areadetector-plugin

What problem does it solve?

This Skill helps you design custom EPICS areaDetector plugins that process or write image frames (NDArray) so your IOC can perform specialized transformations and file output without manual post-processing.

Core Features & Use Cases

• Custom processing with NDPluginDriver: Implement processCallbacks() to analyze or transform NDArray pixel data, safely copying inputs when modification is required.
• Custom file writing with NDPluginFile: Implement openFile(), writeFile(), readFile(), and closeFile() to stream frames to disk or recreate arrays from files.
• Threading, queuing, and plugin chaining: Use the NDPluginDriver base infrastructure for queued processing, multi-threaded execution, and downstream handoff so your plugin fits into a standard areaDetector pipeline.
• Real-world use case: Add a thresholding, filtering, compression, or proprietary format writer plugin to an existing areaDetector acquisition chain so images are processed and stored automatically as they arrive.

Quick Start

Ask: “Using the areadetector-plugin skill, generate a skeleton NDPluginDriver processing plugin and an NDPluginFile writer plugin that threshold NDUInt16 frames and writes them to a binary file with correct open/write/close behavior.”