RetroWaveLab Developer Manual

Source-backed build-from-zero documentation for plugin developers, with explicit coverage mapping.

Goal

Hand this site to a developer who has never seen the codebase, and they should be able to implement a stable plugin from scratch.

Read Order

Canonical Terms

Sample: one channel value.
Frame: all channel samples at one instant.
Channel: lane in a buffer (L/R/etc).
Selection: [start, endExclusive) in frames.
Buffer: SampleBuffer.

Project Rules (Non-Negotiable)

Use host APIs via IHostContext; do not call other plugins directly.
Do not mutate WinForms controls off UI thread; use BeginInvoke.
Do not run heavy DSP in drag/mouse-move handlers; commit on drag end or apply.
Use IDocumentService for edits and IPresetStore for presets.
Preview and bypass are runtime UI state; do not persist them in presets.

Coverage

This manual fully maps all public APIs from src/RetroWaveLab.Core.Abstractions and the shared graph engine contracts from src/RetroWaveLab.UI.Graphing, and also includes a solution project inventory.

See Source Index for exact file-to-page mapping and project-level coverage status.