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+# Pascalcompressor
+
+An audio compressor audio plugin, built with [JUCE](https://juce.com/) as an Audio Unit (AU) and VST3.
+
+## What it is
+
+Pascalcompressor is a dynamics processing plugin — a compressor — that reduces the level of audio that exceeds a threshold, making loud parts quieter and the overall signal more consistent. It's the kind of tool you use to glue a mix together, tame peaks, or shape the punch of a track.
+
+## What it does
+
+The plugin's DSP (in `Source/Compressor.cpp`) implements a classic soft-knee compressor with the standard controls:
+
+- **Input** — pre-gain applied to the signal before detection
+- **Threshold** — the level above which compression kicks in
+- **Ratio** — how much gain reduction is applied above the threshold
+- **Attack** — how fast the compressor responds once the signal crosses the threshold
+- **Release** — how fast it lets go after the signal drops back below
+- **Makeup gain** — compensates for the level lost to compression
+- **Dry/wet** — blend between the uncompressed and compressed signal, handy for parallel compression
+
+It uses a feed-forward design with a mono-summed detector and a one-pole envelope follower, so the gain reduction feels smooth and "glued" to the source.
+
+## Why it's called Pascalcompressor
+
+A friend of mine is named Pascal. This is named after him — "the Pascal compressor."
+
+## Building
+
+The project is set up with CMake and JUCE's `FetchContent` (it pulls JUCE automatically into `build/_deps`). See the `Makefile` for common targets, e.g.:
+
+```sh
+make build   # configure + build default targets
+make install # build and install the plugin
+make smoke   # run a smoke test against the built AU (if present)
+```
+
+Configuration defaults to a build in `build/`; see the `Makefile` for available
+variables (e.g. `CONFIG`) and targets.
+
+Build output lands in `build/Pascalcompressor_artefacts/` (`.component` for AU, `.vst3` for VST3).
+
+## Repository layout
+
+```
+Source/    plugin DSP and editor code
+Tests/     unit tests
+CMakeLists.txt
+Makefile
+```