ClipCC is a graphical programming suite designed for creating custom applications and workflows through visual programming. It enables users to design, test, and deploy solutions without extensive coding knowledge by leveraging its intuitive interface.
Key Features:
Cross-platform compatibility, supporting Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Visual programming interface with drag-and-drop functionality.
Support for multiple programming languages and integration with external hardware.
Collaboration tools for teams to work on projects together.
Extensive library of pre-built modules and templates.
Audience & Benefit:
Ideal for developers, educators, and students seeking a versatile tool to streamline application creation. ClipCC empowers users to build complex systems efficiently while fostering innovation in both professional and educational settings. It can be installed via winget for easy setup on supported platforms.
Make sure the app works, the diffs look reasonable, etc.
git commit -m "bump clipcc-gui to scratch-desktop-v3.999.0"
npm version 3.999.0
git push
git push --tags
Wait for the CI build and collect the release from the build artifacts
A note about clipcc-gui
Eventually, the scratch-desktop branch of the Scratch GUI repository will be merged with that repository's main
development line. For now, though, the branch holds a few changes that are necessary for the Scratch
app to function correctly but are not yet merged into the main development branch. If you only intend to build or work
on the repository then you can ignore this, but if you intend to work on as well, make
sure you use the branch there.
Previously it was necessary to explicitly build clipcc-gui before building scratch-desktop. This is no longer
necessary and the related build scripts, such as build-gui, have been removed.
Prepare media library assets
In the scratch-desktop directory, run npm run fetch. Re-run this any time you update clipcc-gui or make any
other changes which might affect the media libraries.
Run in development mode
npm start
Make a packaged build
npm run dist
Node that on macOS this will require installing various certificates.
Signing the NSIS installer (Windows, non-store)
This section is relevant only to members of the Scratch Team.
By default all Windows installers are unsigned. An APPX package for the Microsoft Store shouldn't be signed: it will
be signed automatically as part of the store submission process. On the other hand, the non-Store NSIS installer
should be signed.
To generate a signed NSIS installer:
Acquire our latest digital signing certificate and save it on your computer as a p12 file.
Set WIN_CSC_LINK to the path to your certificate file. For maximum compatibility I use forward slashes.
CMD: set WIN_CSC_LINK=C:/Users/You/Somewhere/Certificate.p12
Build the NSIS installer only: building the APPX installer will fail if these environment variables are set.
npm run dist -- -w nsis
Workaround for code signing issue in macOS
Sometimes the macOS build process will result in a build which crashes on startup. If this happens, check in Console
for an entry similar to this:
failed to parse entitlements for Scratch[12345]: OSUnserializeXML: syntax error near line 1
This appears to be an issue with codesign itself. Rebooting your computer and trying to build again might help. Yes,
really.
See this issue for more detail:
Make a semi-packaged build
This will simulate a packaged build without actually packaging it: instead the files will be copied to a subdirectory
of dist.
npm run dist:dir
Debugging
You can debug the renderer process by opening the Chromium development console. This should be the same keyboard
shortcut as Chrome on your platform. This won't work on a packaged build.
You can debug the main process the same way as any Node.js process. I like to use Visual Studio Code with a
configuration like this:
"launch": {
"version": "0.2.0",
"configurations": [
{
"name": "Desktop",
"type": "node",
"request": "launch",
"cwd": "${workspaceFolder:scratch-desktop}",
"runtimeExecutable": "npm",
"autoAttachChildProcesses": true,
"runtimeArgs": ["start", "--"],
"protocol": "inspector",
"skipFiles": [
// it seems like skipFiles only reliably works with 1 entry :(
//"/**",
"${workspaceFolder:scratch-desktop}/node_modules/electron/dist/resources/*.asar/**"
],
"sourceMaps": true,
"timeout": 30000,
"outputCapture": "std"
}
]
},
Resetting the Telemetry System
This application includes a telemetry system which is only active if the user opts in. When testing this system, it's
sometimes helpful to reset it by deleting the telemetry.json file.
The location of this file depends on your operating system and whether or not you're running a packaged build. Running
from npm start or equivalent is a non-packaged build.
In addition, macOS may store the file in one of two places depending on the OS version and a few other variables. If
in doubt, I recommend removing both.