# Saving and loading presets: the trick that turns hours into seconds

URL: https://helpcenter.readypixl.com/articles/presets
Markdown: https://helpcenter.readypixl.com/articles/presets.md
Section: Getting Started
Summary: How to save your pipeline as a preset and load it again with one click. The single biggest time-saver in ReadyPixl.

If there's one feature that turns ReadyPixl from "useful tool" into "my Sunday afternoon back," it's **presets.**

A preset is your **pipeline saved for later** — every tool you added, every setting you tweaked, every reorder you made. Save it once, load it with one click forever.

## Why presets matter

The first time you build a pipeline (drop images → add tools → tune settings → click Download All), it takes maybe 5 minutes.

The fiftieth time, with a saved preset, it takes about 30 seconds:

1. Open ReadyPixl
2. Load your preset
3. Drop in new images
4. Click Download All

That difference — 5 minutes vs 30 seconds — multiplied across every batch you'll ever run, is the math behind ReadyPixl's whole pitch. Save your pipelines.

## Saving a preset

1. Build your pipeline (add tools, set settings, get the canvas preview looking right).
2. In the **Selected Tools panel** on the right, click **Save Current Preset**.
3. Type a name you'll remember.
4. Hit Enter or click Save.

That's it. Your preset is saved.

**Good preset names:**

- `Square product photos`
- `Etsy 2000 square`
- `ChatGPT cleanup`
- `Etsy listings 2000`
- `Watermarked previews`

**Bad preset names:**

- `Pipeline 1`, `Test`, `New preset` — you'll have 10 of these in a week and won't know which is which

Good naming = fast picking later.

## Loading a preset

1. In the Selected Tools panel, click the **preset dropdown** (next to Save Current Preset)
2. Pick the preset from the list
3. Your whole pipeline loads — every step, every setting, every order

The canvas preview updates immediately to show your images with the loaded pipeline applied.

You can edit the loaded pipeline (add a step, change a setting) without affecting the saved preset. Saved presets only change when you click Save Current Preset again with the same name (overwrites it) or with a new name (creates a new one).

## Your presets follow you everywhere (when signed in)

Sign in with the same ReadyPixl account and your presets are the same everywhere:

- **Web version** (readypixl.com) — on any computer or browser
- **Chrome extension** side panel
- **Desktop app** (Windows and macOS), including its right-click actions and CLI

Save a preset in one place and it shows up in the others **automatically, within seconds** — no export, no refresh. Rename, update, or delete it in one place and that change follows too.

| You're using ReadyPixl... | Where presets live |
| --- | --- |
| **Without an account (guest)** | Only in this browser, on this device |
| **Signed in (free account is enough)** | In your account — web, extension, and desktop all share them |

**Already built presets as a guest?** They aren't lost. The first time you sign in on that same browser, ReadyPixl moves them into your account, and from then on they follow you too.

As a guest, presets stay in that one browser: a different browser, a different computer, or clearing your browser data means starting over. A free account (just an email) fixes that.

**AI agents use these presets too.** With the desktop app, Claude Code, Codex and other agents can run any of your presets on a folder — see [Using ReadyPixl with AI agents](ai-agents).

## Deleting a preset

In the preset dropdown:

- Hover the preset name
- Click the trash / X icon that appears
- Confirm

Or open a preset, modify something, and Save Current Preset again with a different name — the original stays put unless you explicitly delete it.

## How many presets should I have?

As many as you have repeating workflows. A common set:

| Use case | Preset name |
| --- | --- |
| Product photos | `Square product photos` |
| Web images | `Web 1600 compressed` |
| Etsy design prep | `Etsy listings` |
| Pinterest watermarking | `Pinterest watermark` |
| ChatGPT cleanup | `ChatGPT cleanup` |
| AI image multi-source | `AI cleanup` |

5-10 presets covers almost everyone. If you're at 30+, you might be over-organizing — consider whether two presets with very similar settings can be merged.

## Tips

- **Save the preset before your first big batch run.** Building a pipeline + losing it to a refresh = the most common preventable mistake.
- **Save a "test" version of every preset** — same settings but with `_test` suffix. Useful for experimenting without breaking your working preset.
- **Update presets as you tune.** If you find Color Removal V2 settings that consistently work better, update the saved preset so you don't re-tune every time.
- **Delete unused presets.** A long preset list slows your selection and clutters the UI. Prune monthly.
- **Sign up free** so presets follow you to every device, the Chrome extension, and the desktop app. Worth the 30 seconds it takes.

## What presets save and don't save

| Saves | Doesn't save |
| --- | --- |
| Every tool in the pipeline | Loaded images (you load fresh ones each time) |
| Every tool's settings | Your account info |
| The order of the steps | Your daily download count |
| Custom uploaded assets (frame masks, distress masks, watermark images) | The output zip from previous runs |

So loading a preset gives you a clean working pipeline ready for new images. It doesn't give you yesterday's batch back.

## What to read next

- **[The pipeline concept](pipeline-concept)** — what a pipeline is in the first place
- **[The Selected Tools panel](selected-tools-panel)** — where Save Current Preset lives
- **[Your first pipeline in 5 minutes](first-pipeline)** — build a pipeline you can save as your first preset