Track your progress:

Plugin Packaging Progress:
- [ ] 1. Prerequisites verified (plugin installed, binaries exist)
- [ ] 2. Metadata extracted (contracts read, version/description/parameters)
- [ ] 3. Branding files created (Welcome, ReadMe, Conclusion)
- [ ] 4. Base package built (pkgbuild complete)
- [ ] 5. Branded installer created (productbuild complete)
- [ ] 6. Distribution package output (dist/ created, committed, PLUGINS.md updated)

1. Verify Prerequisites

Check plugin is ready for packaging:

• Read PLUGINS.md, verify status is 📦 Installed
• Verify VST3 exists: ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/[ProductName].vst3
• Verify AU exists: ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/[ProductName].component

Blocking: If not installed, guide user to run /install-plugin [PluginName] first.

Preconditions verified in this step:

• Plugin status is 📦 Installed
• VST3 and AU binaries exist in system folders

2. Extract Plugin Metadata

Read multiple files in parallel using multiple Read tool calls:

• PLUGINS.md entry for plugin (version, description, parameter list, use cases)
• plugins/[PluginName]/CMakeLists.txt (for PRODUCT_NAME extraction)
• plugins/[PluginName]/.ideas/parameter-spec.md (detailed parameter descriptions)
• plugins/[PluginName]/.ideas/creative-brief.md (features, use cases, design rationale)

Extract PRODUCT_NAME using grep + sed (see Section 1.2 in references/pkg-creation.md).

Template variables to extract:

• {{PLUGIN_NAME}}, {{VERSION}}, {{DESCRIPTION}}
• {{PRODUCT_NAME}}, {{PARAM_COUNT}}, {{PARAMETERS}}
• {{FEATURES}}, {{QUICK_START_PRESETS}}

3. Create Branding Files

Generate Welcome.txt, ReadMe.txt, and Conclusion.txt by reading templates from assets/ and replacing {{VARIABLE}} placeholders with metadata from contracts (.ideas/parameter-spec.md and creative-brief.md provide richer content than PLUGINS.md).

See Section 3 in references/pkg-creation.md for complete bash implementation.

4. Build Base Package

Create foundational PKG with installation logic:

4a. Create temp directory structure (see Section 4a in references/pkg-creation.md)

4b. Copy binaries to payload (see Section 4a in references/pkg-creation.md)

Validation: Verify binaries copied successfully. ONLY proceed to 4c when both files are present.

4c. Create postinstall script (see Section 4b in references/pkg-creation.md for complete script)

4d. Run pkgbuild (see Section 4c in references/pkg-creation.md for complete command)

Validation: Verify base PKG created. ONLY proceed to step 5 when PKG file exists.

5. Build Branded Installer

Wrap base package with branding:

5a. Create Distribution.xml (see Section 5a in references/pkg-creation.md for complete XML structure)

5b. Run productbuild (see Section 5b in references/pkg-creation.md for complete command)

Validation: Verify branded PKG created. ONLY proceed to step 6 when branded PKG exists.

6. Output Distribution Package

Finalize and present to user:

6a. Create dist directory (see Section 6a in references/pkg-creation.md)

6b. Copy installer (see Section 6b in references/pkg-creation.md)

6c. Generate install-readme.txt (see Section 6c in references/pkg-creation.md for complete template)

6d. Commit distribution package:

git add plugins/[PluginName]/dist/
git commit -m "feat([PluginName]): create v[X.Y.Z] distribution package"

6e. Update PLUGINS.md with packaging metadata:

**Last Packaged:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Distribution:** plugins/[PluginName]/dist/[PluginName]-by-TACHES.pkg (X.X MB)

6f. Display summary:

✓ [PluginName] packaged successfully

Created: plugins/[PluginName]/dist/[PluginName]-by-TACHES.pkg (X.X MB)

Distribution package includes:
- [PluginName]-by-TACHES.pkg (branded installer)
- install-readme.txt (installation guide)

Send both files to your friend.