A pipeline run can go two ways. Auto submits every step for you as soon as its input is ready, all the way to the end. Manual runs one step at a time and waits for you before the next. You choose when you start a run, and a run can switch between them.
When should I use Manual?
- A new recipe. The first few times, check each result before paying for the step after it.
- Expensive steps late in the chain. If a generation comes out wrong, Manual stops you before retopology, UVs and rigging run on a model you would reject.
- Isolate Parts. In Manual, the step pauses after it identifies the parts so you can confirm the list before any are made.
Manual is the default each time you start a run. The first steps after the starting point begin when you press Start; after that, each step waits for you.
When should I use Auto?
- A recipe you trust. Once a pipeline reliably produces what you want, there is nothing to check between steps.
- Batches. Running a recipe on many pictures is where waiting to approve each step stops making sense.
- Branches. Auto runs every step whose input is ready, so separate branches — the parts Isolate Parts produced, say — proceed in parallel.
What does a run cost, and when am I charged?
Each step costs what the same tool costs in the Studio, and the run shows its estimated total before it starts. Each step is charged when it is submitted, exactly as in the Studio — there is no hold on the whole total. In Auto, the run checks that your balance covers the estimate before it begins, so it does not stall halfway for lack of credits.
What happens when a step fails?
A failed step stops its own branch; other branches carry on. A 3D step that fails is refunded, and everything that finished stays in your library as a normal model. You can retry the step as it was, or change its settings and retry from there.
Can I pause a run?
Yes. Auto runs can be paused and resumed, or cancelled. A finished, stopped or cancelled run can be deleted; the models it made stay in your library.