Resources.md

VirtualDJ Resources

Useful source links for maintaining this repo's VirtualDJ skin, pad, effect, and scripting notes.

Source Policy

• Prefer current VirtualDJ manual and VDJPedia pages for syntax and supported behavior.
• Treat VirtualDJ forum posts as official only when the answer is from VirtualDJ staff, Development Manager, CTO, or Support staff.
• Treat Adion/CTO posts as high-authority implementation notes for scripting, audio-engine, and feature-behavior questions. VirtualDJ forum badges identify Adion as CTO, and Atomix's press archive confirms Atomix Productions acquired AdionSoft in 2011.
• Treat community skins, forum replies, Reddit posts, and GitHub snippets as examples to verify locally, not as authority.
• Treat working public skins as valuable provenance for discovery and searchability; record the exact skin, path, and line references before inferring semantics.
• Keep local conclusions labeled as Inference when they combine official docs with repo testing.

Official Documentation

• VirtualDJ Manual - Current user manual.
• VDJPedia - Wiki-style documentation and SDK pages.
• Developer SDK - Entry point for skin, plugin, controller, and tool development.
• Skin SDK - Official skin package and element overview.
• Skin Browser - <browser> element reference.
• Custom Browser - Official decomposition of the default browser into custom skin elements.
• Split Panel - <split> layout panels.
• Skin Element Properties - Common element attributes including visibility="", os="", and panel="".
• Skin Button - Button actions, mouse handlers, and state graphics.
• Skin Define - Class definitions, placeholders, class decks, and color defines.
• Skin SDK Dropzone - Drag/drop target element.
• Skin Panel - Query-driven and named panels.
• Skin Default Colors - Static and dynamic color handling.
• Skin SDK Visual - Dynamic visuals, including color visuals.
• VDJScript - Language overview.
• VDJScript Verbs - Current verb reference.
• VDJScript Examples - Official example scripts.
• Deck Effects Manual - Current deck FX layouts, including FX x6, stems FX, and effect-list behavior.
• Options List - Settings/options appendix.
• Lyrics Editor - AI-generated lyric editing, re-analysis, and censoring UI.
• Stems Help - Official stems overview, stem controls, preparation behavior, and five-stem terminology.
• VDJPedia Lists - XML list and virtual folder structure for VirtualDJ 2024 and onwards.
• Native Effects - Built-in effect reference.
• Pads Manual - Pad pages and pad behavior.
• Sampler Manual - Sampler sideview, banks, pages, and drag/drop behavior.
• How to Install Plugins and Addons - Official support article for extensions.
• Network Control Plugin - Official page for the HTTP control interface (/query//execute, bearer auth, install/config). Discovered via GET / on the running interface; see HTTP Control Interface.md.

Official Forums And Staff Guidance

• VirtualDJ Skins forum - Best place to search for skin engine behavior, staff clarifications, and examples.
• VirtualDJ Technical Support forum - Good for scripting, browser, sampler, and effect behavior questions.
• Atomix Productions acquires AdionSoft - Atomix press archive context for why Adion/CTO forum replies are treated as close implementation authority.
• VirtualDJ 2020 - Additions in Skin Engine - Staff-maintained thread for skin engine additions.
• Plugin interface Type VDJINTERFACE_SKIN and new additions in skin engine - Senior staff clarification that condition is evaluated on skin load/reload, while visibility / panel visible update dynamically.
• Asking for a skin development advice - Staff guidance on choosing condition for infrequent structural choices versus visible for performance-time switching.
• Lightweight skin design rules? - Moderator guidance on reducing repeated visibility predicates and using conditions for load-time structure.
• How can one set both, Visibility and Transparency of a skin button - Staff note that visibility="" can be boolean or numeric opacity, with constant needed in ternaries that return numbers.
• Border Color using placeholder - Staff clarification that dynamic button border colors are not supported.
• Skin text action; visibility or visual? - Staff guidance for dynamic skin text color.
• On the use of colour defines - Staff clarification that defined skin colors work in direct color fields but not inside VDJScript color actions.
• effect_colorfx & effect_stems_color ? - Staff discussion of extra ColorFX controls.
• BUILD 7403 - Multiple stems fx can be used at the same time? - Adion/CTO guidance that stem FX targets can be treated as separate slots for effect_* actions.
• Default filter and color fx filter - Staff guidance on filter and ColorFX behavior.
• Aditional xml for Skins - Staff/forum context for runtime XML includes versus build-time composition.
• Virtual DJ 2026 - Staff launch-thread guidance on AI lyrics, prepared stems, re-analysis, and long-track limits.
• How Lyrics are analyzed??? - Staff explanation of lyric audio signatures, stems requirement, server cache, and local edits.
• Lyrics issues with stems VDJ 2026 - Early lyric/stems behavior reports and censor matching discussion.
• Stems 2.0 - Forum guidance around the Stems 2.0 requirement message for lyric extraction.
• Where can I find the database.xml file on MacOS? - CTO reply plus user-confirmed macOS database.xml path under ~/Library/Application Support/VirtualDJ.
• Machine specific settings.xml and licence.dat? - Staff explanation of the VirtualDJ home folder, master database, and per-drive local databases.
• XML Variables in Skin and Database - Staff clarification that local and global variables are separate names, and global variables must be queried with the $ prefix.
• Sending MIDI CC Commands - Staff clarification that device definitions do not evaluate VDJScript; dynamic behavior belongs in mapper actions.
• Script/Param/Variable Maths - Adion/CTO clarification that pitch accepts beats parameters such as pitch 128bt to match a target BPM, plus a moderator example using param_multiply and param_cast 'beats'.
• Bug in Instant Filters > Has Lyrics - Forum workaround for "Has Lyrics" filter state matching.
• Undocumented scripts - Staff clarification of old effect X active and var 'name' X syntax.
• VDJ Script Verbs update - Staff clarification that skins and controllers share verbs, with the in-app editor as a discovery source.
• Where can I find a VDJ script reference? - Staff/community discussion of VDJScript's intentionally concise reference style and debugging approaches.
• How to map specific Fx? - Moderator examples for padfx ... 'stemfx:vocal' and effect_show_gui vocals echo.
• Legacy Echo's Name? - Community/staff troubleshooting examples for stem-slot effect sliders and effect-name ambiguity.
• Mix Assist in other skins - Staff/community context for Mix FX, including the crossfader-linked effect behavior.
• Saving 'PluginPage' Settings between sessions - Community/moderator Mix FX scripting examples, including effect_mixfx_select, effect_mixfx_activate, and indirect param_equal query patterns.
• How to find the scripts behind a skin? - Forum thread identifying the Mix FX verb family used by skins.
• DDJ-FLX2 Advanced Setup - Official hardware manual note that Mix FX can be selected from Starter/Essentials skins or assigned with effect_mixfx_select.
• DDJ-REV5 Effects - Official hardware manual language for six VirtualDJ FX slots and selecting multiple slots.
• DJM-S5 Effects - Official hardware manual language for the 6 FX Slots layout and bank controls.

Community And Unofficial Sources

• VirtualDJ Extensions - Officially hosted but community-contributed skins, effects, pads, samples, and mappings. Useful for studying patterns; verify syntax before copying.
• set local variable on init - Community/moderator discussion of setting local variables during controller init and why numbered decks are safer than logical deck left for this job.
• VirtualDJ Skins forum, non-staff posts - Useful examples and troubleshooting, but source-label as Community unless staff confirms the behavior.
• r/virtualdj - Broad community troubleshooting. Useful for symptoms and user workflows, low authority for SDK details.
• GitHub code search: VirtualDJ skin XML - Occasional public examples and tooling. Check licenses and verify against current official docs.
• Matroska Stem Files Internet-Draft - External container-format context for multi-track stem files.

Local Repo References

• VirtualDJ Reference - Source-backed overview and preferred local patterns.
• Lyrics AI and Skins - AI lyrics, skin styling surface, filters, and useful script quirks.
• Application Internals - Low-level macOS paths, file formats, databases, stem sidecars, and shell examples.
• Skin SDK - Local skin SDK reference.
• Built-in skins - App-bundle skin XML and assets used as semi-official executable examples.
• VDJScript Verbs - Curated verb notes.
• Official VDJScript Coverage Audit - Names-only comparison against the live official VDJScript appendix.
• Built-in pad pages - App-bundle pads_*.xml copies used as semi-official executable examples.
• Published Skin Findings - Provenance log for commands and patterns mined from working public skins.
• Filter Syntax - Browser filter notes.
• Example Skin XML Objects - Local skin XML examples.
• GraveRaver build demo - Minimal XInclude source tree for the build workflow; not a polished skin reference.
• GraveRaver build file - Build-time XInclude workflow.
• ModularSkeleton build skin - Minimal modular skin scaffold output.