New Album Skill
Creates a new album with the correct directory structure and templates. Use IMMEDIATELY when the user says 'make a new album' or similar, before any discussion.
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## Your Task
**Input**: $ARGUMENTS
Create a new album directory structure with all required files and templates.
---
# New Album Skill
You create the complete album directory structure based on config.
## Step 1: Parse Arguments
Expected formats:
- `<album-name> <genre>` — standard album
- `<album-name> documentary <genre>` — true-story/documentary album (creates RESEARCH.md + SOURCES.md)
Examples:
- `sample-album electronic`
- `my-new-album hip-hop`
- `protest-songs folk`
- `the-heist documentary hip-hop`
Valid genres: Any genre that has a directory under `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/genres/`. Use the slug form (lowercase, hyphenated) — e.g. `deep-house`, `crust-punk`, `k-pop`, `hip-hop`.
To check if a genre is valid, verify `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/genres/{genre}/README.md` exists.
**Parsing logic:**
1. If 3 arguments and second is `documentary`: album = arg1, genre = arg3, documentary = true
2. If 2 arguments: album = arg1, genre = arg2, documentary = false
3. If 2 arguments and neither matches a valid genre slug: ask for clarification
4. If only 1 argument or none: ask the user
**After parsing, if documentary flag was not set, ask:**
"Is this a documentary/true-story album? (This adds research and sources templates.)"
If arguments are missing, ask:
```
Usage: /new-album <album-name> <genre>
/new-album <album-name> documentary <genre>
Example: /new-album sample-album electronic
/new-album the-heist documentary hip-hop
/new-album night-drive deep-house
Genre must match a directory under genres/ (use slug form: deep-house, crust-punk, etc.)
```
## Step 2: Create Album via MCP
Call `create_album_structure(album_slug, genre, documentary)` — creates the complete directory structure with templates in one call.
- Creates content directory at `{content_root}/artists/{artist}/albums/{genre}/{album-name}/`
- Copies album template as README.md
- Creates `tracks/` and `promo/` directories with templates
- For documentary albums (`documentary: true`): also creates RESEARCH.md and SOURCES.md
- Returns `{created: bool, path: str, files: [...]}`
- If album already exists, returns an error
**Note**: Audio and documents directories are NOT created (those are created when needed by import-audio/import-art).
## Step 3: Confirm
Report:
```
Created album: {album-name}
Location: {album_path}
Files created:
- README.md (album template)
- tracks/ (empty, ready for track files)
- promo/ (social media copy templates)
Next steps:
Option 1 - Interactive (Recommended):
Run /bitwize-music:album-conceptualizer to design your album concept
through the 7 Planning Phases.
Option 2 - Manual:
1. Edit README.md with your album concept
2. Create tracks with /import-track or manually in tracks/
Tip: For OST/soundtrack albums with a mix of vocal and instrumental
tracks, the album-conceptualizer will ask about the vocal/instrumental
split per track. Set `instrumental: true` in track frontmatter for
instrumental tracks — they skip the lyrics workflow and go directly
to /bitwize-music:suno-engineer.
```
## Error Handling
**Config file missing:**
```
Error: Config not found at ~/.bitwize-music/config.yaml
Run /configure to set up.
```
**Invalid genre:**
```
Error: Invalid genre "{genre}"
No genre directory found at genres/{genre}/. Use a valid genre slug (e.g. hip-hop, deep-house, grindcore).
Check genres/INDEX.md for the full list.
```
**Album already exists:**
```
Error: Album already exists at {album_path}
```
**Templates not found:**
```
Error: Templates not found. Is the plugin installed correctly?
Expected at: ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/templates/
```
---
## Examples
```
/new-album sample-album electronic
```
Config has:
```yaml
paths:
content_root: ~/bitwize-music
artist:
name: bitwize
```
Result:
```
Created album: sample-album
Location: ~/bitwize-music/artists/bitwize/albums/electronic/sample-album/
Files created:
- README.md (album template)
- tracks/ (empty, ready for track files)
Next steps:
Option 1 - Interactive (Recommended):
Run /bitwize-music:album-conceptualizer to design your album concept
through the 7 Planning Phases.
Option 2 - Manual:
1. Edit README.md with your album concept
2. Create tracks with /import-track or manually in tracks/
```
---
## True Story Albums
If user mentions this is a documentary or true-story album:
```
/new-album the-heist documentary hip-hop
```
The `create_album_structure(album_slug, genre, documentary=true)` call automatically creates RESEARCH.md and SOURCES.md from templates.
Report:
```
Created album: the-heist (documentary)
Location: ~/bitwize-music/artists/bitwize/albums/hip-hop/the-heist/
Files created:
- README.md (album template)
- RESEARCH.md (research template)
- SOURCES.md (sources template)
- tracks/ (empty, ready for track files)
```
---
## Common Mistakes
### ❌ Don't: Create directories manually
**Wrong:**
```bash
# Manual mkdir, config reading, template copying
cat ~/.bitwize-music/config.yaml
mkdir -p ~/music-projects/artists/bitwize/albums/...
cp templates/album.md ...
```
**Right:**
```
# Single MCP call handles everything
create_album_structure(album_slug, genre, documentary)
```
The MCP tool reads config, resolves paths, creates directories, and copies templates automatically.
### ✅ Do: Use the specific genre slug
Any genre with a directory under `genres/` is valid. Use the most specific genre that fits:
```bash
/new-album my-album boom-bap # has its own genre directory
/new-album my-album deep-house # specific subgenre
/new-album my-album grindcore # specific subgenre
/new-album my-album hip-hop # broad category also works
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