diff --git a/install_python_stack.py b/studio/install_python_stack.py
similarity index 98%
rename from install_python_stack.py
rename to studio/install_python_stack.py
index 78ddc571d..927dc625b 100644
--- a/install_python_stack.py
+++ b/studio/install_python_stack.py
@@ -23,11 +23,11 @@ IS_WINDOWS = sys.platform == "win32"
 
 # ── Paths ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 SCRIPT_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parent
-REQ_ROOT = SCRIPT_DIR / "studio" / "backend" / "requirements"
+REQ_ROOT = SCRIPT_DIR / "backend" / "requirements"
 SINGLE_ENV = REQ_ROOT / "single-env"
 CONSTRAINTS = SINGLE_ENV / "constraints.txt"
 LOCAL_DD_UNSTRUCTURED_PLUGIN = (
-    SCRIPT_DIR / "studio" / "backend" / "plugins" / "data-designer-unstructured-seed"
+    SCRIPT_DIR / "backend" / "plugins" / "data-designer-unstructured-seed"
 )
 
 # ── Color support ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
diff --git a/setup.bat b/studio/setup.bat
similarity index 100%
rename from setup.bat
rename to studio/setup.bat
diff --git a/setup.ps1 b/studio/setup.ps1
similarity index 98%
rename from setup.ps1
rename to studio/setup.ps1
index 5a573126a..6597fc674 100644
--- a/setup.ps1
+++ b/studio/setup.ps1
@@ -17,9 +17,9 @@ $ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
 $ScriptDir = Split-Path -Parent $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Path
 $PackageDir = Split-Path -Parent $ScriptDir
 
-# Detect if running from pip install (no studio/frontend/ dir in repo)
-$FrontendDir = Join-Path $ScriptDir "studio\frontend"
-$OxcValidatorDir = Join-Path $ScriptDir "studio\backend\core\data_recipe\oxc-validator"
+# Detect if running from pip install (no frontend/ dir in studio)
+$FrontendDir = Join-Path $ScriptDir "frontend"
+$OxcValidatorDir = Join-Path $ScriptDir "backend\core\data_recipe\oxc-validator"
 $IsPipInstall = -not (Test-Path $FrontendDir)
 
 # ─────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -587,7 +587,7 @@ if ($IsPipInstall) {
         Pop-Location
         $ErrorActionPreference = $prevEAP_npm
         Write-Host "[ERROR] npm install failed (exit code $LASTEXITCODE)" -ForegroundColor Red
-        Write-Host "   Try running 'npm install' manually in studio/frontend/ to see errors" -ForegroundColor Yellow
+        Write-Host "   Try running 'npm install' manually in frontend/ to see errors" -ForegroundColor Yellow
         exit 1
     }
     npm run build 2>&1 | Out-Null
@@ -599,7 +599,7 @@ if ($IsPipInstall) {
     }
     Pop-Location
     $ErrorActionPreference = $prevEAP_npm
-    Write-Host "[OK] Frontend built to studio/frontend/dist" -ForegroundColor Green
+    Write-Host "[OK] Frontend built to frontend/dist" -ForegroundColor Green
 }
 
 if (Test-Path $OxcValidatorDir) {
@@ -648,8 +648,8 @@ if (-not $PythonCmd) {
 Write-Host "[OK] Using $PythonCmd ($(& $PythonCmd --version 2>&1))" -ForegroundColor Green
 
 # Always create a .venv for isolation -- even for pip installs.
-# Created in the current working directory (where user ran the command).
-$VenvDir = Join-Path (Get-Location) ".venv"
+# Created in the repo root (parent of studio/).
+$VenvDir = Join-Path (Split-Path -Parent $PSScriptRoot) ".venv"
 if (-not (Test-Path $VenvDir)) {
     Write-Host "   Creating virtual environment at $VenvDir..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
     & $PythonCmd -m venv $VenvDir
@@ -722,7 +722,7 @@ $ErrorActionPreference = $prevEAP
 # The training subprocess just prepends .venv_t5/ to sys.path — instant switch.
 Write-Host ""
 Write-Host "   Pre-installing transformers 5.x for newer model support..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
-$VenvT5Dir = Join-Path $PSScriptRoot ".venv_t5"
+$VenvT5Dir = Join-Path (Split-Path -Parent $PSScriptRoot) ".venv_t5"
 if (Test-Path $VenvT5Dir) { Remove-Item -Recurse -Force $VenvT5Dir }
 New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $VenvT5Dir -Force | Out-Null
 $prevEAP_t5 = $ErrorActionPreference
@@ -956,10 +956,10 @@ if (Test-Path $LlamaServerBin) {
 # Add shell aliases (PowerShell profile + cmd batch files)
 # ============================================
 Write-Host ""
-$RepoDir = $PSScriptRoot
+$RepoDir = Split-Path -Parent $PSScriptRoot
 $VenvPython = Join-Path $RepoDir ".venv\Scripts\python.exe"
 $CliScript = Join-Path $RepoDir "cli.py"
-$FrontendDist = Join-Path $RepoDir "studio\frontend\dist"
+$FrontendDist = Join-Path $PSScriptRoot "frontend\dist"
 $AliasAdded = $false
 
 # --- PowerShell profile: add functions ---
diff --git a/setup.sh b/studio/setup.sh
similarity index 93%
rename from setup.sh
rename to studio/setup.sh
index 31a518d9c..31facb4b6 100755
--- a/setup.sh
+++ b/studio/setup.sh
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 set -euo pipefail
 
 SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/.." && pwd)"
 
 # ── Helper: run command quietly, show output only on failure ──
 run_quiet() {
@@ -28,9 +29,9 @@ echo "║     Unsloth Studio Setup Script      ║"
 echo "╚══════════════════════════════════════╝"
 
 # ── Clean up stale Unsloth compiled caches ──
-rm -rf "$SCRIPT_DIR/unsloth_compiled_cache"
-rm -rf "$SCRIPT_DIR/studio/backend/unsloth_compiled_cache"
-rm -rf "$SCRIPT_DIR/studio/tmp/unsloth_compiled_cache"
+rm -rf "$REPO_ROOT/unsloth_compiled_cache"
+rm -rf "$SCRIPT_DIR/backend/unsloth_compiled_cache"
+rm -rf "$SCRIPT_DIR/tmp/unsloth_compiled_cache"
 
 # ── Detect Colab (like unsloth does) ──
 IS_COLAB=false
@@ -99,13 +100,13 @@ echo "✅ Node $(node -v) | npm $(npm -v)"
 # ── 5. Build frontend ──
 echo ""
 echo "Building frontend..."
-cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/studio/frontend"
+cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/frontend"
 run_quiet "npm install" npm install
 run_quiet "npm run build" npm run build
-cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/studio/backend/core/data_recipe/oxc-validator"
+cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/backend/core/data_recipe/oxc-validator"
 run_quiet "npm install (oxc validator runtime)" npm install
 cd "$SCRIPT_DIR"
-echo "✅ Frontend built to studio/frontend/dist"
+echo "✅ Frontend built to frontend/dist"
 
 # ── 6. Python venv + deps ──
 echo ""
@@ -168,7 +169,7 @@ fi
 BEST_VER=$("$BEST_PY" --version 2>&1 | awk '{print $2}')
 echo "✅ Using $BEST_PY ($BEST_VER) — compatible (3.${MIN_PY_MINOR}.x – 3.${MAX_PY_MINOR}.x)"
 
-REQ_ROOT="$SCRIPT_DIR/studio/backend/requirements"
+REQ_ROOT="$SCRIPT_DIR/backend/requirements"
 SINGLE_ENV_CONSTRAINTS="$REQ_ROOT/single-env/constraints.txt"
 SINGLE_ENV_DATA_DESIGNER="$REQ_ROOT/single-env/data-designer.txt"
 SINGLE_ENV_DATA_DESIGNER_DEPS="$REQ_ROOT/single-env/data-designer-deps.txt"
@@ -183,11 +184,13 @@ if [ "$IS_COLAB" = true ]; then
     install_python_stack
 else
     # Local: create venv (always start fresh to preserve correct install order)
+    cd "$REPO_ROOT"
     rm -rf .venv
     rm -rf .venv_overlay  # Remove legacy overlay (no longer used)
     rm -rf .venv_t5       # Will be rebuilt below
     "$BEST_PY" -m venv .venv
     source .venv/bin/activate
+    cd "$SCRIPT_DIR"
     install_python_stack
 
     # ── 6b. Pre-install transformers 5.x into .venv_t5/ ──
@@ -196,7 +199,7 @@ else
     # The training subprocess just prepends .venv_t5/ to sys.path — instant switch.
     echo ""
     echo "   Pre-installing transformers 5.x for newer model support..."
-    VENV_T5_DIR="$SCRIPT_DIR/.venv_t5"
+    VENV_T5_DIR="$REPO_ROOT/.venv_t5"
     mkdir -p "$VENV_T5_DIR"
     run_quiet "pip install transformers 5.x" pip install --target "$VENV_T5_DIR" --no-deps "transformers==5.2.0"
     run_quiet "pip install huggingface_hub for t5" pip install --target "$VENV_T5_DIR" --no-deps "huggingface_hub==1.3.0"
@@ -318,32 +321,30 @@ LLAMA_SERVER_BIN="$LLAMA_CPP_DIR/build/bin/llama-server"
 # This alias hardcodes the venv python path so users don't need to activate.
 if [ "$IS_COLAB" = false ]; then
 echo ""
-REPO_DIR="$SCRIPT_DIR"
+REPO_DIR="$REPO_ROOT"
 
 # Detect the user's default shell and pick the right rc file
 USER_SHELL="$(basename "${SHELL:-/bin/bash}")"
 case "$USER_SHELL" in
     zsh)
         SHELL_RC="$HOME/.zshrc"
-        ALIAS_BLOCK="alias unsloth-studio='${REPO_DIR}/.venv/bin/python ${REPO_DIR}/cli.py studio -f ${REPO_DIR}/studio/frontend/dist'
-alias unsloth-ui='${REPO_DIR}/.venv/bin/python ${REPO_DIR}/cli.py studio -f ${REPO_DIR}/studio/frontend/dist'"
+        ALIAS_BLOCK="alias unsloth-studio='${REPO_DIR}/.venv/bin/python ${REPO_DIR}/cli.py studio -f ${SCRIPT_DIR}/frontend/dist'
+alias unsloth-ui='${REPO_DIR}/.venv/bin/python ${REPO_DIR}/cli.py studio -f ${SCRIPT_DIR}/frontend/dist'"
         ;;
     fish)
         SHELL_RC="$HOME/.config/fish/config.fish"
-        # fish uses 'abbr' or 'function'; a simple alias works via 'alias' in config.fish
-        ALIAS_BLOCK="alias unsloth-studio '${REPO_DIR}/.venv/bin/python ${REPO_DIR}/cli.py studio -f ${REPO_DIR}/studio/frontend/dist'
-alias unsloth-ui '${REPO_DIR}/.venv/bin/python ${REPO_DIR}/cli.py studio -f ${REPO_DIR}/studio/frontend/dist'"
+        ALIAS_BLOCK="alias unsloth-studio '${REPO_DIR}/.venv/bin/python ${REPO_DIR}/cli.py studio -f ${SCRIPT_DIR}/frontend/dist'
+alias unsloth-ui '${REPO_DIR}/.venv/bin/python ${REPO_DIR}/cli.py studio -f ${SCRIPT_DIR}/frontend/dist'"
         ;;
     ksh)
         SHELL_RC="$HOME/.kshrc"
-        ALIAS_BLOCK="alias unsloth-studio='${REPO_DIR}/.venv/bin/python ${REPO_DIR}/cli.py studio -f ${REPO_DIR}/studio/frontend/dist'
-alias unsloth-ui='${REPO_DIR}/.venv/bin/python ${REPO_DIR}/cli.py studio -f ${REPO_DIR}/studio/frontend/dist'"
+        ALIAS_BLOCK="alias unsloth-studio='${REPO_DIR}/.venv/bin/python ${REPO_DIR}/cli.py studio -f ${SCRIPT_DIR}/frontend/dist'
+alias unsloth-ui='${REPO_DIR}/.venv/bin/python ${REPO_DIR}/cli.py studio -f ${SCRIPT_DIR}/frontend/dist'"
         ;;
     *)
-        # Default to bash for bash and any other POSIX-compatible shell
         SHELL_RC="$HOME/.bashrc"
-        ALIAS_BLOCK="alias unsloth-studio='${REPO_DIR}/.venv/bin/python ${REPO_DIR}/cli.py studio -f ${REPO_DIR}/studio/frontend/dist'
-alias unsloth-ui='${REPO_DIR}/.venv/bin/python ${REPO_DIR}/cli.py studio -f ${REPO_DIR}/studio/frontend/dist'"
+        ALIAS_BLOCK="alias unsloth-studio='${REPO_DIR}/.venv/bin/python ${REPO_DIR}/cli.py studio -f ${SCRIPT_DIR}/frontend/dist'
+alias unsloth-ui='${REPO_DIR}/.venv/bin/python ${REPO_DIR}/cli.py studio -f ${SCRIPT_DIR}/frontend/dist'"
         ;;
 esac