Building JUCE plugins with CMake and a modern editor? Luthier offers a Projucer-inspired desktop workflow for CMake-native starter projects: fill a form, validate inline, generate once, then continue in Cursor, VS Code, or your toolchain of choice.

Download Luthier 1.0.0 — Windows / macOS / Linux — no Python required.

See what it looks like

Quick start

1. Download the app → set your JUCE path in Preferences (once)
2. Fill the Project form → click Generate Project
3. Open the folder in Cursor, Windsurf, or VS Code + CMake Tools
4. Select a CMake preset → Build → run the Standalone app to verify

A generator, not a repo template — Luthier produces a fresh CMake project tree each time, Projucer-style, without a .jucer file.

You need: a local JUCE install and CMake 3.22+. Luthier scaffolds the project — it does not bundle JUCE.

Why Luthier?

If you want a CMake-first JUCE workflow (modern editors, CI/CD, AI-assisted development) but prefer not to hand-roll CMakeLists.txt and multi-platform presets every time you start a plugin, Luthier scaffolds a complete project tree in minutes.

What you get

• Formats — AU, VST3, Standalone
• CMake project — CMakeLists.txt, CMakeUserPresets.json, presets for macOS (ARM, Intel, Universal), Windows, Linux
• Starter sources — PluginProcessor / PluginEditor (customisable templates in the app)
• Editor helpers — .vscode/ tasks, optional .cursorrules
• Identity & validation — names, codes, bundle ID, plugin type and characteristics — inline checks as you type

Where to build

Every Luthier project is CMake-native: presets, build tasks, and optional editor helpers ship in the generated tree. That makes the output a practical starting point for:

• AI-native editors — Cursor, Windsurf, Antigravity, etc.
• Terminal coding agents — Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, etc.
• Classic CMake toolchains — VS Code, Xcode, Visual Studio, CLion, or plain CMake from the terminal

Note: AI tooling evolves quickly. Luthier does not certify or officially support any third-party product; compatibility is workflow-level — standard CMake projects that these tools can open, index, and build. Your mileage may vary.

Distribution

GitHub Releases — standalone apps for macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Run from source: Python 3.11+ and PySide6 (CONTRIBUTING.md).

macOS standalone app: Apple Silicon (arm64). Intel Macs: run from source, or build generated projects for x86_64 via CMake presets.

Documentation

• User manual (EN)
• Manuel utilisateur (FR)
• Architecture & contributing

License

MIT — by Ten Square Software.