Systematic checklist for diagnosing audio artifacts. Use when the user describes a sound quality problem — clicks, pops, crackling, silence, DC offset, aliasing, phase issues, or latency problems. Trigger on phrases like "why do I hear clicks?", "my output has DC offset", "there's aliasing in my oscillator", "phase is wrong in mono", "dropout when CPU spikes". Pairs with audio-dsp-review (realtime safety) and audio-numerics-review (numeric correctness) — use those to fix once the cause is found.
Reviews audio DSP and audio processing code for realtime safety violations. Use whenever the user asks to review, audit, or check audio processing code — including plugin process callbacks, audio engine render functions, DSP implementations, or any code that runs on the audio thread. Trigger on phrases like "review my processBlock", "check this DSP code", "is this safe for the audio thread?", "review my JUCE plugin", or when you see an audio callback and spot potential realtime violations. Flag issues proactively even when the user hasn't explicitly asked for a review.
Profiling strategy for audio CPU issues — xruns, spikes, and buffer underruns. Use when the user reports CPU overload, audio glitches under load, or performance regressions. Trigger on phrases like "I'm getting xruns", "my plugin causes CPU spikes", "dropouts under high voice count", "audio thread is too slow", "how do I profile my DSP". References audio-numerics-review for denormal slowdown and audio-dsp-review for lock contention.
Reviews JUCE audio plugin code for JUCE-specific correctness issues: thread safety, APVTS parameter patterns, MessageManager usage, ValueTree, and MIDI handling. Use when the user asks to review a JUCE plugin, check a processBlock, audit parameter handling, or asks "is this JUCE code safe?". Trigger on phrases like "review my JUCE plugin", "check my AudioProcessor", "is this APVTS usage correct?", or when you see AudioProcessor, AudioProcessorEditor, or AudioProcessorValueTreeState in the code.
Reviews YUP audio plugin code for YUP-specific correctness issues: AudioProcessor lifecycle, AudioParameterBuilder and AudioParameterHandle usage, editor gestures, AudioBusLayout handling, CLAP/VST3 wrapper contracts, state recall, and MIDI safety. Use when the user asks to review a YUP plugin, check a processBlock, audit parameter smoothing, or asks "is this YUP code safe?". Trigger when you see yup::AudioProcessor, yup_audio_plugin, AudioParameterBuilder, AudioParameterHandle, AudioProcessorEditor, or createPluginProcessor in the code.
Step-by-step guide for building a YUP audio plugin from scratch. Use when the user asks "how do I create a YUP plugin", "set up a YUP project", "add parameters to my YUP plugin", "package my CLAP or VST3", or "how do I wire up AudioParameterHandle". Trigger on phrases like "create a YUP plugin", "YUP CMake setup", "yup_audio_plugin", "AudioParameterBuilder", "AudioParameterHandle", or "createPluginProcessor".
Reviews AudioUnit v2/v3 plugin implementations for spec compliance, thread safety, and correctness. Use when the user asks to review an AudioUnit plugin, check an AUv3 app extension, audit property or parameter handling, or asks "is my AUComponent thread-safe?" or "why does my AU crash in Logic?". Trigger on phrases like "review my AudioUnit", "check my AUv3", "is my render block safe?", or when you see AURenderCallback, internalRenderBlock, kAudioUnitProperty_*, or AUAudioUnit in the code.
Explains DSP math concepts to developers who need the theory behind an algorithm. Use whenever the user asks how a signal-processing concept works, wants intuition behind a formula, or hits a math-shaped bug. Trigger on phrases like "how does a Fourier transform work", "explain z-transforms", "what is convolution", "why does my biquad ring", "what is windowing for", "what causes aliasing", or "how do I convert gain to dB". Also trigger when the user pastes DSP code and asks why it behaves a certain way.