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Windows generic-editor workflow

Install and scan

  1. Close the DAW.

  2. Copy MicroPythonVST3.vst3 to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Common\VST3 for the current user, or %COMMONPROGRAMFILES%\VST3 for all users.

  3. Run the scanner once, from Contents\\x86_64-win inside the installed bundle, so the DAW can see the library:

    micropython-vst-engine.exe scan_plugins.py --write

    It writes Contents/Resources/moduleinfo.json, which is both what the host reads to list the plug-ins and what the plug-in reads to know which ones it offers. The scanner needs nothing installed - it is the engine itself, reading what each library module declares about itself. Run it again after adding or editing a script.

  4. Start the DAW and request a VST3 rescan.

  5. Insert any of them - TR-808, Minimoog, Tape Delay - and open its editor, or use the host's generic parameter editor. MicroPython Script Host runs whatever script MPVST_SCRIPT_PATH points at, which is the loop for developing one that is not in the library yet.

The plug-in has an editor of its own: a patch selector, a Reload button, a Bypass switch, an engine-status light, and a slider per macro, labelled with whatever names the script declares. Click a control to focus it, then scroll or swipe - sideways adjusts the focused control, up and down moves between them. A drag or a burst of scrolling is recorded as one automation edit.

The same parameters are all there in the host's generic editor: Bypass, Reload Script, Patch, and Macro 01 through Macro 16 (or the script's labels). Engine Ready and integer Engine Error are read-only status controls; error 1 means script load failed and error 2 means rendering failed. A script that leaves the panel unable to build shows "Editor unavailable" and keeps playing.

Develop a script

Set MPVST_SCRIPT_PATH to an absolute .py file before starting the DAW. Each new plug-in instance reads that source. To reload an existing instance, toggle Reload Script off and then on. Syntax and runtime errors silence the graph but leave the sidecar alive so a corrected script can be reloaded. The host output uses a short fade-out, pipeline hold, and fade-in around reload to avoid a discontinuity at the graph boundary.

A script declares its macros with a module-level tuple, the same name a library module or an effect class uses. This is the declaration, not a label for something that exists anyway: without it the script has no macros and the editor draws none. It does not alter automation IDs.

MACRO_LABELS = ("Gain", "Tone", "Attack", "Release")

When the DAW saves a project, state v2 embeds the script source, macro values, and engine pipeline setting. The project therefore reopens after the original development file is moved or deleted. Embedded source is limited to 1 MiB.

Security model

MicroPython scripts run with unrestricted desktop-process capabilities in a separate process for each plug-in instance. They can access files, networking, FFI, sockets, and TLS with the permissions of the DAW user. Only load projects and scripts you trust. This is process isolation for stability, not a security sandbox.

Uninstall

Close the DAW, remove the installed MicroPythonVST3.vst3 bundle, then rescan VST3 plug-ins. Project files remain untouched.