Directory Projects

Proteus CLI can play a directory of nested audio files. This is useful for testing Proteus-style randomized playback without first exporting a .prot file.

prot ./song-project

If the directory contains shuffle_schedule.json, the CLI uses it to build the track layout. If it also contains effects_chain.json, the CLI loads that effects chain unless --effects-json is provided on the command line.

If no shuffle_schedule.json exists, the CLI discovers supported audio files recursively and groups files by their parent directory.

Initialize Project Files

Generate shuffle_schedule.json and effects_chain.json for an existing directory of audio files:

prot init ./song-project

The command writes:

• shuffle_schedule.json, containing the discovered track groups.
• effects_chain.json, containing a disabled default effects chain.

Shuffle Schedule

shuffle_schedule.json may be either a raw array of tracks or an object with a tracks array.

{
  "tracks": [
    {
      "file_paths": ["drums/take-1.wav", "drums/take-2.wav"],
      "level": 1.0,
      "pan": 0.0,
      "selections_count": 1,
      "shuffle_points": []
    }
  ]
}

Relative paths are resolved from the project directory. Absolute paths are accepted. Missing files cause playback setup to fail.

Track Fields

• file_paths lists the candidate audio files for the track.
• level defaults to 1.0.
• pan defaults to 0.0.
• selections_count defaults to 1 and is clamped to at least 1.
• shuffle_points defaults to an empty list.

Effects Chain

Create a default enabled effects chain:

prot create effects-json > effects_chain.json

The init command writes the same effect types with each effect disabled, which makes the file ready for editing without changing playback immediately.