Deployment guide

First, the thing that makes this system different: you own it. What you're setting up here isn't a website or a SaaS system that you log into or an app you rent. It's a copy of Soundtrak's whole AI Studio that lives on your computer.

It's a premium, licensed product, yours to run for your own business's marketing, not to resell or run for other people's clients, and not open-source.

Get your own copy running on your computer. No coding, and no experience with Claude needed. A few quick installs, then the system sets itself up. You will need about 30-45 minutes.

Step 1 - Install Python

This runs the system's behind-the-scenes scripts.

Go to python.org/downloads and click the big yellow Download Python button.
Open the file you just downloaded.
IMPORTANT: on the first screen, tick "Add Python to PATH" (bottom of the window) before clicking Install Now. This one tick prevents the most common setup problem.
Let it finish, then click Close.

On a Mac or Linux? The system's behind-the-scenes engine calls the command python (not python3). Many Macs and Linux machines only have python3, and if so, the auto-update and backup won't run. You don't need to fix this by hand now: the setup check in Step 4 tests for it and, if it's missing, prints the exact one-line fix (usually pointing python at python3, or using a virtual environment).

Step 2 - Install Claude Code & sign in

Claude Code is the app you'll actually use (the AI you type your requests to).

Get a Claude account first. You need a paid plan, either Claude Pro or Max (the same login as Claude.ai). If you don't have one, sign up at claude.com/pricing.
Install Claude Code to your PC using Anthropic's official guide for Windows: code.claude.com/docs/en/setup (IMPORTANT: the browser version will not work).
Do the 5-minute quickstart, it shows a first-timer exactly what to click: code.claude.com/docs/en/quickstart. The first time you open Claude Code it opens your browser to log in, sign in with your Pro/Max account. You only do this once.

Step 3 - Download the Soundtrak AI Studio from GitHub

The whole Studio is one folder of files, hosted on GitHub.

Open github.com/abraun64/soundtrak-ai-marketing-system. You don't need a GitHub account.
Click the green < > Code button (top-right of the file list), then Download ZIP.
The ZIP saves into your Downloads folder. Right-click it → Extract All… → Extract.
Move the extracted folder into your OneDrive (or Dropbox) folder, then rename it Marketing AI System. This step matters: keeping it inside OneDrive/Dropbox gives you an automatic offsite backup of everything you do, with no extra setup.

Where it should end up: something like C:\Users\<you>\OneDrive\Marketing AI System. That one folder is your system, everything lives inside it.

Step 4 - Open your system in Claude Code

⚠️ Use the desktop app (or the terminal), not the browser version. The web / browser version of Claude runs in the cloud and cannot open the folder on your computer or run the studio's files, so it will not work for this.

Claude Code always works inside one local folder. You point it at your Marketing AI System folder so it knows where your system lives.

Open Claude (desktop version).
Click on </> Code to open Claude Code.
Press + New (chat session).
Open the Marketing AI System folder as your project by choosing Open folder and selecting the folder you extracted in Step 3. If you use the terminal version, open a terminal inside that folder and run claude. You're in the right place when Claude Code shows Marketing AI System as the current project/folder.
In the chat session, type: Set yourself up. It installs the last few pieces, checks everything works, and turns on automatic backup. If something's missing it tells you the one thing to fix, in plain language. When it says READY, setup is done. (One time only.)

What it's installing: two small helper libraries (markdown and pyyaml) that the system needs, plus one optional extra (playwright) used only to make preview thumbnail images in the gallery. Campaigns run fine without it, so don't worry if that one shows a yellow warning. If you'd rather install them yourself, the three are listed in the requirements.txt file in your system folder and go in with one command, pip install -r requirements.txt, but you don't have to: "set yourself up" does it for you.

One-time licence agreement: the first time, setup shows you the licence and disclaimer and asks you to agree before it continues. The system is free for your own business use and is provided "as is", entirely at your own risk (full terms are in the LICENSE file). The assistant will show you the terms and ask you to reply I AGREE, do that once and it carries on.

Step 5 - Set up your working chats

Now set up the chats you'll use day to day.

System Improvements, press + New (chat session) and make sure it's using the Marketing AI System folder you just set up, and type "/system-manager" to set it up. This chat session is to make the system itself better and improve how it operates (it is not for running a campaign). Nothing is required from you on Day 0, but from here you can say "run a system retro", "capture an idea: …", or "add to backlog: …". This is how the system gets better over time, your ideas become tracked work you can pick up later.
Brand setup, do this once, before you run a campaign. This foundation is the "knowledge base" every campaign reuses, so you never re-explain yourself. It collects things like your style guide, tone of voice, governance rules, target market and tech stack. Type "Brand setup" and the system interviews you and builds your foundation. Have these ready to paste in or describe:
- Brand style guide, or just your logo, colours and fonts; even favourite pages of your website can do.
- Tone of voice, how you sound, words you use and words you avoid.
- Positioning & segments, what you stand for, and who you're selling to.
- Rules you must follow, only if you're regulated (finance, health, government…): disclaimers, things you can't claim.
- Where you publish + your martech, your key marketing channels, plus your tech tools (CRM, email, analytics). If any needs a password or key, the system shows you where to enter it safely.
- Best-practice examples, a few standout marketing campaigns or pieces for the system to learn from.

The one habit that matters: a fresh chat for each new job, each campaign, each system retrospective, and give it a name you will remember. Everything you do is saved automatically and carried across chats through your foundation, so a new chat never loses your brand or your past work.

Step 6 - Bookmark your HTML operator interfaces

Everything you review happens on two HTML pages you open in your browser. Bookmark both now so they're one click away (on Chrome, save them to your Bookmarks Bar).

Campaign Dashboard, in File Explorer, open your Marketing AI System folder → the campaigns folder → double-click index.html. It's at something like C:\Users\<you>\OneDrive\Marketing AI System\campaigns\index.html. It opens the All Campaigns page in your browser. Bookmark it. (It's empty until you start your first campaign.)
System Improvements Dashboard, in File Explorer, open your Marketing AI System folder → the system folder → double-click dashboard.html. It's at something like C:\Users\<you>\OneDrive\Marketing AI System\system\dashboard.html. It opens your System backlog (ideas and improvements). Bookmark it too.

Why bookmark them? These pages are how you see everything, where each campaign stands, what's waiting for your approval, and the running list of system ideas. They update themselves as you work; you just refresh.

Step 7 - Make the gallery buttons open natively (Windows only)

When you review a campaign in the asset gallery, each asset has two convenience buttons, 📁 Open folder and ✏️ Edit copy, that take you straight to that asset's files.

In your Setup chat in Claude Code, paste this:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File ".\.claude\skills\asset-gallery\protocol\setup-protocol.ps1"

Alternatively, run it in a terminal inside your project folder, paste this:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File ".\.claude\skills\asset-gallery\protocol\setup-protocol.ps1"

It is fully reversible; the how-to-undo details are in .claude/skills/asset-gallery/protocol/setup-cookbook.md.

Step 8 - Your first campaign

That's it, you're set up. You're now ready for your first campaign. Press + New (chat session) and type "start a campaign: <what it's for>".

📘 Next: the Operator guide walks you through this process in detail, stage by stage.

If the health check flags something

Step 4 ("set yourself up") runs a "doctor" that checks your setup. A red [FAIL] line is a real blocker and always prints the exact fix; a yellow [WARN] line is just a heads-up you can usually ignore. The usual ones:

Line	What it means	Fix
`[FAIL] python module: … MISSING`	a required helper library (markdown / pyyaml) didn't install	type "set yourself up" again in the chat session, so it retries
"python is not recognised" (Windows)	Python installed without "Add to PATH"	re-run the Step 1 installer and tick "Add Python to PATH"
[FAIL] `python` NOT on PATH (only `python3`) (Mac/Linux)	the engine's `python` command is missing, so auto-update & backup won't run	point `python` at `python3`, the doctor prints the exact one-line command, or use a virtual environment
`[WARN] playwright … (optional)`	the thumbnail-image tool isn't installed, not a blocker	ignore it, or say "set yourself up" to add it; it only affects gallery preview images
`[WARN] git (recommended…)`	Git isn't installed, not a blocker; you just lose version history	optional; install Git if you want version history + online backup (see below)

Do I need a GitHub account?

No, not to download the system, and not to use it day to day. GitHub shows up in two separate ways, and only the optional one needs an account of your own:

GitHub touchpoint	Whose it is	Account needed?
The public page you download from (Step 3)	the people who make the system	No, anyone can download
An optional online backup of your own work	yours (a free private repo)	Yes, but only if you want it

Backup & upgrades

Backup is automatic once set up (Step 4): your work saves at the end of every session. The safety net is that local save plus your OneDrive/Dropbox folder, an offsite copy with zero extra setup. That's enough for most people, no GitHub account required.
Git is recommended, not required. If Git is installed, the system keeps a full version history of your work and can push to an online backup; if it isn't, the studio still runs perfectly and your OneDrive/Dropbox folder is your backup. The setup check flags a missing Git as a yellow "recommended" warning, never a blocker, it's your call whether to install it.
Want a separate online backup in your own account? Optional, install Git, create a free private repo, then say "set yourself up" again and the system connects it.
Upgrades: your copy is yours and keeps working as-is, so you never have to upgrade. If a newer version is released, whoever gave you the system can hand you the update.