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Getting Started

This guide walks you through setting up BatchGen Text with AI and generating your first batch of content.

1. Install the app

Download and install BatchGen Text with AI from the Microsoft Store. Once installed, launch it from the Start menu.

2. Connect your AI provider (BYOK)

Before generating anything, you need an API key from an AI provider.

  1. Click the key icon in the top-right header
  2. Select your provider from the dropdown — if you are not sure which one to use, see Choosing an AI Provider
  3. Click Get API key to open the provider's signup page
  4. Paste your API key into the field
  5. Click Test to confirm the connection is working

Your API key is encrypted and stored on your device only. It is sent directly to your chosen provider — nowhere else. You pay the provider directly; there is no subscription to BatchGen Text.

3. Set your writing voice — Step 1 (Persona)

The persona defines the voice, tone, and quality bar the AI will write in across the entire batch.

Three starter personas are included:

  • Chatty Betty — warm, conversational, relatable. Good for blogs and social posts.
  • Arty Marty — imaginative, vivid, expressive. Good for stories and creative pieces.
  • Serious Darius — authoritative, precise, professional. Good for technical content and LinkedIn.

Click a persona card to select it. The detail panel shows the full definition — identity, core beliefs, style guide, and quality bar.

You can create your own persona or edit any of the defaults (up to 5 total).

Content language is also set here. Click the language link to open the picker — 24 built-in languages shown in their own script, plus a custom option for 60+ more.

4. Load writing samples — Step 2 (optional)

Writing samples let the app reverse-engineer your writing style so the output sounds like you, not a generic AI. See Writing Samples for the full guide.

To load samples:

  1. In Step 2, click File to load a single file or Folder to load up to 5 files at once
  2. The preview panel confirms what was loaded

Supported formats: .txt, .md, .pdf, .docx, .yaml

The app ships with default samples that load automatically. You can replace them with your own at any time.

You can also load a quote bank — a YAML file with quotes that get woven into articles naturally. Click Browse next to "Quotes to use" to load one.

Click See example samples file or See example quotes file to open the built-in examples folder and see the expected format.

5. Set up your content list — Step 3

The content list is a CSV or YAML file with everything you want to generate. At minimum, each item needs a title. See Content List Format for the full field reference.

Click See example files on Step 3 to open the built-in examples folder in File Explorer. Ready-to-use files for every template are included.

Template Example file
Blog Article articles-blog.csv / articles-blog.yaml
LinkedIn Post articles-linkedin.csv
X (Twitter) Post articles-x-posts.csv
Facebook Post articles-facebook.csv
Short Story articles-stories.csv
Technical Document articles-technical.csv

Click Browse next to "Content List" and select your file.

6. Choose a template and generate

  1. Select a Template from the dropdown — Blog Article is a good starting point
  2. Confirm your Output Folder (defaults to Documents\BatchGenText)
  3. Optionally change the Output Format — Auto uses the template default (.md or .txt)
  4. Click Preview first item to generate just the first article and review it in-app
  5. Click Generate (or Generate Full Batch from the preview dialog) to run the whole list

The app processes each item one by one and shows live progress. When complete, a summary shows the total token count and a button to open the output folder.

Each run saves files in a timestamped subfolder (e.g. 2026-03-01_14-30-00) so runs never overwrite each other. The preview and full batch share the same folder — the first article is not regenerated.

Next steps

  • Try different templates to see which output format suits your workflow
  • Edit a template in the Templates panel (header icon) to adjust length, sections, and formatting rules
  • Add a quotes YAML file in Step 2 to weave curated quotes into your content
  • Try X/Twitter thread mode for multi-tweet social media batches
  • Switch the content language in Step 1 for non-English output