This skill should be used when the user asks about "JUCE-Plugin-Starter", "starter template", "init plugin project", "plugin template", "juce project setup", ".env configuration", "plugin codes", "bundle ID", "generate_and_open_xcode", mentions placeholder replacement, or discusses creating new JUCE plugin projects from a template. Provides knowledge about the JUCE-Plugin-Starter template conventions, build system, and configuration.
npx claudepluginhub danielraffel/generous-corp-marketplaceThis skill inherits all available tools. When active, it can use any tool Claude has access to.
JUCE-Plugin-Starter is a cross-platform template for creating audio plugin projects (AU, AUv3, VST3, CLAP, Standalone). It provides a CMake-based build system, automatic versioning, code signing, and optional Visage GPU UI integration.
Supported platforms:
JUCE-Plugin-Starter/
├── Source/
│ ├── PluginProcessor.h/cpp # Audio processing (CLASS_NAME_PLACEHOLDERAudioProcessor)
│ └── PluginEditor.h/cpp # UI (CLASS_NAME_PLACEHOLDERAudioProcessorEditor)
├── templates/
│ └── visage/
│ ├── PluginEditor.h # Visage-enabled editor template
│ └── PluginEditor.cpp # Uses visage::ApplicationWindow + juce::Timer
├── scripts/
│ ├── init_plugin_project.sh # Interactive project creation
│ ├── generate_and_open_xcode.sh # CMake → Xcode build
│ ├── build.sh # Command-line build (au/auv3/vst3/clap/standalone)
│ ├── setup_visage.sh # Clone Visage + apply patches
│ ├── post_build.sh # Info.plist version updates
│ ├── sign_and_package_plugin.sh # Code signing + notarization
│ └── patches/visage/ # Visage patch files
├── tests/
│ ├── Catch2Main.cpp # Custom main with JUCE MessageManager init
│ ├── PluginBasics.cpp # Example plugin tests
│ └── helpers/test_helpers.h # Helper for editor-context testing
├── CMakeLists.txt # Build configuration
├── .clang-format # JUCE-style code formatting (Allman, 4-space, C++17)
├── .env # Developer + project settings
└── .env.example # Settings reference with defaults
The template uses 9 placeholders that get replaced during project creation:
| Placeholder | Derived From | Example |
|---|---|---|
PLUGIN_NAME_PLACEHOLDER | User input | "My Cool Synth" |
CLASS_NAME_PLACEHOLDER | Plugin name, non-alphanumeric removed | "MyCoolSynth" |
PROJECT_FOLDER_PLACEHOLDER | Plugin name, lowercased with hyphens | "my-cool-synth" |
BUNDLE_ID_PLACEHOLDER | com.{namespace}.{project-folder} | "com.generouscorp.my-cool-synth" |
DEVELOPER_NAME_PLACEHOLDER | User input | "Generous Corp" |
PLUGIN_MANUFACTURER_PLACEHOLDER | Same as developer name | "Generous Corp" |
NAMESPACE_PLACEHOLDER | Developer name, lowercase alphanumeric | "generouscorp" |
PLUGIN_CODE_PLACEHOLDER | 4-letter code from plugin name | "MYCO" |
PLUGIN_MANUFACTURER_CODE_PLACEHOLDER | 4-letter code from developer name | "GECO" |
Placeholders are replaced via sed across files matching: *.cpp, *.h, *.cmake, *.txt, *.md, .env*
JUCE requires 4-letter codes for plugin and manufacturer identification. The algorithm:
"XXXX"Xchar[0] + char[1] + char[len/2] + char[last]These are loaded from the template's .env when creating new projects:
| Variable | Placeholder Value | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
DEVELOPER_NAME | "Your Name" | Developer/company name |
APPLE_ID | your.email@example.com | Apple Developer account email |
TEAM_ID | YOURTEAMID | Apple Developer Team ID |
APP_CERT | Contains "Your Name" | Developer ID Application certificate |
INSTALLER_CERT | Contains "Your Name" | Developer ID Installer certificate |
APP_SPECIFIC_PASSWORD | xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx | Notarization password |
GITHUB_USER | yourusername | GitHub username for repo creation |
| Variable | Purpose |
|---|---|
PROJECT_NAME | Internal name (no spaces) — same as CLASS_NAME |
PRODUCT_NAME | Display name (can have spaces) |
PROJECT_BUNDLE_ID | macOS bundle identifier |
PLUGIN_CODE | 4-letter JUCE plugin code |
PLUGIN_MANUFACTURER_CODE | 4-letter manufacturer code |
VERSION_MAJOR/MINOR/PATCH | Semantic version components |
ENABLE_DIAGNOSTICS | DiagnosticKit integration flag |
USE_VISAGE_UI | Visage GPU UI flag (TRUE/FALSE) |
| Variable | Default | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
BUILD_FORMATS | "AU AUv3 VST3 CLAP Standalone" | Plugin formats to build (macOS); "VST3 CLAP Standalone" on Windows/Linux |
DEFAULT_CONFIG | Debug | Build configuration |
COPY_AFTER_BUILD | TRUE | Auto-install plugins to system folders |
JUCE_REPO | GitHub JUCE URL | JUCE source repository |
JUCE_TAG | 8.0.12 | JUCE version tag (checked against latest GitHub release during project creation) |
JUCE is fetched via CMake's FetchContent and cached at ~/.juce_cache/. This shared cache avoids re-downloading JUCE for each project. No local JUCE installation is needed.
set(FETCHCONTENT_BASE_DIR "$ENV{HOME}/.juce_cache")
FetchContent_Declare(JUCE
GIT_REPOSITORY ${JUCE_REPO}
GIT_TAG ${JUCE_TAG}
GIT_SHALLOW ON
)
# CLAP format support via clap-juce-extensions
FetchContent_Declare(clap-juce-extensions
GIT_REPOSITORY https://github.com/free-audio/clap-juce-extensions.git
GIT_TAG main
GIT_SHALLOW ON
)
FetchContent_MakeAvailable(JUCE clap-juce-extensions)
macOS:
# Generate Xcode project and build
./scripts/generate_and_open_xcode.sh
# Command-line builds (no Xcode)
./scripts/build.sh au debug
./scripts/build.sh vst3 release
./scripts/build.sh clap release
./scripts/build.sh standalone debug
./scripts/build.sh all release
# Package for distribution (signs + notarizes)
./scripts/sign_and_package_plugin.sh
Linux:
# Requires: Clang (or GCC), CMake, Ninja, JUCE apt dependencies
# Install deps: sudo apt install cmake ninja-build clang libasound2-dev libx11-dev libxinerama-dev libxext-dev libxrandr-dev libxcursor-dev libfreetype6-dev libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev libglu1-mesa-dev libcurl4-openssl-dev pkg-config
./scripts/build.sh # Build all formats (VST3, CLAP, Standalone)
./scripts/build.sh vst3 # Build VST3 only
./scripts/build.sh standalone # Build Standalone only
./scripts/build.sh all test # Build and run Catch2 + PluginVal tests
./scripts/build.sh all unsigned # Build and create tar.gz package
Windows (PowerShell):
# Requires: MSVC (VS2022), CMake, Ninja in PATH
# Load VS dev environment first:
# Import-Module "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Community\Common7\Tools\Microsoft.VisualStudio.DevShell.dll"
# Enter-VsDevShell -VsInstallPath "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Community" -SkipAutomaticLocation
.\scripts\build.ps1 # Build all formats (VST3, CLAP, Standalone)
.\scripts\build.ps1 vst3 # Build VST3 only
.\scripts\build.ps1 standalone # Build Standalone only
.\scripts\build.ps1 all test # Build and run tests
.\scripts\build.ps1 all publish # Build and create Inno Setup installer
Unit tests use Catch2 v3, fetched via FetchContent. PluginVal validates AU/VST3 plugins.
# Run all tests (Catch2 + PluginVal)
./scripts/build.sh all test
# Tests are in tests/ directory
tests/
Catch2Main.cpp # Custom main with JUCE MessageManager init
PluginBasics.cpp # Example plugin tests
helpers/test_helpers.h # Helper for editor-context testing
(major << 16) | (minor << 8) | patch~/.juce_cache/ (uses USERPROFILE on Windows, HOME on macOS)if(APPLE) for macOS, elseif(MSVC) for Windows, elseif(UNIX AND NOT APPLE) for LinuxIn CMakeLists.txt, Visage is conditionally included:
set(USE_VISAGE_UI $ENV{USE_VISAGE_UI})
if(USE_VISAGE_UI)
add_subdirectory(external/visage)
target_compile_definitions(${PROJECT_NAME} PRIVATE USE_VISAGE_UI=1)
target_link_libraries(${PROJECT_NAME} PRIVATE visage)
endif()
scripts/setup_visage.sh handles:
https://github.com/VitalAudio/visage.git into external/visage/scripts/patches/visage/:
01-performKeyEquivalent.patch — keyboard shortcut handling in DAW hosts02-mtkview-60fps.patch — Metal view FPS cap03-popup-overflow-position.patch — popup menu positioning fix04-single-line-arrows.patch — single-line text editor arrows05-setAlwaysOnTop-guard.patch — always-on-top guard06-instance-counter-log.patch — instance counting07-mtkview-null-check.patch — null pointer safetyThe Visage editor template (templates/visage/PluginEditor.h) differs from standard:
juce::AudioProcessorEditor and juce::Timervisage::ApplicationWindow for GPU-rendered UItimerCallback() until after JUCE setup<visage/app.h>{ClassName}AudioProcessor (inherits juce::AudioProcessor){ClassName}AudioProcessorEditor (inherits juce::AudioProcessorEditor)The processor provides helper methods for macOS-recommended paths:
~/Library/Application Support/{ProjectName}/Samples/~/Library/Application Support/{ProjectName}/Presets/~/Library/Application Support/{ProjectName}/UserData/~/Library/Logs/{ProjectName}/Default setup:
The post_build.sh script updates Info.plist entries after each build:
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