Claude AI to build NerdSeq Project Files

[samamason]

Hello World,
I am exploring training Claude to be able to modify and build NerdSeq files for me.  Eventually, I would like this to be a Claude Skill, but we are still in the learning phase.  More than anything, I am posting here to see if anyone else is doing this too - and to try to enlist others to my cause.

My process thus far has been to write into an existing .NRD file.  Make a single change and save.  Take a photo of the screen.  Feed the newly saved .NRD and photo back to Claude - which maps the changed value on screen to the changed bit in the .NRD file.  The more it has learned, the more I have been able to make multiple changes at a time.  I just made my first semi-complex file, and just starting to add FX.  But I have in no way mapped all values or features at this time.  I am breaking the information down into two main markdown files:
1. explaining how a single pattern is structured
2. explaining how a project file is structured

There is a strange checksum value at the end of the show file that is really tripping Claude up as well.  Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

Uploaded here is the .NRD file that I recently made.  It is by no means a musical masterpiece - mainly a demostration of allowing claude to quickly generate a semi-cohesive files based on a few inputs.  Please note this was made using v2.01 firmware.

Markdown files are not support to attach to forum so I changed them to .DOCX files.  I also made a very short "musical context" file for myself which gave a lot of input on how Claude should translate NerdSeq outputs into a musical language, as well as my personal tastes, writing style, preferences, a link to my Modular Grid and much more.  I am not sharing this file directly, mostly because you should build your own! (which I am more than happy to walk anyone through)

Well - please let me know what you all think and if anyone wants to help build weird stuff using Claude.
Onwards!
Sam

[XORadmin]

Hello World,
I am exploring training Claude to be able to modify and build NerdSeq files for me.  Eventually, I would like this to be a Claude Skill, but we are still in the learning phase.  More than anything, I am posting here to see if anyone else is doing this too - and to try to enlist others to my cause.

My process thus far has been to write into an existing .NRD file.  Make a single change and save.  Take a photo of the screen.  Feed the newly saved .NRD and photo back to Claude - which maps the changed value on screen to the changed bit in the .NRD file.  The more it has learned, the more I have been able to make multiple changes at a time.  I just made my first semi-complex file, and just starting to add FX.  But I have in no way mapped all values or features at this time.  I am breaking the information down into two main markdown files:
1. explaining how a single pattern is structured
2. explaining how a project file is structured

There is a strange checksum value at the end of the show file that is really tripping Claude up as well.  Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

Uploaded here is the .NRD file that I recently made.  It is by no means a musical masterpiece - mainly a demostration of allowing claude to quickly generate a semi-cohesive files based on a few inputs.  Please note this was made using v2.01 firmware.

Markdown files are not support to attach to forum so I changed them to .DOCX files.  I also made a very short "musical context" file for myself which gave a lot of input on how Claude should translate NerdSeq outputs into a musical language, as well as my personal tastes, writing style, preferences, a link to my Modular Grid and much more.  I am not sharing this file directly, mostly because you should build your own! (which I am more than happy to walk anyone through)

Well - please let me know what you all think and if anyone wants to help build weird stuff using Claude.
Onwards!
Sam

Ho Sam, 

don't waste your tokens on this (right now). And not because I think you shouldn't do it. I totally understand that any tools which can manipulate your project files outside of the NerdSEQ is appealing. There is an issue with that and that is that it might cause crashes and issues which are hard for me to find or to analyse. In the end the .nrd file is a binary and if you poke in it you might change things that have side effects for the running firmware. The NerdSEQ has been very stable over the years but these are things that might be out of my hands to control. 

I do see the trend of making own tools, hacking firmwares etc of course and I guess it's developers hell and users heaven :-) I don't want to be in the way of that of course and so I did my homework as well:

Rather than trying to reverse engineer the .nrd files (which will change significantly in the upcoming version) let me point you to this which will much more be in the line of what you want to do:
https://tools.xor.eu/jsonio/
I made this tool exactly for this, so anyone can manipulate in the NerdSEQ files in a much more safe way. This tool loads .nrd files and export these as a readable .json file. The same the other way around. I also added a reference which both explains the .json files as well as a reference on how to use it and specials.
These are both formats that you can load into your LLM and do the things you want to do. The import takes care for a proper .nrd file. I might release it also as a commandline tool so one could directly integrate it into their tooling.

One caveat: This is going to be released with the upcoming release (which is due, but I found some last minute bugs which need to be fixed and another proper testing) and valid for the upcoming version V3.03 (and future versions, but not older firmwares. You would need to load and save older firmwares in the nerdseq first). So the tool and reference which is there right now is not exactly what it will be with the release. 

But you can take a look on it and be patient for a few days (really not long anymore from now).

PS: There will be also a reference file for the mappings, next to what is already available.

[samamason]

This is fantastic. The json reference file is very in line with what I was trying to develop - but not bootleg reverse engineered. I will do a bit of re-training on of Claude on the JSON documentation (and I am sure it will have a much simpler time with this!) and excitedly but patiently wait for v3.03

Thank you for supporting and enabling the community of Nerds out here in the wide world to build the music in our strange little minds!