Scope User Study Learnings

Over the past few weeks, we ran about a dozen in-depth user research sessions to better understand how you're actually using Scope - what's working well, where friction shows up, and what capabilities would make the biggest difference in real workflows.

Before I go into details -first and foremost - thank you. To everyone who jumped on calls, shared feedback, or sent thoughtful messages - we hear you. This input is directly shaping how Scope evolves.

Below is a snapshot of what we heard most often, paired with how it's already influencing what we're shipping.

What we heard (and why it matters)

When people talked about output and export, the recurring theme was control and flexibility. Many of you want easier ways to export or download video, clearer paths to higher-resolution output, and ways to route live output into other tools or platforms. We heard a lot about connecting Scope with creative tools like Unity or Unreal Engine, and using Scope as part of a larger creative pipeline rather than a standalone destination (or an origin?). That's exactly why Spout support was one of the first things we pushed live.

On onboarding and the first-time experience, a lot of feedback focused on that very first moment in Scope. Starting from a blank state can feel intimidating. "If I didn't know about Scope, there was no clear entry point." People asked for clearer starting points, better in-app guidance, more visibility during model downloads, and less "resetting" between sessions.

When we discussed models and prompting, the first question wasn't "can we have more models?" - it was "how do I know which one to use?" There's also a demand for presets, sensible starting prompts, and clearer guidance on what each model is good at. Several of you also mentioned wanting more control over local model paths and setup.

The timeline and editing experience came up as soon as workflows moved beyond simple demos. As one participant noted: "The timeline lets me come back to it and treat it like a production environment rather than a one-off, one prompt, I'm done." People want more flexibility - inserting or reordering segments, better control over cache behavior, and eventually more live or interactive prompting.

On interface and usability, the feedback was very practical: clearer parameter explanations, more predictable prompt-change behavior, and better discoverability of the actions that matter most.

At the platform level, one message was consistent: local-first matters. Many of you want to run Scope close to your hardware, understand what's happening under the hood, and have better documentation for production or containerized setups.

And finally, community and sharing. People don't just want to make things - they want to learn from each other. "When sharing, it feels like I'm sharing an experience, not a video." Sharing complete workflows, discovering how others approach problems, and remixing real setups came up again and again.

What's already shipping

This feedback loop isn't theoretical. A number of things you asked for are already live or actively rolling out:

• The Scope desktop app is now available, enabling local-first workflows
• Spout support is live for streaming output and external integrations
• We've improved parts of the model download experience to reduce early friction
• We're continuing to iterate on stability, performance, and usability based on real usage

These aren't final answers - but they're concrete steps informed directly by conversations with you.

A quick but important caveat

This list is not a roadmap, and it's not a promise that everything here will be implemented, or implemented in any specific order.

Product development involves tradeoffs - technical feasibility, sequencing, and strategic priorities all matter. The purpose of sharing this isn't to lock us into commitments, but to be transparent about how direction forms and how community input influences where we focus next.

Let's keep this collaborative

One thing I can promise you - this isn't a one-off study. We want to make this an ongoing conversation.

If you're interested in joining future user research sessions, giving early feedback on ideas or experiments, or helping shape how Scope evolves as a product and a platform, we'd love to hear from you.

Comment here or join our Discord to get looped in.

Scope is open source, and building it in public means building it with you. → Contribute on GitHub. You can also find a more detailed list of research findings from our Scope study here.

Thanks again for the time, honesty, and care you've already shared. We'll keep reporting back as we learn more, and hopefully involve more of you in our studies.