How do I install the Vvvv Startup skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add tebjan/vvvv-startup in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Vvvv Startup safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Capability flags: docs only. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Vvvv Startup?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Vvvv Startup free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free. This skill is licensed under CC-BY-SA-4.

Who published Vvvv Startup?

tebjan (@tebjan) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Vvvv Startup by tebjan — Agent Skill

Name: Vvvv Startup
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: tebjan

Vvvv Startup

Covers launching vvvv gamma from the command line or programmatically -- normal startup, opening specific .vl patches, command-line arguments, package repositories, and key filesystem paths (install directory, user data, sketches, exports, packages). Use when starting vvvv, configuring launch arguments, setting up package repositories, or finding vvvv's data directories.

tebjan 88aca81 2 files · 5.8 KB Updated Sep 10, 2026

File contents

Launching vvvv gamma

Filesystem Paths

Location	Path
Install directory	`C:\Program Files\vvvv\vvvv_gamma_X.Y-win-x64\`
User data (AppData)	`%LOCALAPPDATA%\vvvv\gamma\`
Documents root	`%USERPROFILE%\Documents\vvvv\gamma\`
Sketches	`%USERPROFILE%\Documents\vvvv\gamma\Sketches`
Exports	`%USERPROFILE%\Documents\vvvv\gamma\Exports`
User packages	`%LOCALAPPDATA%\vvvv\gamma\nugets`
Log file (when enabled)	`%USERPROFILE%\Documents\vvvv\gamma\vvvv.log`

Preview builds use gamma-preview instead of gamma in the above paths.

Normal Launch

# Launch vvvv (opens with default empty patch)
"C:\Program Files\vvvv\vvvv_gamma_7.0-win-x64\vvvv.exe"

# Open a specific patch
vvvv.exe MyProject.vl

# Open multiple files
vvvv.exe --open "FileA.vl;FileB.vl"

Package Repositories and Editable Packages

These two arguments work together and are the most important for development:

--package-repositories tells vvvv where to look for packages. Provide the parent folder of each package (the folder containing the package directory, not the package directory itself).
--editable-packages tells vvvv which packages from those repositories to load from source instead of pre-compiled cache (read-only). Glob patterns are supported.

You must use both together when working on a package from source:

# Given this folder structure:
#   D:\Projects\
#     VL.MyLib\           <-- the package
#       VL.MyLib.vl
#     VL.MyOtherLib\      <-- another package
#       VL.MyOtherLib.vl

# The parent folder "D:\Projects" is the package repository
vvvv.exe --package-repositories "D:\Projects" --editable-packages "VL.MyLib*" --debug

# Multiple repositories (semi-colon separated)
vvvv.exe --package-repositories "D:\Projects;D:\SharedLibs" --editable-packages "VL.MyLib*;VL.SharedUtils" --debug

# Open a specific help patch for testing
vvvv.exe --package-repositories "D:\Projects" --editable-packages "VL.MyLib*" -o "D:\Projects\VL.MyLib\help\HowTo Use Feature.vl" --debug

Without --package-repositories, vvvv won't find your local package sources, and --editable-packages will have no effect.

Common Argument Combinations

# Development: debug symbols + allow multiple instances
vvvv.exe MyProject.vl --debug --allowmultiple

# Troubleshooting: skip cache, enable logging
vvvv.exe MyProject.vl --nocache --log

# Minimal startup: no extensions, no backend (fast launch for patch editing)
vvvv.exe --noextensions --disable-backend

# Paused on startup (runtime won't start until you press play)
vvvv.exe MyProject.vl --stoppedonstartup

# Skip splash screen
vvvv.exe --no-splash

For the complete argument reference, see cli-reference.md.

Detecting vvvv Installations

To find vvvv programmatically:

Windows Registry: Enumerate HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for subkeys starting with vvvv_gamma_. Read the InstallLocation value.
Default path: Scan C:\Program Files\vvvv\ for directories matching vvvv_gamma_*.
Version parsing: Extract version from directory name format vvvv_gamma_MAJOR.MINOR[-PREVIEW-HASH-PLATFORM].
Filtering: Exclude -beta, -alpha, -rc, -test, -dev, etc. variants if not explicitly requested.
Selection: Sort by major DESC, minor DESC, preview number DESC. Pick the latest and ask the user if that or another one should be used.

The executable is at <install-dir>\vvvv.exe.

---name: vvvv-startupdescription: Covers launching vvvv gamma from the command line or programmatically -- normal startup, opening specific .vl patches, command-line arguments, package repositories, and key filesystem paths (install directory, user data, sketches, exports, packages). Use when starting vvvv, configuring launch arguments, setting up package repositories, or finding vvvv's data directories.license: CC-BY-SA-4.0---# Launching vvvv gamma## Filesystem Paths| Location | Path ||----------|------|| Install directory | `C:\Program Files\vvvv\vvvv_gamma_X.Y-win-x64\` || User data (AppData) | `%LOCALAPPDATA%\vvvv\gamma\` || Documents root | `%USERPROFILE%\Documents\vvvv\gamma\` || Sketches | `%USERPROFILE%\Documents\vvvv\gamma\Sketches` || Exports | `%USERPROFILE%\Documents\vvvv\gamma\Exports` || User packages | `%LOCALAPPDATA%\vvvv\gamma\nugets` || Log file (when enabled) | `%USERPROFILE%\Documents\vvvv\gamma\vvvv.log` |Preview builds use `gamma-preview` instead of `gamma` in the above paths.## Normal Launch```shell# Launch vvvv (opens with default empty patch)"C:\Program Files\vvvv\vvvv_gamma_7.0-win-x64\vvvv.exe"# Open a specific patchvvvv.exe MyProject.vl# Open multiple filesvvvv.exe --open "FileA.vl;FileB.vl"```## Package Repositories and Editable PackagesThese two arguments work together and are the most important for development:- **`--package-repositories`** tells vvvv where to look for packages. Provide the **parent folder** of each package (the folder containing the package directory, not the package directory itself).- **`--editable-packages`** tells vvvv which packages from those repositories to load from source instead of pre-compiled cache (read-only). Glob patterns are supported.You must use both together when working on a package from source:```shell# Given this folder structure:# D:\Projects\# VL.MyLib\ <-- the package# VL.MyLib.vl# VL.MyOtherLib\ <-- another package# VL.MyOtherLib.vl# The parent folder "D:\Projects" is the package repositoryvvvv.exe --package-repositories "D:\Projects" --editable-packages "VL.MyLib*" --debug# Multiple repositories (semi-colon separated)vvvv.exe --package-repositories "D:\Projects;D:\SharedLibs" --editable-packages "VL.MyLib*;VL.SharedUtils" --debug# Open a specific help patch for testingvvvv.exe --package-repositories "D:\Projects" --editable-packages "VL.MyLib*" -o "D:\Projects\VL.MyLib\help\HowTo Use Feature.vl" --debug```Without `--package-repositories`, vvvv won't find your local package sources, and `--editable-packages` will have no effect.## Common Argument Combinations```shell# Development: debug symbols + allow multiple instancesvvvv.exe MyProject.vl --debug --allowmultiple# Troubleshooting: skip cache, enable loggingvvvv.exe MyProject.vl --nocache --log# Minimal startup: no extensions, no backend (fast launch for patch editing)vvvv.exe --noextensions --disable-backend# Paused on startup (runtime won't start until you press play)vvvv.exe MyProject.vl --stoppedonstartup# Skip splash screenvvvv.exe --no-splash```For the complete argument reference, see [cli-reference.md](cli-reference.md).## Detecting vvvv InstallationsTo find vvvv programmatically:1. **Windows Registry**: Enumerate `HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall` for subkeys starting with `vvvv_gamma_`. Read the `InstallLocation` value.2. **Default path**: Scan `C:\Program Files\vvvv\` for directories matching `vvvv_gamma_*`.3. **Version parsing**: Extract version from directory name format `vvvv_gamma_MAJOR.MINOR[-PREVIEW-HASH-PLATFORM]`.4. **Filtering**: Exclude `-beta`, `-alpha`, `-rc`, `-test`, `-dev`, etc. variants if not explicitly requested.5. **Selection**: Sort by major DESC, minor DESC, preview number DESC. Pick the latest and ask the user if that or another one should be used.The executable is at `<install-dir>\vvvv.exe`.

Frequently asked questions