screenshot
skillTake a screenshot of the plugin UI using the standalone app CLI for debugging and documentation
apm::install
apm install @iplug2/screenshotapm::skill.md
---
name: screenshot
description: Take a screenshot of the plugin UI using the standalone app CLI for debugging and documentation
---
# Screenshot Plugin UI
Use this skill to capture screenshots of the plugin UI. This is useful for:
- **Debugging UI design** - Quickly verify control layouts, colors, and positioning without launching a DAW
- **Documentation** - Generate consistent screenshots for README files and wikis
- **CI/CD pipelines** - Automated visual regression testing or asset generation
## Prerequisites
Build the standalone app (APP target) first:
```bash
cd [ProjectFolder]
xcodebuild -project "./projects/[ProjectName]-macOS.xcodeproj" -target APP -configuration Debug
```
The app will be built to `~/Applications/[PluginName].app`
## Take Screenshot
### macOS
```bash
~/Applications/[PluginName].app/Contents/MacOS/[PluginName] --screenshot /path/to/output.png
```
### Example
```bash
# Take screenshot of IPlugEffect
~/Applications/IPlugEffect.app/Contents/MacOS/IPlugEffect --screenshot ./screenshot.png
```
The app will:
1. Launch and display the UI (audio/MIDI I/O is automatically disabled)
2. Wait ~500ms for the UI to fully render
3. Capture the window to a PNG file
4. Exit automatically
## Options
- `--screenshot <path>` - Path to save the PNG screenshot (required)
- `--no-io` - Explicitly disable audio/MIDI (implicit when using --screenshot)
## Tips
- Screenshots are high-DPI (Retina) resolution on supported displays
- The screenshot captures the plugin content area
- For iterative UI debugging, rebuild the APP target and re-run the screenshot command
- Combine with the `build` skill: build first, then screenshot