Build .ghuser .ghcluster with .gha file

Grasshopper Developer
1

Hi , any guide for how to bring .ghuser and .ghcluster files to the compiler and build them with a gha file ?

2

The only sensible option would be to embed those files as resources and copy them to the disk when the plugin loads.

3

So then I can’t have a single .gha file as my plugin ?

4

Yes you can, that single file creates the other files on the disk when it runs. So you only have to distribute one file, but at runtime there will be a collection of files. But who cares about that?

5

That is exactly the part that I’m looking to write the code for. any tip ?

6

If you are going to go through the trouble of making a plug-in why not just script the stuff or just use node-in-code. It will run faster (I think).

7

First you add the existing file to your solution explorer:

solutionexplorer
solutionexplorer977×1670 69.5 KB

Make sure the Build Action in the properties is set to Embedded Resource:

properties
properties972×462 15.2 KB

You can then access the bytes of that resource through code. For example, I embedded a bunch of 3dm files into my project, they all become part of the dll, and at runtime I write them all to the disk:

code
code1054×947 103 KB

ps. the CopyResourceStreamToBytes method looks like this:

    internal static byte[] CopyResourceStreamToBytes(string resourceName)
    {
      if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(resourceName))
        throw new ArgumentException("That is not a valid resource identifier.");
      try
      {
        Assembly assembly = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly();
        using (Stream stream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream(resourceName))
        {
          if (stream == null) return null;
          using (var memoryStream = new MemoryStream())
          {
            stream.CopyTo(memoryStream);
            return memoryStream.ToArray();
          }
        }
      }
      catch (Exception ex)
      {
        Logger.Add(Level.Exception, "Resource could not be accessed: " + resourceName);
        Logger.Add(ex);
        return null;
      }
    }
8

I can’t also find the method GrasshopperResourceFolder();

9

I’m just posting the code I use, obviously you’re in a different project so you’ll need to replace the project specific stuff with your own logic.