validating-scd-files

name

validating-scd-files

description

Use when editing or creating any `.scd` file in the sound_algo project. Verifies that parentheses and square brackets are balanced (the project hard-requires P:0 B:0) and, for files loaded via `.load` (00_load.scd, live/_load.scd, palette/*/index.scd, engine.scd, palette/scales.scd), that there is exactly one top-level `(...)` block (TLB:1). The CLAUDE.md mandates this check after every modification — sclang gives parse errors at runtime that are far harder to diagnose than a quick awk balance.

Validating .scd files

When to run

Run after every edit to a .scd file. Mandatory before claiming a task is done.

Quick check (one file)

awk '
{
  for (i = 1; i <= length($0); i++) {
    c = substr($0, i, 1)
    if (c == "(") p++; else if (c == ")") p--
    if (c == "[") b++; else if (c == "]") b--
    # detect top-level "(" at column 1
    if (i == 1 && c == "(") tlb++
  }
}
END { printf "P:%d B:%d TLB:%d\n", p, b, tlb }
' path/to/file.scd

Acceptance :

• P:0 B:0 for all .scd files
• TLB:1 only for files loaded via .load (entry-point files). Multi-block files (tracks/.scd, examples/.scd, 01_live.scd) are IDE-only and TLB:N is fine there.

Files that MUST have TLB:1

File	Reason
engine.scd	Loaded via 00_load.scd
palette/scales.scd	Same
palette/melodies/index.scd	Same
palette/harmonics/index.scd	Same
palette/rhythm/fills.scd	Same
live/_load.scd	Loaded by 01_live.scd block [0]
Any other file referenced by .load(...)

Files where TLB:N is OK

• tracks/*.scd (Cmd+Entree per block during live play)
• examples/*.scd (tutorials)
• 01_live.scd (live dashboard, blocks evaluated independently)
• live/*.scd except _load.scd (SETUP + examples in same file)

Whole-project sweep

cd /Users/electron/Documents/Projets_Creatifs/sound_algo
for f in $(find . -name '*.scd' -not -path './_archive/*'); do
  awk -v f="$f" '
    { for (i=1;i<=length($0);i++) { c=substr($0,i,1)
        if (c=="(") p++; else if (c==")") p--
        if (c=="[") b++; else if (c=="]") b-- }}
    END { if (p!=0 || b!=0) printf "%s P:%d B:%d\n", f, p, b }
  ' "$f"
done

Output should be empty. Any line printed = file with unbalanced parens/brackets.

What this skill does NOT check

• Semantic correctness (does the code work?) → run tests/run_all.sh
• SynthDef compilation → e2e_04_synthdef_compile.scd
• Pdef behavior → e2e_03_reload_guards.scd
• Notation pseudo-method ~dict.key.() traps → see live/CLAUDE.md

This skill is purely lexical. Pass = parser will at least try to compile.