Welcome to Tell Me A Tale AI!

The Setup Screen

When you first launch the application, you'll see the Setup Screen. This is your command center for configuring the AI "brains" that will power your story. You must configure at least a Chat provider to begin.

Section 1: AI Provider Setup

AI Providers are services that generate text, images, and audio. Tell Me A Tale AI lets you use different providers for different tasks.

Adding a New Provider

1. First, click Show AI Providers to expand the configuration area.
2. Click the Add New Provider Instance button. A modal window will appear.
3. In the modal, you can filter the available AI plugins by task (e.g., "Chat", "Image", "TTS"). Select the plugin you wish to configure (e.g., OpenAI, ComfyUI, etc.).
4. A new configuration block will appear. Fill in the details:
   • Instance Name: A nickname for your own reference (e.g., "My Fast Chat Model").
   • API Key: Your secret key from the provider (e.g., your OpenAI API key).
   • Model ID: The specific model you want to use (e.g., gpt-4-turbo).
   • Other Config: Some plugins have unique settings that will appear in this area.

Selecting the Active Provider

After adding one or more provider instances, you must tell the application which one to use for each task.

For each task type (CHAT, IMAGE, TTS), use the dropdown menu labeled "Active [TASK] Provider" to select the instance you configured. You must select an active Chat provider to generate story content.

Section 2: General Configuration

Below the AI provider setup, you'll find general settings to customize your experience.

General Settings

• Auto-play generated TTS audio: If checked, the app will automatically read new story pages aloud as they are generated (requires a TTS provider).
• Enable Dynamic Page Theming: Allows the AI to change the application's colors and background animations to match the mood of the story page. Uncheck for a consistent, default look.

Story Image Layout & Style

• Image Layout: Choose whether the story's image appears above, to the left, or to the right of the text.
• Image Style: Define the consistent art style for your story. You can select a preset like "Cinematic" or "Watercolor", or choose "Custom Style" to write your own detailed description.

Story Narrative Arc

• Target Total Pages: Give the AI a suggested length for the story. This helps it with pacing.
• Target Narrative Shape: Select a classic story structure, like "Man in Hole" (a fall then a rise) or "Cinderella" (a dramatic rise-fall-rise). This guides the AI in crafting the long-term emotional journey of the story. Choose "None" for a completely freeform experience.

Section 3: Playing Your Adventure

Once your providers are configured, click the Start/Continue Adventure button to go to the story screen.

Starting a New Story

If this is your first time, you'll be prompted to:

1. Enter a Story Title.
2. Write a Starting Premise. This is the most important part! Describe your character, the world, and the initial situation. The more detail you give, the better the story will be. You can use the ✨ refresh button to have the AI generate a premise for you based on keywords.
3. Click the choice button (e.g., "Start First Chapter") to generate the first page.

The Story Interface

The story screen is where the adventure unfolds.

• Media Display: The top-left (by default) area where the image or video for the current page appears. You can generate a new one with the New Image button.
• Story Content: The main text of the narrative.
• Choices: A list of 2-4 actions you can take. Clicking one will generate the next part of the story.
• Custom Choice: Don't like the options? Type your own action in the text box and hit Submit.

Story Controls

At the bottom of the screen is a panel of powerful tools:

• Speak / Stop Speaking: Reads the current page text aloud.
• Refresh TTS: Regenerates the audio for the current page with your selected TTS provider.
• Auto-play TTS: A per-page toggle for text-to-speech autoplay.
• Bookmark This Page: Saves the current page for quick access later.
• View Premise: Shows the initial premise you wrote for the story.
• View Bookmarks: Opens a list of your saved bookmarks.
• View Index: Shows a complete index of every page in your story history.
• Search Story: Search for any text throughout your entire adventure.
• Load Story: Load a different saved adventure.
• Back to Config: Return to the main setup screen.
• Start New Story: Clears all progress and starts a completely new adventure.

Advanced Topic: TTS Audio Processing

On the story screen, there is a collapsed section titled "Advanced TTS Audio Processing Settings". This section is for audio enthusiasts who want to fine-tune the sound of the generated speech.

It contains controls for an equalizer and a multi-band compressor, allowing you to adjust frequencies and dynamics to make the voice sound less "tinny" or to give it more presence. For most users, the default settings are fine. If you find a set of parameters you love, you can use the copy/paste JSON buttons to save and share them!