Learning Resources

Building plug-ins with Conformal involves TypeScript, Rust, and some audio/DSP fundamentals.

For the UI: TypeScript and React

Conformal’s user interfaces are built with TypeScript and React, running on the web platform. If you’ve done any web development, you’re already most of the way there.

• The TypeScript Handbook  — the official guide, well-written and thorough.
• React Quick Start  — React’s own tutorial. Covers components, props, state, and hooks — everything you need for a plug-in UI.

You’ll also encounter HTML and CSS when styling your interface. The MDN Web Docs  are the definitive reference for all web platform technologies.

For Signal Processing: Rust

Signal processing code is written in Rust. You don’t need to be a Rust expert to get started — the code in a typical plug-in uses straightforward structs, traits, and basic arithmetic.

• The Rust Book  — Free and comprehensive.
• Rust By Example  — if you prefer learning by reading code rather than prose.

Audio and DSP

Regardless of what framework or language you use, building audio plug-ins requires some understanding of digital signal processing. This is a huge field, so we’ll never be able to provide a comprehensive learning path, but we can list a few resources that we’ve found helpful.

• Julius O. Smith’s online books  — free, rigorous.
• KVR Audio Forum  — a long-running community for audio plug-in developers and users.
• Rust Audio Discord  — a community of developers using Rust for audio development.

What You Don’t Need

• C++
• Xcode or Visual Studio project configuration. Conformal’s build tools handle this.
• A custom build system. cargo and bun manage dependencies and builds.
• Deep knowledge of plug-in formats. Conformal’s wrappers handle the VST3 specifics.