Use Add to Scene to import or reuse models and assets. The Inventory keeps registered files available across scenes.
Adding Layers
Clicking the Add to Scene… button at the bottom of the layer list opens the Inventory — the central hub for browsing, searching, and adding assets to the scene. This action is also available from the system tray menu; if the Control Panel is currently closed, selecting it will open the panel first.
The sidebar on the left filters by asset category:
| Category | Contents |
|---|---|
| All | All asset types combined, each displaying its dedicated type badge |
| Live2D · VRM | Character models — including built-in samples and previously imported models |
| Animations | .vrma and Mixamo .fbx motion clips — built-in idle loops, motion packs, and custom clips |
| 3D Objects · Images · Videos | Locally imported 3D meshes, static images, and video media files |
| Audio | Locally imported audio files — click any entry to audition playback |
| Environment Maps · LUTs | Scene lighting HDR maps and color grading lookup tables |
| Scene Effects | Built-in shader post-processing effects applied to the composited frame (see Effect Layers) |
| Webpages | URL input field for loading any valid http(s) webpage as a scene layer |
| Text | Multiline textarea for adding custom plain text as a text layer |
| Lyrics | Locally imported .lrc lyric files — sung word by word on a text layer from an automation |
| Screen Capture | Upcoming feature |
Opened from Add to Scene…, the Inventory returns to the tab you last used (unless the current scene can't use it). Pickers opened for a specific target, such as swapping a model or choosing a background image, show only the matching tabs and neither restore nor record that choice.
Assets are organized into Recent and Bundled groups, with your own items listed above the bundled ones. Click any asset row to add it to the scene. If an asset includes creator metadata, author attribution is displayed alongside an optional homepage link.
The search bar at the top filters in real time. Search matches displayed names, local file names, and the English names of built-in effects and bundled assets, whatever the interface language. While browsing, scene effects appear only in their dedicated category tab so built-in effects don't clutter the All tab; when searching, the All tab shows matching effects as well.
If a registered file has been moved or deleted from local storage, it is marked as Missing and cannot be added.
The + button beside the search bar opens the native file picker dialog — labeled Open Model… under Live2D and VRM, and Open File… under all other categories. Selected assets load immediately into the scene and are permanently indexed in the Inventory.
Entries in the Recent group have a dedicated context menu:
- Show in Finder (Show in Explorer on Windows): Locates the file on disk.
- Remove from Inventory: Removes the entry from Persona's index without deleting the file on disk. Images pasted from the clipboard follow the same rule.
- Delete…: Media assets only. Moves the local file to the Trash (the Recycle Bin on Windows) after confirmation, so it can be recovered. Missing files cannot be deleted through this menu.
Model entries do not offer a Delete… option. Models typically consist of complex folder hierarchies, or are loose .vrm files sharing a directory with other assets, so Persona avoids destructive file deletions.
If an asset is actively referenced by any scene or automation rule, removal is blocked with an explanatory notification. For model assets, validation also covers Swap Model actions and Model Loaded triggers in automations. Otherwise the scene would re-register the model under a new ID, breaking those references.
The same model file can be instantiated multiple times in a single scene. Each layer row represents an independent instance with its own spatial transform, allowing duplicate models to appear at different scales and positions on opposite sides of the stage.
Capture layers are fully specified in the scene schema and render on stage,
but interactive creation controls are not yet exposed in the interface —
currently they can only be added via the Plugin API.
Dragging and Pasting
Files can be imported without opening the Inventory: drag and drop them onto the application window. Persona accepts all extensions listed under Inventory Formats, and 2D objects land where you drop them.
Press ⌘/Ctrl+V anywhere on the window to paste from the clipboard:
- Images, including bitmaps copied from web browsers or screenshot tools, are pasted onto the stage.
- Plain text becomes a new text layer. When a text input is focused, the shortcut keeps its native text editing behavior. In Stream Mode, plain text paste is blocked to prevent accidental leaks of clipboard credentials.
The Control Panel window also supports file drag-and-drop and clipboard pasting, which is convenient when the stage window is minimized or placed on a secondary display. Because the Control Panel lacks stage coordinates, dropped files are centered on the stage rather than placed under the cursor. On macOS, you can also drop supported files directly onto the Dock icon to add them to the active scene.
Pasted images are named by their content hash and saved to ~/.laplace/persona/assets, ensuring identical images share a single physical file on disk. The asset is then managed like any other: listed under Recent and rendered as a standard image layer on stage. Copying a disk file rather than a raw bitmap behaves identically to drag-and-drop — registered in place at its existing path without creating duplicate files.
Scene Assets
Animations, Environment Maps, and LUTs are global scene properties rather than layer entities — scenes reference them as configuration fields. Clicking one of these entries applies it directly to the active scene rather than appending it to the layer list:
| Category | Click Behavior |
|---|---|
| Animations | Previews the motion clip on the currently loaded VRM avatar |
| Environment Maps | Configures the scene's global environment map (IBL) with confirmation |
| LUTs | Applies the scene's global color lookup table (LUT) with confirmation |
Choose… buttons across the interface open the Inventory directly:
- Choose Image… for the stage background
- Choose Model… and Choose Map… for the environment
- Choose LUT… for the LUT
- Choose Clip… for VRM idle animations
When opened from these buttons, the Inventory sidebar locks to the accepted asset category, and clicking an item applies it and closes the dialog.
Because animation clips must be retargeted onto humanoid skeletons, the Animations category is disabled with an explanatory tooltip if no VRM avatar is loaded in the scene.
Audio Assets
The Audio category indexes imported audio files. Like scene assets, clicking an audio row does not add an object to the layer list; instead, it auditions the file once at 50% default volume. During playback, the row displays real-time progress alongside Pause Audio and Stop Audio buttons, affecting all active instances of that audio source (including playback triggered by automations). Audio routes through the configured Audio Output Device.
To configure playback volume, fade curves, looping modes, or lip-sync drivers, use the automation system's Play Audio action. An audio file referenced by any automation cannot be removed from the Inventory, even if that automation rule is disabled.
Inventory Formats
The Inventory organizes assets by category. Clicking the + button opens a system file dialog filtered to extensions supported by the active category:
| Category | Supported File Formats |
|---|---|
| Live2D | .model3.json |
| VRM | .vrm · .glb |
| Images | .png · .jpg · .jpeg · .webp · .gif · .apng · .avif · .bmp |
| Videos | .mp4 · .webm · .mov · .m4v · .ogv |
| Audio | .wav · .mp3 · .ogg · .flac · .m4a · .aac |
| Lyrics | .lrc |
| 3D Objects | .glb · .gltf |
| Animations | .vrma · .fbx · .vmd |
| Camera Motions | .vmd |
| Environment Maps | .hdr · .png · .jpg · .jpeg · .webp |
| LUTs | .cube · .3dl |
| Webpages | Any valid http(s) URL, no local file required |
| Scene Effects | Built-in post-processing shaders, no local file required |
| Screen Capture | Upcoming feature |
Three formats determine their category based on internal file structure rather than file extensions alone:
.glbfiles serve as both character models and props — A.glbfile without VRM extensions is not rejected when opened via Open Model…; it is automatically indexed as a 3D object. Asset classification depends entirely on internal data, regardless of the active tab..vmdfiles contain either dance animations or camera motions — Both data types share the same extension. Persona inspects the model name field in the header to register the file as an Animation or a Camera Motion..fbxis a multi-purpose container format — Because.fbxfiles can store props, scenes, or rigged characters, Persona accepts only files containing standard Mixamo humanoid skeletons. Selecting incompatible.fbxfiles prompts an Unsupported Animation notification.
Under Environment Maps, only .hdr files supply true physical radiance data. Standard bitmap images can be loaded as low dynamic range ambient fill lighting.
Under VRM and 3D Objects, geometry compressed with Draco or Meshopt is supported out of the box. KTX2 compressed textures are currently unsupported.
Last updated on October 21, 2026