Exaro StudioChat panel
A dockable panel that talks to the model of your choice and holds the tools that touch your project. Open it at Window → Exaro Studio, or press Ctrl+Alt+A.
Providers
Pick a provider in the dropdown; enter its key under Edit → Editor Preferences → Plugins → Exaro Studio. Keys never leave your machine except in the request to that provider.
| Provider | How you pay |
|---|---|
| Claude (Anthropic) | API key, or the claude CLI you already subscribe to. |
| Gemini (Google) | API key, or the gemini CLI. |
| OpenAI / Codex | API key, or the codex CLI. |
| Local (Ollama / OpenAI-compatible) | Any local server speaking the OpenAI chat format. No key, no bill. |
| OpenRouter | One key, many models. Billed against OpenRouter credits. |
API key or subscription CLI
Each provider runs in one of two integration modes. HTTP API posts directly to the provider and bills your key per token. Local CLI spawns the claude, gemini, or codex binary you have already authenticated, so the work draws on the subscription you pay for anyway.
You never have to guess which one is about to run. The Send button says so before you click it — Send · CLI · free or Send · API · BILLED.
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY in the environment over their own OAuth login, which is a good way to be surprised by a bill. Exaro Studio scrubs provider API keys out of the environment it hands to a CLI child process.Attaching context
A model that cannot see your project guesses. Drag an asset onto the panel, pick one from the asset picker, or select an actor and attach it. Paste a screenshot straight into the prompt box. Each attachment shows as a removable chip, so what you are sending is visible before you send it.
While it runs
- Tool calls appear inline as the agent makes them, and mutating ones stop at the approval queue.
- Press
Esc(or hit Stop) to abort a turn. That cancels the in-flight request and kills any CLI child process. - Token counts and estimated spend for the turn show in the status line.
Cost controls
Agent loops are where token bills come from: each tool round-trip is another billed call. The settings page exposes the levers.
- Max cost per message — an estimated-spend ceiling for one message's agent loop, defaulting to $0.50. The loop stops when it crosses. Set 0 to disable. The estimate uses approximate list prices, not your invoice.
- Max tool iterations — a hard cap on round-trips per message.
- Tool output truncation — long tool results get re-sent every turn, so they are truncated before they reach the model.
- Tool curation — only the most prompt-relevant tool schemas are sent, up to a cap, instead of all 287.
Teaching the agent
The Window → Exaro Studio Agents tab holds two things that persist across sessions: standing instructions (project-scoped or global, injected into every system prompt) and named agents — reusable instruction profiles you switch on for a task and off afterwards.
House rules that stick
“Always use metric units.” “Never touch anything under /Game/Legacy.” Save it once as a standing instruction and it applies to every future conversation in the project.