Juce Guide

JUCE Audio Plugin — Build Guide

Five steps from empty folder to distributable plugin. Do each step in order; skip none.

Step 1 — Project setup (CMake + JUCE)

• Add JUCE as a git submodule or FetchContent target; call add_subdirectory(JUCE).
• Use juce_add_plugin(MyPlugin FORMATS VST3 AU Standalone ...) to declare the plugin target.
• Set PLUGIN_MANUFACTURER_CODE, PLUGIN_CODE, IS_SYNTH, NEEDS_MIDI_INPUT in the same call.
• Link juce::juce_audio_processors juce::juce_audio_utils juce::juce_dsp to the target.

Step 2 — AudioProcessor skeleton

• Subclass juce::AudioProcessor; override prepareToPlay, releaseResources, processBlock.
• In prepareToPlay: store sampleRate and maximumBlockSize, allocate internal buffers, reset all state (filters, envelopes, delay lines — unconditionally).
• In processBlock: read only pre-cached raw parameter pointers; never allocate, never call JUCE String ops or DBG().
• Implement getStateInformation / setStateInformation using apvts.copyState() and apvts.replaceState() with a MemoryOutputStream / MemoryBlock.

Step 3 — Parameters via APVTS

• Declare a static createParameterLayout() method that returns AudioProcessorValueTreeState::ParameterLayout.
• Construct apvts(*this, nullptr, "Parameters", createParameterLayout()) as a member.
• After constructing APVTS, cache raw pointers once: gainParam = apvts.getRawParameterValue("Gain").
• In processBlock, dereference with gainParam->load() — no APVTS calls on the audio thread.
• Use AudioProcessorValueTreeState::ParameterAttachment (or SliderAttachment) in the editor, never in the processor.

Step 4 — Editor and UI

• Subclass juce::AudioProcessorEditor; call setSize(w, h) in the constructor.
• Override paint for background / labels; override resized to lay out components with setBounds.
• Declare juce::Slider members; attach each via juce::AudioProcessorValueTreeState::SliderAttachment.
• Keep all UI state in the editor — the processor must function correctly with no editor open.
• The editor holds a reference to the processor (passed in constructor); never store a raw editor pointer in the processor.

Step 5 — Build, test, package

• Configure: cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
• Build: cmake --build build --config Release
• Locate artefacts under build/MyPlugin_artefacts/Release/.
• macOS codesign: codesign --deep --force --sign "Developer ID Application: ..." MyPlugin.vst3 then spctl --assess --verbose MyPlugin.vst3.
• Notarize for distribution: xcrun notarytool submit MyPlugin.pkg --apple-id ... --wait.
• Validate in a DAW host or use the JUCE AudioPluginHost utility (extras/AudioPluginHost).

Common pitfalls

Use the juce-review skill to audit finished processor code for thread-safety violations.