Barry AI Assistant
Your AI-powered production companion — always on call.
Overview
Barry is On Book Pro's built-in AI production assistant. Ask Barry questions about your production — cast details, schedule conflicts, prop assignments, lighting cues — and get instant, context-aware answers drawn from your actual production data.
Barry lives in a floating chat panel accessible from any workspace via the glowing orb in the bottom-right corner or the ⌘J / Ctrl+J keyboard shortcut.
Opening Barry
| Method | Action |
|---|---|
| Click | Tap the glowing Barry orb (bottom-right corner) |
| Keyboard | Press ⌘J (Mac) or Ctrl+J (Windows) |
| Close | Press Esc or click the orb again |
Asking Questions
Type your question in the input field and press Enter or click Send. Barry understands natural language and knows about your production's:
- Cast & Characters — Who plays which role, contact info, doubling
- Schedule — Rehearsal dates, times, locations, conflicts
- Script & Structure — Acts, scenes, dialogue, stage directions
- Props & Sound — Prop assignments, sound cue details
- Lighting — Cue lists, channel assignments
- General Theatre — Terminology, best practices, SM procedures
Example Questions
- "Who plays Prospero?"
- "What time is rehearsal on Thursday?"
- "Which scenes need the goblet prop?"
- "List all sound cues in Act 2"
- "When is Miranda's first entrance?"
Suggestion Chips
When you first open Barry or after a response, you'll see suggestion chips — quick-tap prompts to get you started. These are contextual and change based on your current workspace.
Smart Search
Barry uses semantic search to find relevant production data before answering. This means Barry understands the meaning of your question, not just keyword matches:
- Asking "When does the fairy king appear?" will find Oberon's entrance even if "fairy king" doesn't appear literally in your data
- Asking "Who handles the poison?" will match props assigned to relevant scenes
When Barry can answer from local data, responses are instant — no network required.
Model Tiers
Barry operates in two tiers:
Lite (Default)
- Free for all users — no API key required
- Powered by Gemini Flash Lite
- Great for quick production queries, schedule lookups, and general questions
- Badge displays Lite in the chat header
Pro (Bring Your Own Key)
- Requires your own Google AI Studio API key
- Powered by Gemini Pro — more capable for complex reasoning
- Unlimited daily usage (no token budget)
- Badge displays Pro in the chat header
Configuration
Stage Managers, Production Managers, and Owners can configure Barry's AI model:
- Open Barry (click the orb or press ⌘J)
- Click the ⚙️ gear icon in the header
- The Config Panel slides open with:
- Current model indicator (Lite or Pro badge)
- API Key field — paste your Google AI Studio key
- Save — stores your key securely (write-only, never displayed back)
- Clear — removes your key, reverting to Lite
- Link to Google AI Studio to create a free key
Getting a Pro Key
Visit Google AI Studio, sign in with your Google account, and create an API key. The free tier includes generous usage for production work.
Permissions
Only Owners, Stage Managers, and Production Managers can configure the API key. Other roles will not see the gear icon.
Streaming Responses
Barry streams responses in real-time — you'll see text appear word-by-word as the AI generates its answer. This provides immediate feedback and reduces perceived wait time.
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘J / Ctrl+J | Toggle Barry panel |
| Esc | Close Barry panel |
| Enter | Send message |
Limitations
- Barry answers questions about your production data — it cannot modify data (creating notes, editing schedules, etc.) yet
- Barry stays focused on production topics. Off-topic questions (coding help, recipes, etc.) are politely redirected
- On the Lite tier, Barry has a daily usage limit to manage costs. Upgrade to Pro for unlimited usage
Last updated: March 2026