Aphelion SDK

Editor SDK API reference

Import these symbols from aphelion_sdk.editor. See authoring, audio, widgets and extensions for complete examples. The product namespace is lazy; resolving runtime node classes requires the editor runtime. Type declarations are included in the SDK.

Plugin bases

Class	Contract
`NodePlugin`	Define `setup_input_outputs()` and `evaluate(frame_num)`
`VideoEffectPlugin`	Default frame effect; override `process_frame(frame, frame_num)`
`AudioNodePlugin`	General node base with audio identity
`AudioEffectPlugin`	Override `process_audio(audio, frame_num)`; preserve rate and shape
`EditorExtension`	Attach `widgets` and `commands`; no graph node
`Plugin`	Shared identity metadata; prefer a concrete product base above
`EditorCommand(command_id, title, callback, shortcut="")`	Extension menu command; callback receives a WidgetHost

Node bases support setup_effect_properties() and optional build_property_panel(host) / build_property_qt_widget(parent, host). General node bases supply no default sockets. Video effects supply frame sockets and enabled/mix (0 to 100); audio effects supply audio sockets and enabled/mix (0 to 1).

Data and sockets

Symbol	Contract
`Frame`	NumPy ndarray; RGB `(H, W, 3)`, float32, nominal 0 to 1
`ColorRgb`	Three integer channels from 0 to 255
`AudioData(samples, sample_rate)`	float32 mono `(N,)` or multichannel `(N, C)` buffer
`FrameWithAudio(frame, audio)`	Frame and optional AudioData
`NodeSocketType`	Frame, Mask, Number, Color, Audio, Any, legacy Node
`NodeValue`	Payload or output-name-to-payload dictionary; supports missing payloads
`NodePropertyInputType`	Host property control discriminator

Node methods include add_input(name, socket_type), add_output(name, socket_type), get_input_value(slot), input_frame(slot="frame"), input_audio(slot="audio"), input_frame_with_audio(slot="frame"), input_number(slot, default=0.0) and blank_frame(). Multiple outputs must be keyed by their declared socket names.

Property builders

Pass a builder's result to self.set_property(key, property) during setup. All builders accept keyword-only label, description="", group="General" and priority=100. Lower priorities sort first.

Builder	Additional arguments / behavior
`slider_property(value, minimum, maximum, *, label, ...)`	Integer slider; `suffix=""`
`number_property(value, minimum, maximum, *, label, ...)`	Numeric field; `suffix=""`
`toggle_property(value, *, label, ...)`	Boolean checkbox
`text_property(value, *, label, ...)`	Text field
`color_property(value, *, label, ...)`	RGB swatch
`choice_property(value, *, label, ...)`	An Enum member determines choices
`custom_property(value, *, widget_id, label, ...)`	Persisted JSON-serializable value and a dialog button
`PluginProperty`	Property handle type; prefer builders

Use float_value, int_value, bool_value, string_value, color_value and enum_value to read evaluated values. expose_modulation_input(key) adds an in_<key> Number input for a numeric parameter. See property examples.

Widgets

Class	Contract
`InspectorWidget`	Inline properties-page section
`PanelWidget`	Dockable editor panel
`DialogWidget`	Modal or modeless window; `on_accept(view, host)`, `on_reject(view, host)`
`PluginWidget`	Base for attached UI surfaces
`WidgetView`	Host primitive controls; full method table
`WidgetHost`	Bound properties, window creation and graph operations
`WidgetContext`	`plugin_key`, `node_id`, `property_key`, `project_name`
`coerce_qt_parent(parent)`	Convert a host parent to a QWidget-compatible parent
`is_qt_widget(value)`	Check whether a value is a PyQt6 QWidget

Attached widgets implement build_view(host) or build_qt_widget(parent, host). A valid native QWidget takes priority over the primitive view. on_dispose(host) handles resource cleanup on destruction.

WidgetHost

Method	Contract
`create_view()`	Empty host-owned WidgetView
`context()`	Binding metadata
`qt_parent()`	Host Qt parent object
`open_dialog(widget_id)`	True when shown; resolves within the owning plugin
`get_property_value(key)`	Detached bound-node property value, or None
`set_property_value(key, value)`	Undoable write; missing bound nodes/keys are ignored
`available_nodes()`	Registered `(category, name)` pairs
`list_nodes()`	Current project node ids
`create_node(category, name, *, x=0, y=0)`	Create registered type and return its id
`remove_node(node_id)`	Undoable removal, returning bool
`connect_nodes(output_node_id, output_slot, input_node_id, input_slot)`	Undoable connection, returning bool
`get_node_property(node_id, key)`	Detached value; missing identifiers raise KeyError
`set_node_property(node_id, key, value)`	Undoable write; missing identifiers raise KeyError
`set_node_properties(node_id, values, label="Plugin properties")`	Atomic property batch in one undo step; bool

Host methods must run on the UI thread. Context does not imply a selected node for docks, commands or menu-opened dialogs. See graph automation.

Discovery and compatibility

Symbol	Purpose
`register_plugin`	Decorator for node/extension classes, not widget classes
`get_registered_plugins()`	Snapshot of decorated classes
`discover_installed_plugins()`	Both `aphelion.editor.plugins` and legacy `aphelion.plugins` entry points
`clear_registered_plugins()`	Host reload helper; plugin code should not clear other registrations
`PRODUCT_ID`	`"editor"`
`API_VERSION`	`1`
`__version__`	SDK distribution version, distinct from API_VERSION

Product metadata defaults to plugin_product = "editor" and plugin_api_version = 1. The editor filters incompatible products/API versions. See migration.

Installation and packaging tools

aphelion_sdk.host provides locate_editor, discover_editors, install_plugins_into_editor, EditorInstall and EditorHostError for tooling. These locate the editor or copy source plugins into its user folder.

aphelion-sdk --version
aphelion-sdk build [source] [-o DIR] [-n NAME] [--package-version VER]
python -m aphelion_sdk build ...

See packaging plugins for building and installing your plugins.