c62164c365
Completes the cycle-recording spec. Three related pieces: MIDI separate takes (Preferences > Audio > "Cycle MIDI recording"): - Each pass becomes its own MIDI clip, folded into a take folder — the same shape audio always gets — instead of merging into one clip. Merge stays the default. - Notes are bucketed by the pass they were played in. The pass counter bumps BETWEEN close_active_notes and the re-note_on at a wrap, so a key held across the boundary has its sounding half filed under the pass that's ending and its re-opened half under the pass that's beginning. Put the bump on either side of that pair and the whole note lands in one pass; there's a test named for exactly that. - A silent INTERIOR pass still yields an empty take, so take N is always pass N — otherwise the numbering silently shifts and "take 3" stops meaning "the third time round". A TRAILING empty pass is dropped: that's what hitting stop shortly after a wrap gives you, a stop artifact rather than a take you played. (Audio already behaved this way via its short-final-take rule.) - Still triggers on the wrap: stop inside the first pass and it's an ordinary single recording, whatever the preference says. Append to an existing take folder (AppendTakesAction): - Cycle-recording over a region that already holds a take folder now ADDS to that folder rather than dropping a second clip on top of it, which stranded the new takes in an overlapping clip you couldn't audition against the old. - "Same region" means same start AND same loop length: resize the cycle region and you get a fresh folder, rather than takes of a different length appended to an existing one, which would break the uniform-take invariant that comping-via-split depends on. - The recording's own clip/instance are throwaway scaffolding here (the takes already live in the backend pools), so they're discarded; the single AppendTakesAction is the whole undoable step. Don't play the region you're recording over: - While recording into a MIDI track, every clip on that track is silenced EXCEPT the one being recorded into. A take folder already sitting in the cycle region was otherwise playing its active take underneath you on every pass, fighting the part you were trying to record. - The recording clip itself is exempt, because in merge mode that's precisely what you want to hear: the overdub you've been building up. Other tracks are untouched. |
||
|---|---|---|
| .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 | ||
| 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 (video, image, audio, animated GIF, SVG)
- ✅ Node editor UI
- 🚧 Piano roll editor (in progress)
Getting Started
Download a prebuilt release
If you don't want to build from source, prebuilt binaries for each release are on the GitHub releases page. Download the build for your platform and run it directly.
Building from source
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]