Manage AI controls across parent and child workspaces

Last updated: October 26, 2026

Set AI controls once in a parent workspace and let every child workspace follow, while each child keeps what it needs of its own.

Before you start

  • Parent and child workspaces are switched on for a studio by Layer. See Parent and child workspaces.

  • You need Manage workspace settings in the workspace you change.

How children inherit

A child workspace inherits its parent's AI controls as they stand. When the parent changes a control, every child follows straight away, unless the child sets that control itself. A grandchild inherits from its parent, which inherits from the workspace above it, so a setting at the top reaches the whole studio.

A child can override any control the parent sets without locking. It cannot change one the parent locked: its pages show the value read-only, for example Locked by the Nightfall Studios workspace: Off.

Input guardrails and output scoring rules work the same way: a parent's rules apply in every workspace below it, on top of each child's own.

In the parent workspace

  1. Open Settings in the parent and set the controls under AI Controls, as in Set AI controls for a workspace.

  2. Lock each value no child may change with the lock button at the end of its row, then select Save.

In a child workspace

  1. In the child workspace, open Settings and select Models under AI Controls. Models the parent turned off say so, for example Inherits Off from the Nightfall Studios workspace.

  2. A model the parent locked reads Locked by the Nightfall Studios workspace: Off, and its controls cannot be changed here.

  3. Find a model the parent turned off without locking it, and set it to On. Its note changes to Replaces Off inherited from the Nightfall Studios workspace.

  4. Select Save.

Result

The child follows its parent for every control it leaves on Inherit, and uses its own value everywhere else. Its projects, groups and members inherit the result, and the workspaces below the child inherit it in turn.

Copy settings to children instead

Apply to child workspaces, on the parent's Input Guardrails, Output Scoring and Content Policy pages, copies the parent's own model and modality settings, its New models are enabled by default choice, its content tolerance and its style name prompt onto the child workspaces you select, replacing theirs. It is a one-off copy: later changes in the parent do not follow, and it cannot be undone. Use it to reset children that have drifted; use inheritance and locks to keep them in line from then on.

Production tips

  • Keep studio-wide rules in the top workspace. Set what every game must follow (cleared models, the content tolerance, sharing) at the top and lock it, and leave per-game choices to each child.

  • Leave a child on Inherit unless it needs to differ. A value a child sets stops following the parent for that control, so later changes at the top no longer reach it.

  • Sharing follows the same rules. Turning reference set or workflow sharing off in the parent keeps every child's work inside the studio, unless a child turns it back on. Lock it if it must hold.

If something goes wrong

  • A child workspace cannot turn a model back on. The parent locked it. An admin of the parent can unlock it or turn it on.

  • A change in the parent did not reach a child. The child sets that control itself. Put it back on Inherit in the child and select Save.

  • A child workspace is missing from Apply to child workspaces. You can only select workspaces where you have Manage workspace settings (Admin access required).

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