JUCE is a c++ framework that makes it easy to create an audio application as a standalone and as a plugin. It has a function that deliver audio and midi buffer, UI is also simplified. So in the same fashion as VCV simplify wy work, with a bit more work, JUCE let me share my work with way more people.
Plugin brought a different way of thinking audio tool, in modular, people bring their own CV. Here, you gotta make them yourself.
It's an interesting thought to conceive plug-in with their own dedicated modulation, tailored for the use.
As a template I use this Github Repo. Which is a combination of cmake, lldb, clang++, vscode, and ableton to send sound to the plug-in and test it.