on the preview or mark a spot, then describe a change.
3. Publish a version. The preview stays private until publication. Later edits remain in the preview until the creator publishes again.

Apps can draw on Brand Kits, Workflows, Assets and References, according to the launch announcement.

The social launch presents five compact creative workflows:

1. Character Swap. An existing video gets a new cast in Runway's example. The product page specifies a replacement character from an image or prompt, a depth-map guided keyframe and Seedance 2.5.
2. Style Out. A character lineup gets hair, makeup and wardrobe styling before becoming production-ready character sheets.
3. Precise Edit. Image annotations determine where retouching happens; Runway says everything outside the marked areas stays untouched.
4. Product Shoot. A single product photo becomes campaign imagery across new settings, styles and scenes in Runway's demo.
5. Table Read. Each script character gets a distinct voice for an audible rehearsal before shooting.

Runway's launch announcement names additional built-in apps beyond the five social demos:

• AutoComp: Replaces a product in existing footage while preserving labels and packaging, for versions across a product line.
• 3D Camera Control: Sets camera position and movement in 3D space for previz, VFX, animation and product shots.
• Runway Pro: Builds a customized version of Runway around a team's production pipeline.

Built-in apps can be used as supplied or remixed into a new app.

KPF and other design partners built dozens of custom apps during early access, according to Runway's account. Several have unusually specific production jobs:

• Architectural animation: KPF designers mark what should move in a still rendering and draw a camera path to generate directed video.
• Trailer localization: A film studio translates on-screen end titles while retaining the original fonts, effects and layout.
• Camera-matched plates: A production company turns a green-screen take into a clean background plate that follows the original camera movement frame for frame.
• Character galleries: A game studio generates matching character shots from reference images, collects them in a shared gallery and regenerates the set when a design changes.
• Regional advertising: An agency generates scenes by country, region and occasion, with dishes, plating and table layouts checked against brand cultural guidelines.
• Soundtrack libraries: A technology company generates instrumental albums of 8 to 12 tracks, with cover art, and adds them to a shared music shelf.

Valenzuela reported a sharp change in his own browser software screen time: external SaaS accounted for 71% in August; internally built apps accounted for 72% last week. Those are personal usage figures, rather than a company-wide adoption measurement.

After almost half a year using App Studio, iamneubert reported that most of Runway's internal tools were built in-house, including:

• A video-optimized Figma clone.
• Character creation engines.
• Fully functional synthesizers.

Valenzuela described his preferred direction as one-to-one model interfaces, customized to each individual.

The location-scouting app saves shots across a generated 3D landscape for cross-referencing. Its creator says the accompanying video was itself made with another app built in App Studio.

Apps retain model settings and code access beyond the conversational builder:

• Model swaps: Each generation step has a model selector. Changing it causes App Studio to rebuild the app.
• External services: Published apps can call external APIs or databases unless the workspace disables internet access. Builder previews remain restricted.
• Secrets: Keys appear in App settings after the first publication; new values take effect on the next publication.
• Source access: The Code tab exposes app files, and published apps can be downloaded as source ZIPs.
• Enterprise controls: Administrators can disable App Studio by workspace. Existing model restrictions carry through to apps, according to the launch announcement.

The launch announcement sets out access and billing:

• Building: Included in every paid plan, with no separate add-on.
• Free accounts: Can use built-in apps and apps shared with them, but need a paid plan to build.
• Usage: Building, running and hosting draw from existing Runway credits.
• Build sessions: Require a balance of about 700 credits to start, with charges in blocks of about 50 credits as work proceeds, according to the building FAQ. That starting balance is not a fixed per-app price.

Public sharing has conflicting descriptions. The launch announcement promises public links for paid users, with visitors signing into Runway and paying for generations from their own credits; the product page makes the same promise.

The sharing guide instead says viewers must belong to the creator's workspace and that no public-link option exists, although its publishing steps also list “Anyone with a link.”

Published apps currently have no delete or unpublish control. Changing the audience to “Only you” removes teammates' access immediately.