Pure-Client Studios

“Pure-client studio” does not mean “no backend at all.” It means you stop rebuilding the AI backend for every studio.

Downcity lets a new city start from the frontend, extension, or app and connect to an already deployed City. You can validate the studio UX first, then decide how much studio-specific backend you really need.

Good fits

• lightweight web tools
• Chrome extensions
• desktop shells
• mobile entries
• client demos
• internal tools

Recommended boundary

The client owns:

• UI and interaction
• calling UserClient
• holding studio_id
• storing or refreshing user_token

City owns:

• provider keys
• model directory
• user_token verification
• service routing
• usage records
• hooks and billing logic

The most common minimum shape

Studio frontend
  ↓
Your login / token-issuing endpoint
  ↓
Downcity City

That studio backend can stay very thin at first:

• user login
• AdminClient.tokens.apply()
• returning user_token + studio_id to the client

Why this fits early studios better

• you stop copying provider integrations for every AI idea
• the frontend can ship much earlier
• multiple studios share one AI calling, logging, and quota layer

If the studio gets more complex later, then add more business backend. Do not duplicate the whole AI infrastructure on day one.