Scaffold VST

When to use

Trigger whenever the user wants to create a new VST/audio plugin project from scratch and wants the scaffolder to guide the setup. Do NOT trigger for modifying an existing plugin project — that's out of scope for v1.

Process

Ask the questions below ONE AT A TIME. Use multiple-choice form when possible. Do not skip ahead. After all answers are collected, present a summary and ask for confirmation before writing any files.

Questions

1. Project name (human-readable, e.g., "Vicky Synth") and 4-character plugin code (unique identifier, e.g., "Vcky"). JUCE requires exactly 4 characters for the code.
2. Company name and company URL (used in the generated plist / JucePlugin_Manufacturer).
3. Plugin type — one of: synth, effect, sampler, midi-effect, analyzer.
4. Aesthetic preset — dark, light, or custom. If custom, ask for 3–5 hex colors with semantic roles: background, surface, primary, accent, text.
5. Fonts — either a path to a local .ttf file, or a Google Font name (e.g., "Inter", "Space Grotesk"). Accept multiple fonts with roles (heading, body).
6. Background image/SVG (optional) — path to a local file. Skip if not provided.
7. AI features (multi-select) — preset-generator, neural-inference, param-morph, or none.
8. Parameters — suggest defaults based on plugin type (see table below), then ask if the user wants to override, add, or remove any.
9. Output directory — absolute path. Refuse to overwrite an existing directory.

Default parameter sets

• synth: osc1_shape, osc2_shape, osc_mix, filter_cutoff, filter_resonance, amp_attack, amp_decay, amp_sustain, amp_release, master_gain.
• effect: drive, tone, dry_wet, output_gain.
• sampler: sample_start, sample_end, pitch, amp_attack, amp_release, master_gain.
• midi-effect: transpose, velocity_curve, channel_filter.
• analyzer: fft_size, smoothing, db_floor, db_ceiling.

Generation

After the user confirms the summary:

1. Create the output directory at the user's chosen path. Fail if it already exists.
2. Copy the files from templates/<plugin-type>/ into the output directory.
3. For every file, substitute placeholders:
   • {{PROJECT_NAME}} — the human-readable project name.
   • {{PROJECT_SLUG}} — lowercase, hyphenated (e.g., "vicky-synth").
   • {{PLUGIN_CODE}} — 4-char code.
   • {{COMPANY_NAME}} and {{COMPANY_URL}}.
   • {{COLOR_BACKGROUND}}, {{COLOR_SURFACE}}, {{COLOR_PRIMARY}}, {{COLOR_ACCENT}}, {{COLOR_TEXT}} — hex values (with 0xff prefix when emitted to C++).
   • {{FONT_PRIMARY_FILENAME}}, {{FONT_SECONDARY_FILENAME}} — basenames of TTF files.
   • {{PARAMETER_DEFS}} — C++ code block registering the user's APVTS parameters.
   • {{AI_INCLUDES}}, {{AI_MEMBERS}}, {{AI_INIT}} — injected blocks if AI modules are selected.
4. Copy theming/CustomLookAndFeel.h.tmpl and .cpp.tmpl into Source/Theme/, substituting placeholders.
5. Copy each selected AI module's files from ai-modules/<module>/ into Source/AI/.
6. If the user provided font paths, copy them to Source/BinaryData/. For Google Fonts, fetch via https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=<Name> resolution to a .ttf URL and download.
7. If a background image was provided, copy it to Source/BinaryData/.
8. Generate Source/BinaryData/CMakeLists-files.txt listing all embedded assets for juce_add_binary_data.
9. Emit README.md using the README.md.tmpl in the templates, listing build instructions and any required external deps (Claude API key file location, ONNX Runtime install).
10. Emit .gitignore.
11. Print a final summary showing the output directory and the exact commands to build:

cd <output-dir>
cmake -B build
cmake --build build

Error handling

• If plugin code is not exactly 4 characters, re-prompt.
• If project name is empty, re-prompt.
• If output directory exists, abort with a clear message listing its contents.
• If a specified font file is missing, fall back to JUCE's default font and print a warning.
• If AI features are selected, ensure the generated README clearly documents the extra setup.