Extension project templates

Copy these into a new extension when scaffolding by hand. The recommended path is still the official creator — it fills in .env, vendors the SDK/CLI tarballs, and avoids version-mismatch mistakes:

mkdir my-extension && cd my-extension
npx file:/path/to/sdk/ableton-create-extension-<version>.tgz

Use these templates when the creator isn't available, when adding files to an existing project, or as a reference for what each file should contain.

File	Purpose
manifest.json	Metadata Live + the CLI read: name, author, version, entry (the bundle), minimumApiVersion.
package.json	Scripts (start/build/build:dev/package) and deps. Fix the SDK/CLI tarball paths and versions to match your SDK download.
build.ts	esbuild bundler → single dist/extension.js. Includes the .html text loader so webview imports work.
tsconfig.json	Strict TS config matching the SDK examples.
src/extension.ts	Starter entry point: activate → initialize, one command + context-menu action.
src/html.d.ts	Lets TS accept import html from "./x.html" (needed for webviews).
src/interface.html	Live-themed modal webview boilerplate (form + OK/Cancel + host messaging). Omit if you have no UI.
.env.example	Copy to .env; set EXTENSION_HOST_PATH to your Live install so npm start can connect.
.gitignore	Ignores node_modules/ and dist/.

After copying

1. npm install
2. Enable Preferences → Extensions → Developer Mode in the Live Beta.
3. Set EXTENSION_HOST_PATH in .env (or pass --live <path> to npm start).
4. npm start

Notes

• The host does not resolve node_modules at runtime — everything must be bundled into the one file named by manifest.json's entry.
• npm run package builds for production then emits a .ablx users install by dropping it on Live's Extensions settings page.
• No UI? Delete src/interface.html and src/html.d.ts (the .html loader in build.ts is then just unused, which is harmless).
• Storage/temp dirs in dev: Live provides and creates environment.storageDirectory/tempDirectory, but extensions-cli run does not. The start script passes --storage-directory .dev/storage --temp-directory .dev/temp (gitignored) so npm start has them; your code must still fs.mkdir(dir, { recursive: true }) before writing, and guard the undefined case. This is harmless in production, where Live supplies the dirs.