manual/Metadata.md

Plugin Metadata

This document defines the plugin.json file found at the root of your plugin folder. For example, see Fundamental's plugin.json file.

JSON paths are denoted in “flat format”, as used by jq.

.slug

String. Required.

The unique identifier for your plugin. Case-sensitive. Slugs may only contain letters a-z and A-Z, numbers 0-9, hyphens -, and underscores _.

After your plugin is released, the slug must never change, otherwise patch compatibility would be broken. To guarantee uniqueness, it is a good idea to prefix the slug by your “brand name” if available, e.g. “MyCompany-MyPlugin”.

The word “slug” comes from web publishing to represent URL paths that never change, which in turn comes from typesetting.

.name

String. Required.

The human-readable name for your plugin. Used for labeling your plugin the VCV Library.

Unlike slugs, the name can be changed at any time without breaking patch compatibility.

.version

String. Required.

The version of your plugin should follow the form MAJOR.MINOR.REVISION. Do not include the “v” prefix---this is added automatically where appropriate.

The MAJOR version should match the version of Rack your plugin is built for, e.g. 1. You are free to choose the MINOR.REVISION part of your plugin version. For example, MyPlugin 1.4.2 would specify that your plugin is compatible with Rack 1.X.

If you publish the source code in a git repository, it is recommended to add a git tag with git tag vX.Y.Z and git push --tags.

.license

String. Required.

The license of your plugin. Use "proprietary" for commercial and freeware plugins.

If your plugin uses a common open-source license, the identifier from the SPDX License List should be used.

.brand

String. Optional.

Prefix string for all modules in your plugin. For example, the brand “VCV” is used by the Fundamental plugin to create “VCV VCF”, VCV Unity”, etc. If blank or undefined, the plugin name is used.

.author

String. Required.

Your name, company, alias, GitHub username, etc.

.authorEmail

String. Optional.

Your email address for support inquiries.

.authorUrl

String. Optional.

Homepage for yourself or your company.

.pluginUrl

String. Optional.

Homepage for the plugin itself.

.manualUrl

String. Optional.

The manual of your plugin. E.g. HTML, PDF, GitHub readme, GitHub wiki.

.sourceUrl

String. Optional.

Homepage for the source code. For GitHub URLs, use the main project page, not the .git URL.

.donateUrl

String. Optional.

Link to donation page for users who wish to donate. E.g. PayPal.Me, Cash App links.

.modules[].slug

String. Required.

The unique identifier for the module. Similar guidelines from .slug apply.

.modules[].name

String. Required.

The human-readable name for the module.

.modules[].tags

Array of strings. Optional.

List of tags representing the functions and/or properties of the module. All tags must match the list of allowed tags in Rack, case-insensitive.

.modules[].description

String. Optional.

A one-line summary of the module's purpose. Displayed in the Module Browser tooltip.