COOK. — desktop GUI for midi-cook

You're installing COOK., a macOS Electron app that wraps the midi-cook engine in a SYSTEM-styled desktop UI.

What it does

• One-click beat cooking — COOK ONE, +5, +10, DARK, BRIGHT buttons
• Every cook produces 7 MIDI files in ~/Desktop/midi bby/{N}.{M}_{name}/: chords · lead · counter · melody4 · 808 · snare · hats
• Unique folder names — 341-word pool + 40 modifier prefixes (14k+ combos), never repeats
• Drag pads on every cook card — drag a labeled tile straight into FL Studio (or any drop target) to drop that specific .mid
• Producer tag baked into every folder name ((yourhandle))
• ~/Desktop/midi bby/.midi-cook.json stores the producer config; wipe it to reset

How to install it

The skill bundles everything you need. Just run:

bash "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR:-$(dirname "$0")}/scripts/install.sh"

…or if CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR isn't set, cd into the extracted skill dir first:

cd <path-to-this-skill>
bash scripts/install.sh            # default target: ~/midi-cook-app
bash scripts/install.sh ~/cook     # or a custom dir

The installer will:

1. Verify node, npm, and python3 are available
2. Copy scripts/project/ into ~/midi-cook-app (or the provided target)
3. Run npm install (Electron + electron-builder)
4. Run npm run install-app — builds an unsigned arm64 .app and installs it to /Applications/COOK..app
5. Launch it

The midi-cook engine (styles.py + midi_writer.py) is vendored into assets/, so the app is fully self-contained. No external skill dependency required. If you also have the standalone midi-cook skill installed at ~/.claude/skills/midi-cook, cook.py prefers the bundled copy but falls back to the skill if the bundle ever goes missing.

Requirements

• macOS (arm64 or x64) — the app ships as a native .app bundle
• Node 18+ and npm
• Python 3.9+ (no pip packages — only the stdlib)
• Write access to /Applications (the installer calls cp -R there)

First-run flow

1. Launch COOK. — the dock icon is a dark skull mark
2. Type a producer name in [ PRODUCER ] and hit SAVE (e.g., CCBBY, 808Jesus, your handle)
3. Hit COOK ONE — a new card appears in the right column with:
   • Unique beat name (✦ Velvet Nocturne (yourtag) ✦)
   • KEY / BPM / ENGINE / progression
   • 7 drag pads: CHORDS · LEAD · COUNTER · MEL4 · 808 · SNARE · HATS
4. Drag any pad directly into FL Studio's playlist / channel rack — it imports as MIDI

File layout after install

~/midi-cook-app/
├── main.js                 # Electron main — window + IPC + drag session
├── preload.js              # contextBridge → window.midiCook API
├── renderer.js             # UI wiring + drag-pad event handlers
├── index.html              # SYSTEM-styled UI
├── package.json
└── assets/
    ├── cook.py             # CLI shim over the engine
    ├── styles.py           # cook_random — rolls every dimension
    ├── midi_writer.py      # MIDI file writer + cook-folder numbering
    ├── system.css / system.js  # SYSTEM design + sound engine
    └── icon.png / icon.icns

Troubleshooting

• "midi-cook engine not found" — styles.py is missing from assets/. Re-run the installer; it vendors both Python files.
• Drag-and-drop does nothing in FL Studio — confirm you're dragging from a .pad tile (small bracket-cased label), not the card body. FL Studio needs the drop target to be the playlist or a channel, not the mixer.
• "[ NO PRODUCER ]" never goes away — check ~/Desktop/midi bby/.midi-cook.json is writable, then hit SAVE again.
• App won't launch after install — xattr -cr /Applications/COOK..app strips the quarantine bit. The installer already does this.
• Custom output dir — cooks are hardcoded to ~/Desktop/midi bby. Edit MIDI_DIR in assets/cook.py to move it.

Design

• SYSTEM design language by Gualo Hawes (bundled system.css / system.js)
• Typography: Inter + JetBrains Mono, no emojis in UI
• Palette: neon-silver (light) or deep-black (dark), toggle from header
• Dock icon + favicon baked in via build-icon.py (re-run if you want a different mark)