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 under active development on the rust-ui 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]

Links

• GitHub: https://github.com/skykooler/lightningbeam
• Gitea: https://git.skyler.io/skyler/lightningbeam