Learning path

A route through JUCE in six stages, each pairing a concept page with a real example from examples/ and a small exercise. Each stage builds on the one before, so work through them in order.

Setup once

cd /path/to/JUCE
cmake . -B cmake-build -DJUCE_BUILD_EXAMPLES=ON -DJUCE_BUILD_EXTRAS=ON
cmake --build cmake-build --target DemoRunner

The DemoRunner app lets you browse and run the bundled demos, with their source alongside.^[1] On Linux, install the packages in docs/Linux Dependencies.md first.

1. Foundations: juce_core and juce_events

• Read: Core concepts → Strings, Ownership
• Study: examples/Utilities/XMLandJSONDemo.h, TimersAndEventsDemo.h, MultithreadingDemo.h
• Build: start from examples/CMake/ConsoleApp. Write a tool that lists every .wav file in a folder (File::findChildFiles) and prints the results as JSON.

2. Components and drawing

• Read: Core concepts → Components, Architecture → How the GUI reaches your code
• Study: examples/GUI/HelloWorldDemo.h, GraphicsDemo.h, FlexBoxDemo.h, LookAndFeelDemo.h
• Build: start from examples/CMake/GuiApp. Make a window with three sliders laid out with FlexBox, and a custom-painted rotary knob using your own LookAndFeel_V4 subclass.

3. State

• Read: Core concepts → State, Listeners
• Study: examples/Utilities/ValueTreesDemo.h
• Build: store your slider values from stage 2 in a ValueTree with an UndoManager. Add undo and redo buttons, and save and load the tree as XML.

4. Real-time audio

• Read: Architecture → How audio reaches your code, Core concepts → Threads
• Study: examples/Audio/AudioAppDemo.h, AudioSettingsDemo.h, AudioPlaybackDemo.h, SimpleFFTDemo.h
• Build: use an AudioAppComponent to generate a sine wave whose frequency is set by a slider. Use a std::atomic<float> and SmoothedValue, then add a level meter fed by a Timer. Deliberately allocate in the callback once, and listen for glitches.

5. DSP

• Read: Modules → juce_dsp
• Study: examples/DSP/GainDemo.h, IIRFilterDemo.h, OverdriveDemo.h, ConvolutionDemo.h
• Build: make a dsp::ProcessorChain of gain, filter, and waveshaper, and process your sine through it.

6. Plug-ins

• Read: Anatomy of a plug-in
• Study: examples/Plugins/GainPluginDemo.h, then AudioPluginDemo.h, DSPModulePluginDemo.h, and WebViewPluginDemo.h
• Build: start from examples/CMake/AudioPlugin. Port your stage-5 chain into a plug-in with an APVTS and slider attachments. Build the VST3 and Standalone targets, and test in extras/AudioPluginHost.

Going further

• Hosting: examples/Plugins/HostPluginDemo.h and the AudioPluginHost source (extras/AudioPluginHost)
• MIDI 2.0: examples/Audio/UmpDemo.h, CapabilityInquiryDemo.h
• OpenGL and animation: examples/GUI/OpenGLDemo.h, AnimatorsDemo.h
• Read the source: when a class confuses you, open its header. The Doxygen comments are the real documentation, and the jasserts show intended use.

How to grow this site as you learn

Each stage is a chance to add to these docs:

• Add every new term you meet to the glossary.
• When a diagram clarifies something, add a Mermaid block to the relevant page.
• Keep a "gotchas" section on each page for the mistakes you actually made.

Sources

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1. Build commands from README.md; demos and CMake starting points are in examples/. Every example path on this page was checked against the repository at JUCE 9.0.3, so re-check after upgrading. The exercises are this site's own suggestions. ↩︎