--- title: Local development and debugging description: Draft and test a gem in Gem Studio, then install it on your own machine. section: dev order: 70 updated: 2026-11-12 translation_of: zh source_sha: c488328fcb88 --- # Local development and debugging Gem Studio is the place inside Notochord where you develop gems: draft and test them there, then install them on your own machine. ## Drafts - Create a new draft in Gem Studio, optionally starting from a template. A draft is a gem's folder: `manifest.json`, plus tools, agents, SOPs, pages, a skill, and the intro docs. - You can edit files inside Gem Studio, or open the draft's folder in your own IDE and edit them there. - Gem Studio has an assistant that can write code, check the paths in `SKILL.md`, and explain errors. If you have never written code, you can get through with its help. - Drafts keep a history, so you can go back to an earlier version. ## Testing - **Tools**: fill in the parameters on the tool's page and run it directly; you see the return value and a record of each step. - **Agents**: chat with the agent in the test conversation; it runs along the same path as an installed one. - **SOPs**: trigger one manually and see what each step did and what came out. - **Pages**: a live preview inside Gem Studio. - Tests use the same permissions and data as an installed gem: whatever the manifest didn't request isn't available in tests either. For how test data is kept and how to test migrations, see [Data and storage](/en/dev/storage.md). ## Installing on your own machine Click "Install" and Notochord packages the draft and runs it through the same install flow, with the same checks, as a gem from the store. The package is unsigned and is treated as Developer mode (unsigned). See [Packaging and publishing](/en/dev/publishing.md) for details. ## Troubleshooting - If installation fails, the error carries a code; look it up in the table in [Packaging and publishing](/en/dev/publishing.md). - If a run fails, the gem's page has a run history; open an entry to see each step's input and result. In Gem Studio you can hand the error to the assistant to analyze.
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