create-kt-plugin/README.md

A template for creating a KT plugins for ExtendScript

![KT Plugin Template Banner](docs/img/banner_plugin_template.jpg)

# Create KT Plugin

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[![License: ISC](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-ISC-blue.svg)](https://opensource.org/licenses/ISC)

A CLI tool for creating KT (KT Framework) plugins for Adobe ExtendScript applications. This template generator creates a structured project with TypeScript support, testing capabilities, and build configurations optimized for Adobe Creative Suite applications.

## 🚀 Quick Start

Create a new KT plugin project instantly:

```bash
npx create-kt-plugin
```

Or install globally:

```bash
npm install -g create-kt-plugin
create-kt-plugin
```

## 📋 What You'll Get

The CLI will prompt you for:

-   **Plugin Name**: The name of your plugin (alphanumeric and hyphens only)
-   **Target Program**: Choose from:
    -   After Effects
    -   ExtendScript (generic)
    -   Photoshop
    -   Premiere Pro
    -   Illustrator
-   **App Version**: Automatically detects available versions for your chosen program
-   **Author**: Your name
-   **Description**: Brief description of your plugin
-   **Install Dependencies**: Whether to automatically install npm dependencies

## 🏗️ Project Structure

The generated project includes:

```
your-plugin-name/
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts           # Main entry point
│   ├── YourPlugin.ts      # Main plugin class
│   └── tests/
│       └── index.test.ts  # Unit tests
├── dist/                  # Compiled output
├── package.json           # Dependencies and scripts
├── tsconfig.json          # TypeScript configuration
├── tsconfig.tests.json    # TypeScript config for tests
├── vite.config.ts         # Vite build configuration
└── vite.es.config.ts      # ExtendScript-specific build config
```

## 🔧 Available Scripts

The generated project comes with these npm scripts:

-   `npm run build` - Build the plugin for production
-   `npm run watch` - Build and watch for changes during development
-   `npm run build-tests` - Build test files
-   `npm run prepublishOnly` - Pre-publish build process
-   `npm run postpublish` - Post-publish cleanup

## 🧪 Testing

The template includes a testing framework with:

-   **kt-testing-suite-ts**: TypeScript testing suite for KT plugins
-   Pre-configured test structure
-   Example tests for your plugin class

Run tests with:

```bash
npm run build-tests
```

## 🛠️ Technology Stack

-   **TypeScript**: Full TypeScript support with proper Adobe types
-   **Vite**: Modern build tool with fast development
-   **KT Core**: KT framework for plugin architecture
-   **types-for-adobe**: Adobe application type definitions
-   **Babel**: JavaScript compilation and transformation
-   **Rollup**: Module bundling

## 📦 Dependencies

### Core Dependencies

-   `kt-core`: KT framework core functionality

### Development Dependencies

-   TypeScript compiler and tooling
-   Vite build system with plugins
-   Adobe types from `types-for-adobe`
-   Testing suite (`kt-testing-suite-core`)
-   Build tools (Babel, Rollup plugins)

## 🎯 Target Applications

This template supports creating plugins for:

-   **After Effects**: Motion graphics and visual effects
-   **Photoshop**: Image editing and manipulation
-   **Premiere Pro**: Video editing
-   **Illustrator**: Vector graphics
-   **Generic ExtendScript**: Cross-application scripts

## 🔍 Features

-   **Interactive CLI**: User-friendly prompts for project setup
-   **TypeScript Support**: Full type safety and IntelliSense
-   **Hot Reload**: Development with watch mode
-   **Testing Framework**: Built-in testing capabilities
-   **Adobe Types**: Automatic inclusion of appropriate Adobe application types
-   **Modern Build Tools**: Vite + Rollup for optimized builds
-   **KT Framework Integration**: Built on the KT plugin architecture

## 📖 Example Usage

After creating your plugin, the basic structure looks like:

```typescript
// src/YourPlugin.ts
export class YourPlugin {
    private name = "YourPlugin";
    private version = "1.0.0";

    constructor() {
        $.writeln("YourPlugin constructor");
    }
}

// src/index.ts
import { KT } from "kt-core";
import { YourPlugin } from "./YourPlugin";

KT.Module("YourPlugin", YourPlugin);
export { YourPlugin };
```

## 🚦 Requirements

-   **Node.js**: Version 14.0.0 or higher
-   **npm**: For package management

## 🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

## 📄 License

This project is licensed under the ISC License.

## 👨‍💻 Author

Miguel de Mendoza

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**Happy coding with KT plugins!** 🎉