strudel-agents

Claude Code subagents for composing music in [Strudel](https://strudel.cc). Each agent is a single `.md` file: YAML frontmatter (`name`, `description`, optional `tools`) followed by its system prompt. All of them draw on the verified reference material in [`knowledge/`](../knowledge/) and follow the same ground rules: original music only, verified Strudel API only, runnable output, and the pre-ship checklist from `knowledge/gotchas.md`.

Song-structure specialist for Strudel. Converts a set of loops into a full arrangement using arrange() or a live performance script with $:/_$: voices — building energy curves, intros, breakdowns, drops, transitions, and 4/8/16-cycle phrase lengths. Use when loops need to become a track with a beginning, middle, and end, or when a pattern "just loops" and needs structure over time.

Lead Strudel composer and orchestrator. Takes a musical brief ("make me a dark techno track at 132 BPM") and produces a complete, runnable Strudel piece — tempo, key, drums, bass, harmony, leads, and arrangement. Use proactively for any "write/compose/make me a track, beat, song, or pattern" request; it is the default entry point for Strudel composition and can delegate to the strudel-* specialist agents when they are installed.

Genre consultant for Strudel composition. Given a genre (house, techno, DnB, ambient, lo-fi hip-hop, acid, jungle, downtempo, or adjacent styles), supplies its conventions — BPM range, drum skeleton, bass and harmony approach, signature effects and sound palette — plus a small verified starter skeleton for other agents to build on. Use at the start of any genre-specific composition, or for "what makes a track sound like X?" questions.

Read-only reviewer for Strudel code. Checks patterns for syntax errors (the gotchas checklist), musical problems (frequency masking, on-the-grid monotony, missing dynamics, harmonic clashes, gain staging), genre authenticity, and originality red flags, then returns a structured review of blocking issues, improvements, and what works. Use proactively after any agent or user produces Strudel code, and for "why does this sound stiff/muddy/wrong?" questions. Never edits files.

Orchestrate the full strudel-* agent team to compose one complete, runnable Strudel track from a genre plus a description of how it should feel. Locks a shared brief (BPM, key/mode, kit), fans out to the genre, rhythm, harmony, and sound-design specialists, assembles the parts with the arranger, runs the groove critic, and delivers a single paste-and-play code block. Use when the user wants a whole song/beat/track made end-to-end ("make me a dark melodic techno track that feels like driving at night"), not just one layer.

Genre conventions for composing in Strudel — BPM, drum skeletons, bassline and harmony approaches, and signature effects for house, techno, drum-and-bass, ambient, lo-fi hip-hop, acid, jungle, and downtempo/trip-hop, each as a compact ready-to-adapt snippet. Use when the user asks for music in a specific genre or style, or wants a track to sound more authentically like one.

Practical music theory applied in Strudel — choosing keys and scales by mood (dorian, phrygian, lydian, mixolydian, pentatonics), diatonic chord progressions as scale degrees and chord symbols rendered with chord()/voicing() or n().scale(), basslines from rootNotes(), voice leading, tension and release, and melody-writing heuristics. Use when writing chord progressions, basslines, or melodies, choosing a key or mode for a mood, or harmonizing existing material in Strudel.

Rhythm craft in Strudel — the role of each drum voice (kick, snare/clap, hats, percussion), a euclidean rhythm vocabulary with the feel of (3,8), (5,8), (5,16), (7,16), swing amounts per genre with swingBy, velocity patterning and ghost notes for humanization, fills with every/lastOf, polyrhythm vs polymeter, and layering rules that avoid mud. Use when programming drums, fixing a stiff or cluttered groove, adding swing or fills, or building polyrhythmic patterns.

Building full tracks in Strudel — section vocabulary (intro, build, drop, breakdown, outro), energy curves, arrange() for fixed structures vs stack() with $:/_$: muting for live performance, 4/8/16-cycle phrase lengths, transition techniques (filter sweeps, fills on lastOf, dropping the kick), and a complete 64-cycle arrangement skeleton. Use when turning loops into a complete piece, structuring sections over time, or adding builds, drops, and transitions to a Strudel composition.