Hey evvvveryone,
I put together a first shot on skills that teach AI coding assistants how to write proper C# code for vvvv gamma. If you ask plain Claude, Cursor, Copilot, Codex, or similar tools to write code for vvvv, they often get it wrong on the first try. These skills should help with that:
What is this?
“Agent Skills” is an open standard that works across all major AI coding tools. They are like cheat sheets that your AI assistant loads automatically when it notices you’re working on a vvvv project. So you don’t need to paste documentation, or constantly ask to look things up on the internet in the chat, or explain conventions every time you start a new conversation.
What’s in there (v1.1)
14 skills covering the core areas:
- vvvv-fundamentals: execution model, data types, core concepts
- vvvv-custom-nodes: ProcessNode, Update(), pin conventions, change detection
- vvvv-spreads: Spread<T>, SpreadBuilder, iteration, Span conversion
- vvvv-shaders: SDSL syntax, TextureFX, ShaderFX, compute shaders, mixins
- vvvv-dotnet: .NET integration, NuGet, .csproj setup, vector types
- vvvv-channels: IChannelHub, [CanBePublished], subscriptions, bang channels
- vvvv-patching: dataflow patterns, regions, patch organization
- vvvv-node-libraries: library setup, AssemblyInitializer, node factories
- vvvv-editor-extensions: .HDE.vl file, keyboard shortcuts, hovered/selected node
- vvvv-fileformat: VL file format (.vl), element hierarchy, programmatic generation
- vvvv-troubleshooting: common errors and how to fix them
- vvvv-startup: CLI arguments, package repositories, filesystem paths
- vvvv-debugging: VS Code launch.json setup, source vs DLL build modes
- vvvv-testing: VL.TestFramework, test nodes, agent-driven testing
How to install
If you have Node.js installed, open a terminal and run:
npx skills add tebjan/vvvv-skills
The installer finds which AI tools you have (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, etc.) and sets up the skills for all of them.
If you don’t have Node.js and use Claude Code, you can also download or clone the repo manually and place it into the correct folder (should work for all agents):
git clone https://github.com/tebjan/vvvv-skills %TEMP%\vvvv-skills
xcopy /E /I %TEMP%\vvvv-skills\skills\* %USERPROFILE%\.claude\skills\
You can also place them in project-specific folders, such as MyProject\.claude\skills\*, if you don’t want them installed globally.
How to use
Once the skills are installed, you shouldn’t need to do anything differently. Work on your vvvv project and talk to your AI assistant like you normally would. The skills should activate automatically when the AI notices the conversation is about vvvv. In Claude Code, you can also type /vvvv-shaders or /vvvv-custom-nodes, etc., to load a specific skill manually.
Some example prompts that should give you better results now:
- “Create a ProcessNode that finds gestures from a real-time Skeleton input.”
- “Write a TextureFX shader that applies a color LUT”
- “Set up a new node library with NuGet packaging with vvvv conventions”
- “Help me batch-process data with Spread<T> and SpreadBuilder”
- “Create a node that publishes its parameters as public channels”
With the skills installed, the AI should follow vvvv conventions.
v1, lots still missing, help wanted
This is a first version. It covers the basics so that AI agents can produce correct nodes and shaders, but there’s room for improvement. If you develop C# nodes or shaders for vvvv and notice things the AI still gets wrong, or conventions that are missing, I’d be happy if you join the project and improve details, make things more precise/shorter, and add new skills.
Contributing guide: GitHub - tebjan/vvvv-skills: Skills to help AI Agents master the vvvv gamma ecosystem · GitHub
Further Links
- Agent Skills standard: https://agentskills.io
- Skills directory: https://skills.sh
Ideally, this will grow and improve over time and later be transferred to the official vvvv GitHub and then be available under npx skills add vvvv/skills. Let’s see how it goes.
Cheers!