CraftForge

Describe a sound. Get a plugin.

CraftForge is an AI-powered Web Audio plugin generator. Type any effect or sound idea in plain language — CraftForge builds a real, playable Web Audio plugin instantly in the browser.

🔗 Live demo: craftforge.pages.dev

Built by Craft Audio — accessibility-first music technology.

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What it does

You type a prompt like "a warm analog chorus with gentle drift" or "dark tape delay with flutter" — and CraftForge generates:

• A named plugin with a description
• Real Web Audio API DSP code running in the browser
• Interactive parameter sliders (dynamically generated per plugin)
• A live oscilloscope waveform visualizer
• Instant audio playback via a sawtooth test tone

No DAW. No install. No plugins to download. Just a browser.

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Accessibility

CraftForge is built with accessibility as a core principle, not an afterthought:

• Keyboard navigable — all controls reachable via Tab, sliders adjustable via arrow keys
• ARIA labels on all interactive elements (textarea, sliders, buttons, visualizer canvas)
• aria-live region for status updates during plugin generation — screen readers announce progress
• role="alert" on error messages for immediate screen reader announcement
• High contrast color palette — text contrast ratios meet WCAG AA
• Focus-visible styles — clear keyboard focus indicators on all interactive elements
• Semantic HTML — proper use of header, main, footer, button, label
• No motion required — animations are purely decorative and do not affect usability

This project is part of the broader Sonic Inclusion initiative — open-source accessibility tooling for deaf and hard-of-hearing musicians.

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Architecture

Browser (craftforge.pages.dev)
    │
    │  POST /api/generate { prompt }
    ▼
Cloudflare Worker (craftforge-proxy)
    │
    │  POST /v1/messages (API key server-side, never exposed)
    ▼
Anthropic Claude API
    │
    │  JSON plugin spec { name, type, description, parameters, buildFunction }
    ▼
Browser — Web Audio API builds and runs the plugin live

Stack:

• Frontend: Vanilla HTML/CSS/JS — single file, zero dependencies, zero build step
• Proxy: Cloudflare Worker (Edge, free tier)
• AI: Anthropic Claude (claude-sonnet-4-6)
• Deployment: Cloudflare Pages + Cloudflare Workers

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Plugin Spec Format

Claude generates a JSON object with this schema:

{
  "name": "WARM CHORUS",
  "type": "Effect",
  "description": "A lush analog-style chorus with gentle pitch drift.",
  "parameters": [
    { "id": "rate", "name": "Rate", "min": 0.1, "max": 5, "default": 1.2, "unit": "Hz" },
    { "id": "depth", "name": "Depth", "min": 0, "max": 0.01, "default": 0.004, "unit": "" },
    { "id": "mix", "name": "Mix", "min": 0, "max": 1, "default": 0.5, "unit": "" }
  ],
  "buildFunction": "function buildPlugin(ctx, getParam) { ... return { input, output }; }"
}

The buildFunction uses only standard Web Audio API nodes and runs directly in the browser via new Function().

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Self-hosting

1. Clone the repo

git clone https://github.com/indjoov/craftforge.git
cd craftforge

2. Deploy the Cloudflare Worker

npm install -g wrangler
wrangler login
cd worker
wrangler deploy

3. Set your Anthropic API key as a secret

wrangler secret put ANTHROPIC_API_KEY

4. Update the Worker URL in index.html

const WORKER_URL = "https://craftforge-proxy.YOUR_SUBDOMAIN.workers.dev/api/generate";

5. Deploy the frontend to Cloudflare Pages

Upload the site/ folder via the Cloudflare Pages dashboard or connect your GitHub repo for automatic deployments.

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Rate limiting

The Cloudflare Worker includes basic in-memory rate limiting (10 requests/hour per IP). For production use, replace with Cloudflare KV-based rate limiting for persistence across Worker instances.

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Roadmap

• Preset saving and sharing (URL-encoded plugin specs)
• VST3 export via JUCE template system
• Mobile haptic feedback on parameter changes (Vibration API)
• Screen reader mode with audio descriptions of waveform shape
• MIDI input support for testing plugins with real instruments
• Expanded DSP template library (convolution reverb, granular, spectral)

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Part of the Craft Audio ecosystem

Tool	Description
PitchCraft	Accessible pitch detection
DrumCraft	Accessible drum machine
SynthCraft	Accessible synthesizer
ResoCraft	Dynamic resonance suppressor
CraftLimit	Accessible limiter (Web + VST3)
CraftForge	AI plugin generator ← you are here

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License

MIT — free to use, modify, and deploy.

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About

Built by Niki Indjov — Berlin-based musician and audio software developer. Craft Audio focuses on accessible music technology tools for deaf and hard-of-hearing musicians.

• craftforge.pages.dev
• craft-audio.com
• indjoov.com