Audio Plugin Validation

Overview

Single entrypoint for plugin QA across formats and platforms.
Route by artifact + goal, run the correct validator(s), capture exact failures, return remediation.

Trigger Conditions

Use this skill when the user asks for any of:

• Validate .vst3, .component, .appex, .clap
• Run auval, validator, pluginval, clap-validator, or editorhost
• Debug "plugin does not load", "fails in host", "fails in signed DAW"
• Check macOS codesign, hardened runtime, entitlements, notarization
• Add CI-style validation gate before release

Workflow

Step 1: Classify artifact and intent

• Identify format from extension or explicit user request:
  • .vst3 -> VST3
  • .component/.appex -> AudioUnit
  • .clap -> CLAP
• Identify goal:
  • Functional conformance
  • UI/editor smoke test
  • Signing/notarization diagnosis
  • Cross-check (run more than one validator)

Step 2: Route to the primary tool

Goal	Preferred Tool	Notes
VST3 conformance	validator	Use -e for deeper tests
VST3 UI smoke test	editorhost	For editor/window behavior only
AudioUnit conformance	auval	AU must be registered first
CLAP conformance	clap-validator	Supports focused test filtering
Cross-format stress	pluginval	Does not support CLAP
macOS load in signed DAW	codesign + spctl + stapler	Check runtime + entitlements + notarization

Routing rules:

• Prefer validator over pluginval for multi-bus VST3.
• If artifact is AUv3 (.appex), confirm pluginkit registration before auval.
• For CLAP, do not substitute VST3/AU tools.
• On macOS host-load failures, run codesign checks even if conformance tests pass.

Step 3: Preflight environment

Confirm tool availability before execution and report missing dependencies explicitly.

• macOS/Linux shell checks: command -v <tool>
• Windows PowerShell checks: Get-Command <tool>
• Windows CMD fallback: where <tool>
• macOS AU: auval (Xcode CLT)
• VST3: Steinberg validator and optionally editorhost (VST3 SDK build)
• CLAP: clap-validator
• Cross-format: pluginval or macOS app-bundle binary /Applications/pluginval.app/Contents/MacOS/pluginval
• macOS signing checks: codesign, spctl, stapler

Platform scope guard:

• AU + codesign flow is macOS-only.
• VST3/CLAP/pluginval flows are cross-platform.

If a tool is missing, stop and return install/build command(s) instead of partial inference.

Step 4: Execute and capture evidence

Run the canonical command set from:

• references/commands.md

Execution standards:

• Quote exact failing lines/errors in results.
• Preserve command + exit code.
• Use stricter modes by default (validator -e, pluginval --strictness-level 5, auval -strict where feasible).
• For flaky/randomized tests (pluginval), capture and report seed for replay.

Step 5: Return normalized report

Use this output schema:

Artifact: <path>
Format: <VST3|AUv2|AUv3|CLAP>
Platform: <macOS|Windows|Linux>
Goal: <conformance|ui|codesign|cross-check>
Tools Run:
  - <tool + command + exit code>
Result: <PASS|FAIL|PARTIAL>
Key Failures:
  - "<exact error line 1>"
  - "<exact error line 2>"
Root Cause Class:
  - <signing|state|parameters|bus/layout|registration|ui|thread-safety|other>
Recommended Fixes:
  1. <concrete fix>
  2. <concrete fix>
Next Verification Command:
  - <single command proving fix>

Failure Diagnosis

For symptom-to-cause mapping and remediation patterns, load:

• references/failure-patterns.md

Guardrails

• Do not claim pass/fail without running a validator command.
• Do not mix formats (e.g., AU conclusions from VST3-only tests).
• When user asks "validate plugin" without format, infer from extension; if ambiguous, run discovery (validator -list, auval -a, clap-validator list tests) and state assumptions.
• For CI contexts, prefer headless-safe options (--skip-gui-tests in pluginval).
• Keep response concise and operational; no long background unless requested.

Resources

references/

• references/commands.md - canonical commands by format/tool
• references/failure-patterns.md - common failures, root-cause classes, and fixes

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