How Kilnworks

Start here: the wall, tabs, files and exports. Then every module, with the keys it answers to. In the app, F1 shows the same help for the module in front of you.

The basics

The Kiln tab

Kiln opens on a brick wall: each brick is a module you have. Click one to open it as a tab; Add module puts more bricks on the wall. Recent files sit beside the wall with previews.

Tabs and files

Every module keeps its own kind of file (.kmodel, .krig, .kpose and so on). Ctrl+S saves, Ctrl+O opens, and dropping a file on the window opens it in the right module. Kiln autosaves and offers to restore your work after a crash.

Finding things

Ctrl+K (or F3) searches every command in every module. F1 shows the keys for the module in front of you. Ctrl + and Ctrl - change the size of everything.

Exporting

Choose Export for: Godot, Unity URP or Unity Built-in, and exports bring the shaders, scripts and settings that engine needs. glTF, PNG, sprite sheets, GIF, WAV and MP4 work everywhere. Video needs ffmpeg installed.

Updates

Kiln checks for a new version when it starts and shows Update. It only installs when you click it, and keeps your settings and autosaves.

Where things live

Settings and autosaves are in ~/.local/share/kiln-native on Linux and %APPDATA%\Kiln on Windows. A damaged file is reported and never saved over.

Art

Rig

Turn layered character art (PSD, CLIP) into a rigged, animated 2D character for your game. Saves .krig files.

Q select
B bone
M mesh
W weights
O pivot
L liquid
K mask
J hole
T text
Tab - Setup / Animate
Space - play / stop
I - key the selection
Shift+I - key all (whole pose)
F - fit to window
Drag a bone's body - rotate it (Alt+drag - move it)
R - set the selected bone's parent: click the new parent (empty space = none)
H - helpers on / off (over the curves: fit the view)
P - mini preview
1-9 - pick a swap-set option
Click - select
Shift / Ctrl+click - add / toggle
Drag empty space - box select (Alt = fully inside)
Alt+drag the origin cross - move the pivot
Middle drag / Space+drag - pan
Scroll - zoom
Ctrl+A - select all layers (over the timeline: all keys)
Ctrl+G - group
Ctrl+D - duplicate
Ctrl+Shift+I - import images as new layers (or drop PNG / JPG / WebP files on an open rig)
Sounds lane (under the timeline): right-click to add a sound, drag to move, click to hear, Delete removes; drop WAV / OGG / MP3 on the window to place one at the playhead. Edit / split sounds in Tracker > SOUNDS
Bone colors: each bone keeps one color; the dots on a layer row are the bones it is skinned to, the anchor the bone it is pinned to. Select a layer to light up its bones, a bone to outline its layers
Del - delete the selection (over the timeline: the selected keys)
Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V - copy / paste keys
Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z - undo / redo
Esc - end a bone chain, leave a tool, clear the selection
Right-click a layer or bone - every action for the selection; drag a layer row to reorder / regroup, double-click to rename

Paint

Paint and touch up textures, sprites and backgrounds. Saves .kpaint files.

B pencil, E eraser, G fill, D dither, S spray, L line, R rect, O ellipse, J gradient, I picker, M select
Left/Right mouse - draw primary / secondary color
Alt+click or hold I - pick color (tap I = Picker tool)
X - swap colors
[ ] - brush size
H - grid
T - tile preview
Space+drag / middle drag - pan
Wheel / pinch - zoom
Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y (Shift+Z) - undo / redo
Ctrl+A/C/X/V - select all / copy / cut / paste
Delete - clear selection
Shift while dragging a shape - constrain
Drop an image - import as a texture (or into the current one)

Texture

Generate seamless textures, patterns and shaders without painting them by hand. Saves .ktex files.

Click a generator - pick it
Drag a slider - live re-render (release updates the linked texture)
Double-click a slider value - type a number
Drag inside the 3D cube - rotate it
B pencil, A airbrush, E eraser, U smudge, L line, R rect, O ellipse, K stamp (HD shapes)
S spray, D dither, N hatch, P pattern, G fill, C recolor, W shade, I picker
Stabilizer (tool options): the brush trails the pointer on a string for smooth lines
Left / right mouse - draw primary / secondary color
Hold Alt or I - pick a color (tap I = Picker tool)
X - swap colors
[ ] - brush size
H - grid
F - recentre
Space+drag / middle drag - pan
Wheel / pinch - zoom
Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y (Ctrl+Shift+Z) - undo / redo
Strokes mirror / wrap per the symmetry group
Drag in the preview - orbit
Scroll - zoom
Double-click a shader name - rename (Enter commits, Esc cancels)
Tick an effect card to enable it, click its arrow to open the sliders
Drag a node header - move it
Del / Backspace - delete the selected node
Drag orange dot to green dot - connect
Click a green dot - disconnect
Scroll / drag background - pan
Ctrl+scroll - zoom

Fonts

Make your own font: draw the letters here, or print a sheet, fill it in by hand and scan it. Saves .kfont files.

B pen, C calligraphy nib, N brush, E eraser, G fill, V move
Right mouse button - erase (with Fill: remove a blob)
[ ] - stroke size
Left / Right - previous / next character
Shift+arrows - nudge the drawing
Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z - undo / redo
Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V - copy / paste a drawing
Del - clear
Template: export the pages, print at 100% or draw over the PNGs, then import the scans, photos or edited files (or drop them on the window)
Accents: draw letters and accent marks once, then Build missing accented letters
Ligatures: add letters that join (fi, ->) in the right panel and draw them; they switch in automatically where the font is used
Undrawn characters: tick "Fill in from a fallback font" to borrow anything you did not draw

Pixel

Draw pixel art and animate sprites frame by frame. Saves .kpixel files.

B pencil, E eraser, G fill, L line, U box, I colour picker; the right mouse button erases with any tool
Scroll - zoom
Middle mouse drag - move the view
Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z - undo / redo (per stroke)
Left / Right - previous / next frame
Space - play
Mirror draws both halves at once; Onion skin shows the previous frame in blue
File: open a picture, export the frame, a sprite sheet with frame data, or a GIF, at 1x to 8x

Particles

Make 2D effects from layered emitters with a live preview; export to Godot, a sprite sheet or a GIF. Saves .kfx files.

Start from a preset, then change the emitters on the right; the preview updates as you go
Each emitter is a layer: tick to show it, + Add for another (flames plus embers, glow plus motes)
Space pauses, scroll zooms the preview, Loop is the length of one cycle (bursts fire each loop)
Export: a Godot CPUParticles2D scene with its textures, a sprite sheet, or a GIF of one loop

Ref

Pin reference pictures on an endless board, pick colours off them, keep it floating over your drawing app. Saves .kref files.

Drop pictures on the board, paste with Ctrl+V, or Add pictures
Drag a picture to move it, its orange corner to scale it; drag the empty board to move around; scroll to zoom
H flip, R quarter turn, G greyscale, Del remove, F fit everything in view
Hold I over a picture to read its colour; click to copy the hex code
Double-click a note to type in it, Esc to finish
Keep Kiln on top lets the board float over the program you are drawing in

3D

Model

A 3D modeller: shape meshes in vertex, edge and face modes, lay out UVs, add bones, paint; export glTF. Saves .kmodel files.

Add things with Shift+A, or from the Create tools on the left: a cube, a sphere, or a ready low-poly character to start from
Blender keys: G moves, R turns, S scales; press X, Y or Z to keep to an axis (Shift+X to keep off it), type a number for an exact value, Enter or click to confirm, Esc or right-click to cancel
B box-selects, N and T show and hide the side panels, the middle mouse button orbits the view, F3 searches every command
Vertex, edge and face editing, UVs, bones and painting are in the tool column; Import / Export reads and writes glTF, and Export for picks Godot or Unity

Animate

Pose and keyframe what you model: walk cycles, attacks and cutscene motion. Saves .kanim files.

+ (timeline) - new clip
Space - play / stop
Left / Right - step a frame
W / E / R - move / rotate / scale gizmo
I - key the selection (auto-key keys every change)
Click keys to select, Shift-click to add, drag to move them; Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V copy and paste keys; Del deletes them
Ctrl+wheel on the timeline zooms, wheel scrolls
Sounds lane (bottom of the timeline): right-click to add a sound, drag to move; drop an audio file to place it at the playhead
Clips export with the GLB / Godot bundle (looping clips get -loop)

Assets

Browse everything a project has produced and export it in one go. Saves .kassets files.

Click - select
Ctrl+click or tick the corner box - toggle
Shift+click - select a range
Search box / category list - filter (the selection follows the filter)
Delete - remove the selected textures / files (asks first)
Drop PNG / WAV / GLB / .gdshader files or folders - import

Rooms

Furnish a room and render it as a visual novel background, by day, evening or night. Saves .kroom files.

The floor plan (left) and the finished picture (right); Plan, Both and View switch between them
Add furniture: click it in the list, or drag it onto the plan or the view; windows, doors, paintings and shelves go on the nearest wall
Drag a piece to move it (snaps to 5 cm); on the plan, drag its orange handle to turn it (15Â° steps, Shift for 1Â°)
R / Shift+R turn 90Â°, arrow keys nudge (Shift for bigger steps), Ctrl+D duplicate, Del delete, Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z undo / redo
In the view, drag empty space to turn round the room and scroll to come closer (the Free camera); the presets frame the usual shots
Render saves the background at the chosen size

Pose

Pose a mannequin with your own proportions among boxes and furniture, fly round it, and render shaded or line art references. Saves .kpose files.

Scenes (left) each keep a set, props and camera: Posing corner (grid floor and two white walls), Grid floor, White void, Room
Move: hold the right button to look round and fly with WASD (Q / E down and up, Shift faster, scroll to change speed); drag empty space to orbit, middle-drag to pan, scroll to move in; F frames the picked thing, Home resets the camera
Pose the mannequin: drag a body part to swing it from its joint; drag a hand or foot to reach with the whole arm or leg (Shift swings just that part); Ctrl+drag twists; the dots pick joints, even hidden ones; exact angles on the right
Move props: drag to slide on the floor, Shift+drag to raise, Ctrl+drag to turn; R / Shift+R turn 15Â°; Shift+D duplicate, Del delete, M mirror a pose
Presets: stand, walk, run, sit (feet stay on the floor, so it sits on a chair), kneel, lie down and more
Shaded or Line art (white with black outlines), perspective Guides, Render saves the scene as PNG

Levels

Level

Block out 3D levels with brushes and rooms, texture faces, add colliders, fog and lights, export to Godot or Unity. Saves .klevel files.

Block out a level from brushes: drag blocks and rooms in, then resize them by their handles
Drag a texture from the strip at the bottom onto a face to paint just that face
Mark what the player collides with, add fog walls and lights, and set the sky and sun in the World tab
Sync with Godot keeps a folder of your Godot project up to date every time you save
Right-drag - orbit
Middle-drag - pan
Wheel - zoom
Click - select (Ctrl+A all)
Fog, sky, sun, ambient light, tonemap and glow on the right are exported as <name>_env.tres and in the Godot bundle
Filter (preview only): try a look; add it in Shaders > Screen FX to use it in the game
Camera: look through a scene camera instead of the free view

Tiles

Paint 2D levels from tilesets in layers, mark solid tiles, export to Godot, PNG, JSON or CSV. Saves .ktiles files.

Add a tileset (a PNG sheet), click a tile or drag over several, then paint on the map
B brush, E eraser, G fill, R box, I picker; the right mouse button erases with any tool
Scroll zooms, middle mouse drag moves the map; Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z undo / redo
Layers on the left: the top of the list is drawn on top
Mark solid tiles: those tiles collide in Godot
Export: Godot scene with TileMapLayer nodes and a TileSet, a PNG of the map, JSON, or CSV per layer

Sound

Audio

Record and clean up voice lines, compose music and mix tracks. Saves .kaudio files.

R - record / stop (or hold R in push-to-talk mode)
Esc - throw away the running take
Space - play selection / picked clip / take
B - bypass FX (hear the raw take)
Drag on the waveform - select, Enter - make a clip from it, A - auto-split the take at pauses
Up / Down (P / N) - previous / next script line
S - star the current take
Delete - delete selected clips
Wheel - zoom the waveform, Shift+wheel - scroll
Drop an audio file here to use it as a take, a .txt file to load it as the script

Cut

Edit video: cut clips into a trailer or cutscene and export an MP4. Needs ffmpeg. Saves .kcut files.

Add media, then press + next to a file to put it on the timeline
Click or drag in the ruler to move the playhead; the picture above shows that moment
Drag a clip sideways to move it; S splits the selected clip at the playhead; Delete removes it
The right panel sets where a clip starts, which part of the file it uses, its length, fade and volume
Video clips play one after another; a gap shows black, Close gaps removes them
Export makes an MP4. Cut needs the ffmpeg program installed for adding media, the preview and exporting

Foley

Collect short sounds: import or record, tag, trim, rate, then export or send them to the sound bank. Saves .kfoley files.

Add sounds (or drop WAV, OGG, MP3, FLAC on the window), or Record from the microphone
Click a sound to hear it; Ctrl or Shift click picks several; Space plays, Del removes
Drag the white handles on the waveform to trim; set gain or normalise, fades, kind, rating, tags
Search finds names, tags and notes
Export WAV writes the chosen sounds as they sound here; Send to sound bank shares them with the other modules

Writing

Story

Write branching conversations and choices, and export them for your game. Saves .kstory files.

Right-click canvas - add a node
Drag from a port - connect
Drag a node - move it
Double-click a wire - cut it
Scroll - zoom
Drag empty canvas / middle drag - pan
Delete - remove selected node
Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y - undo / redo
Drop a .kdlg file - import a story
Drop images (this tab active) - new portraits for the selected character
PAINT button under a portrait - edit it in the Paint tab

Scribe

Write documents such as design docs and scripts, with headings and page headers. Saves .kscribe files.

Write in Markdown on the left; the page on the right shows the result
# Heading
## Smaller heading
**bold**
*italic*
`code`
- list
1. numbered
> quote
--- line
The buttons in the top bar add these marks at the cursor or around the selection
Page header and footer are set in the left panel and repeat on every printed page
Export: Markdown, or a web page that prints cleanly (print it to PDF from a browser)

Present

Build a slide deck for a pitch or a devlog and present it full screen. Saves .kslides files.

Each slide is Markdown: # heading, - points, **bold**, *italic*
F5 - present (full screen)
Right / Space / click - next
Left - back
Esc - stop
Layout is per slide, colours are for the whole deck
Export gives one web page that plays in any browser and prints one slide per page

Planning

Board

Plan the work: task cards in columns with due dates and checklists. Saves .kboard files.

Drag a card to another column, or up and down inside one
Ctrl+click picks more cards, Shift+click a run, Ctrl+A every card showing; then label, move or delete them together on the right
Pictures: paste with Ctrl+V, drop files on the window, or Addâ¦ in the card; click one to view it, right-click to remove
Click a card to edit it on the right: notes in Markdown, due date (year-month-day), owner, priority, labels, checklist
List shows every card in a table; click a heading to sort
Filter matches the title, notes, owner and label names
A due date in the past shows in orange

Notes

Keep linked notes: a private wiki for lore, characters and design decisions. Saves .knotes files.

Notes are Markdown. [[Another note]] links to a note; clicking a link that has no note yet creates it
"Mentioned in" lists the notes that link to the open one
#word anywhere in a note is a tag; click a tag at the top of the list to see only its notes
Search looks through every note's title and text
Folder groups notes in the list; Pinned keeps one at the top
Import a folder adds its .md files (an Obsidian vault works); Export writes one .md per note

Mind

Map out ideas: mind maps, flowcharts and quest trees on an endless canvas. Saves .kmind files.

Drag the background to move around, scroll to zoom
Drag an item to move it; double-click to type in it; Esc finishes typing
Tab - add a child of the selected item
Enter - add a sibling
Delete - remove it
Connect: select an item, press Connect, click another one (again to remove the arrow)
Tidy lays every tree out left to right
File: export SVG or a Markdown outline, or open an outline as a mind map

Playtest

Log tester feedback and bugs with screenshots, and send them to the Board as cards. Saves .kplay files.

+ Report adds a report; fill in what happened, how to make it happen again, and how bad it is
Screenshots: Add, drop pictures on the window, or paste with Ctrl+V
Send to Board turns a report into a card; Send open reports sends every new or confirmed one
Export writes all reports as Markdown or CSV

Database

Keep tables of data (items, stats, budgets) with formulas, sorting and CSV. Saves .kdata files.

Click a cell and type in the bar above the table; Enter goes to the next row
Arrow keys move between cells when no text field is active; Enter or F2 starts typing
Formulas start with = and use cell names: =A1+B2*2, =SUM(A1:A9), =AVG(B1:B5), also MIN, MAX, COUNT
Sort and Delete act on the selected row or column; Filter hides rows that do not contain the text
Import CSV adds a sheet (dropping a .csv works too); Export CSV writes the current sheet