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Using StyleRefCreate a style

Create a style

This guide shows you how to build a style by hand on the Style Board and generate the compiled StyleRef at the end. To build with AI from an existing source instead, see Extract a style.

You can start without an account — your work is kept in an anonymous session and moves to your account when you sign up.

The Style Board

Go to styleref.io/styles/create . The board shows your style’s sections as cards, organized into three themed columns:

  • Brand & Fundamentals — Colors, Typography, Light & Shadow, Voice & Language, Output Format, Container/Boundary.
  • Composition & Visual Craft — Spatial Structure, Camera & Motion, Shape Language, Surface & Material, Line & Stroke, UI & Web, Inspiration Images.
  • Style Identity & Rules — Mood & Personality, References, Artistic Mediums, Post-processing, Background & Environment, Guardrails, Custom Style Items.

The panel on the right holds the Copy StyleRef output; the Extract Style box sits as the first card on the board.

Add and edit blocks

Each section holds blocks — individual style elements. To add one:

Pick a section

Select the section the element belongs to — Colors, for example. The Block Selector opens, listing that section’s available block types with a description of each.

Choose a block type

Select a block type — a color palette, a font family, a lighting mood. The block lands on the card and the Inspector panel opens.

Set the value

The Inspector shows the input for that block type. Every block starts in preset mode — choose from the schema’s predefined options — and can switch to manual mode for free-text input. Inputs include selects, multi-selects, 9-step range sliders, text, image upload, and a color palette picker (up to 10 colors, solid or gradient tabs).

To edit a block later, select it — the Inspector reopens. To remove one, use the Inspector’s delete button or the block’s × icon.

Two shortcuts worth knowing: Randomize seeds the board with schema values to react against, and undo/redo covers every block change.

Saving and naming

There’s no save button — the board auto-saves every change. Set the style’s name in the editor — it’s what you’ll recognize the style by in your library and in the gallery. Agents address it by its id or share slug rather than its name, so renaming a style never breaks a reference; see style references.

Populate only the sections that matter for your work. A photography style leans on Light & Shadow and Camera & Motion; a brand-voice style leans on Voice & Language. Ten or more style items also clears the bar for gallery publishing later.

Generate your StyleRef

When the style has content, select Generate StyleRef in the action bar. StyleRef compiles your blocks into the ready-to-use text block:

  • Pick the format for your destination tool — default, flux, midjourney, diffusion, stylemd, or json (see Core concepts).
  • Copy StyleRef puts it on your clipboard, ready to paste.
  • If you edit blocks after generating, the modal flags how many items changed so you can re-generate.

On the Free plan, generating spends credits — the cost is shown on the button. Pro generates without limits and can also download the result as .txt, STYLE.md, or .json. Anonymous visitors sign up (free) to generate.

Next steps

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Core conceptsExtract a style