6596acb3db
First half of the autosave/recovery feature — the write side. Every ~45s while the document is dirty, write the full current state into a per-session recovery .beam in the app data dir (directories::ProjectDirs data dir + /recovery/session-<uuid>.beam). Fully background: reuses the existing file worker, so the pool serialization / encode / DB write all happen off the UI thread. The only UI-thread cost is one document clone — and build_save_command now stamps the UI layout onto the *snapshot clone* rather than the live document (the old prepare_document_for_save mutated live state via Arc::make_mut, which could deep-clone the whole document mid-frame). Removed that dead helper. Dirtiness is tracked centrally via ActionExecutor::epoch() (now also bumped on undo/redo, not just execute) plus a pending_event flag set by non-action changes (imports, finished recordings). The baseline is rebased on new/load/manual-save so a freshly-loaded or just-saved project stays quiet. Idle-after-edit still gets one snapshot via a single request_repaint_after wakeup; completion is polled lazily (no forced repaints during the write). on_exit deletes the session's recovery file, so a leftover file on next launch means an unclean shutdown — the hook the recovery prompt (next commit) keys on. |
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|---|---|---|
| .github/workflows | ||
| daw-backend | ||
| docs | ||
| ffmpeg-blob-io | ||
| lightningbeam-core | ||
| lightningbeam-ui | ||
| nam-ffi | ||
| packaging | ||
| screenshots | ||
| scripts | ||
| src | ||
| tests | ||
| vendor | ||
| .gitignore | ||
| .gitmodules | ||
| ARCHITECTURE.md | ||
| BEAM_FILE_FORMAT.md | ||
| CONTRIBUTING.md | ||
| Changelog.md | ||
| LICENSE | ||
| README.md | ||
| STREAMING_TO_DISK_PLAN.md | ||
| TODO.md | ||
| beam_inspector.py | ||
| beam_inspector_README.md | ||
| create_release.sh | ||
| package.json | ||
| phone-ui-sketches.html | ||
| pnpm-lock.yaml | ||
README.md
Lightningbeam
A free and open-source 2D multimedia editor combining vector animation, audio production, and video editing in a single application.
Screenshots
Features
Vector Animation
- GPU-accelerated vector rendering with Vello
- Draw and animate vector shapes with keyframe-based timeline
- Non-destructive editing workflow
- Paint bucket tool for automatic fill detection
Audio Production
- Real-time multi-track audio recording and playback
- Node graph-based effects processing
- MIDI sequencing with synthesizers and samplers
- Comprehensive effects library (reverb, delay, EQ, compression, distortion, etc.)
- Custom audio engine with lock-free design for glitch-free playback
Video Editing
- Video timeline and editing with FFmpeg-based decoding
- GPU-accelerated waveform rendering with mipmaps
- Audio integration from video soundtracks
Technical Stack
Current Implementation (Rust UI)
- UI Framework: egui (immediate-mode GUI)
- GPU Rendering: Vello + wgpu (Vulkan/Metal/DirectX 12)
- Audio Engine: Custom real-time engine (
daw-backend)- cpal for cross-platform audio I/O
- symphonia for audio decoding
- dasp for node graph processing
- Video: FFmpeg 8 for encode/decode
- Platform: Cross-platform (Linux, macOS, Windows)
Legacy Implementation (Deprecated)
- Frontend: Vanilla JavaScript
- Backend: Rust (Tauri framework)
Project Status
Lightningbeam is developed on the main branch. The project has been rewritten from a Tauri/JavaScript prototype to a pure Rust application to eliminate IPC bottlenecks and achieve better performance for real-time video and audio processing.
Current Status:
- ✅ Core UI panes (Stage, Timeline, Asset Library, Info Panel, Toolbar)
- ✅ Drawing tools (Select, Draw, Rectangle, Ellipse, Paint Bucket, Transform)
- ✅ Undo/redo system
- ✅ GPU-accelerated vector rendering
- ✅ Audio engine with node graph processing
- ✅ GPU waveform rendering with mipmaps
- ✅ Video decoding integration
- 🚧 Export system (in progress)
- 🚧 Node editor UI (planned)
- 🚧 Piano roll editor (planned)
Getting Started
Prerequisites
- Rust (stable toolchain via rustup)
- System dependencies:
- Linux: ALSA development files, FFmpeg 8
- macOS: FFmpeg (via Homebrew)
- Windows: FFmpeg 8, Visual Studio with C++ tools
See docs/BUILDING.md for detailed setup instructions.
Building and Running
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/skykooler/lightningbeam.git
# Or from Gitea
git clone https://git.skyler.io/skyler/lightningbeam.git
cd lightningbeam/lightningbeam-ui
# Build and run
cargo run
# Or build optimized release version
cargo build --release
Documentation
- CONTRIBUTING.md - Development setup and contribution guidelines
- ARCHITECTURE.md - System architecture overview
- docs/BUILDING.md - Detailed build instructions and troubleshooting
- docs/AUDIO_SYSTEM.md - Audio engine architecture and development
- docs/UI_SYSTEM.md - UI pane system and tool development
- docs/RENDERING.md - GPU rendering pipeline and shaders
Project History
Lightningbeam evolved from earlier multimedia editing projects I've worked on since 2010, including the FreeJam DAW. The JavaScript/Tauri prototype began in November 2023, and the Rust UI rewrite started in late 2024 to eliminate performance bottlenecks and provide a more integrated native experience.
Goals
Create a comprehensive FOSS alternative for 2D-focused multimedia work, integrating animation, audio, and video editing in a unified workflow. Lightningbeam aims to be:
- Fast: GPU-accelerated rendering and real-time audio processing
- Flexible: Node graph-based audio routing and modular synthesis
- Integrated: Seamless workflow across animation, audio, and video
- Open: Free and open-source, built on open standards
Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
License
[License information to be added]