Onboarding

2026-10-16

4 min read

Introduction

Onboarding is a Prism core tool designed to set up Prism in a few simple steps.

It is meant to review the Prism Account status, easily choose and install plugins and setup a first project.

Create new a project, load an existing one, or explore different Prism workflows by downloading one of the included Example Projects.

The Onboarding setup runs automatically once Prism has been downloaded and installed.

Note

In case Prism is already set up, the Onboarding can be started at any time from the User Settings: Prism Settings > User > General > Run Onboarding...

Onboarding Steps

The following section explains each Onboarding step.

Welcome

Once the Prism installation is complete, the Onboarding setup launches with the Welcome screen.

Select Get started to begin the Onboarding setup:

Hint

Select Skip onboarding to skip the Onboarding setup in case Prism is already set up.

Account

The Account step let's you Sign in to your Prism Account to access all features and plugins:

Login

Log in to the Prism Login window using your credentials, or select Register to create an account:

Signed In

After a successfull login the user account and license will be visible:

Plugins

In the Plugins step a "Plugin Bundle" (Free, Advanced, Complete) can be selected together with a "Project Manager" (Kitsu, Shotgrid, Ftrack):

Hint

Hover over a "Plugin Bundle" or "Project Manager" to see the plugins it contains.

Note

The Plugin installation is optional. Deselect all "Plugin Bundles" or "Project Manager" to continue without the Plugin Installation.

Choose Plugins Individually

Click Choose individually... to adjust the plugin selection:

Plugin Installation

Continue with Install 13 Plugins and Prism installs one plugin after another.

The majority of plugins require to set up a Prism integration within the respective DCC.

A popup asks whether to continue with the integration setup:

Add Prism Integration

Prism detects the default installation location for each DCC, including the DCC versions.

Continue with +Add to setup the Prism Integration:

Project

In the Project step, 3 options are available: "Create Empty Project", "Open Existing Project" and "Download Demo Project"

Each option is described below:

Create Empty Project:

Click Create Empty Project to create a new project from scratch:

Open Existing Project:

Click Open Existing Project to continue with an existing project:

Download Demo Project:

Click Download Demo Project to choose from one of the included ready-to-use Prism Example Projects:

Download Example Project:

The download progress is shown:

Continue With Example Project:

Continue with the selected project:

Ready

The Ready step confirms the completion of the Onboarding setup and shows further useful links:

Click Finish to start Prism with the selected project.

Project Browser

The Prism Standalone Project Browser launches with the selected project:

Further Reading

Continue with the Prism Guides series about the Project Browser or with DCC specific Guides such as Houdini, Maya, Cinema 4D, After Effects or Photoshop.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the Onboarding setup not showing up after a fresh Prism installation?

The Onboarding setup only runs on a true first launch. If Prism was previously installed on the system, leftover configuration files or an existing installation folder can make the new installation think it has already run.

In case Prism is already set up, the Onboarding can be started at any time from the Prism User Settings: Prism Settings > User > General > Run Onboarding...

Why is the Onboarding not available in my Prism version?

The Onboarding is available in Prism 2.1.4 and newer versions. If you're on an earlier version, update to 2.1.4 or later.

For new installations, use the 2.1.4 installer (or later) - Onboarding is not included in earlier installers.