This project provides an abstraction layer for a minimal subset of the scripting APIs found in some popular DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations), with a focus on mixer control.
In its current form, it is useful as a programmable MIDI-learn-like tool that requires little to no coding skills.
- Control mixer and plugin parameters
- Create networked user interfaces
- Run the same unmodified code on different DAWs. Currently, REAPER and Ableton Live 11+ are supported.
- Hide all the boilerplate
- MIDI input
- Track volume, panning, and mute control
- Plugin bypass and parameter control
- Listeners
- Footswitch logic with gestures like press, double press, and long press
- Network bridge to JavaScript running on a browser
- Python 3
- REAPER users need to set it up manually
- Live 11+ already comes with an embedded interpreter
Copy or symlink one of the controller.py files in the examples directory to
the project's root directory (where README.md resides). The script entry point
is defined in _init_.py . How to install the script depends on the DAW,
detailed instructions coming soon.
All examples except «web» are functionally equivalent but differ in implementation. The mute state of a track named Track 1 is toggled when a footswitch that sends MIDI control messages for Sustain Pedal (CC64) is pressed:
No-code setup using a configuration file
- footswitch:
midi:
press: control_change 64 127
release: control_change 64 0
gestures:
pressed: host.toggle_track_mute_by_name, Track 1config, gadgets = parse_config_file('config.yml', globals())
def get_config() -> Config:
return config
def host_callback(midi: List[bytes]):
for gadget in gadgets:
gadget.process(midi)footswitch = Footswitch()
footswitch.map_midi_press(type='control_change',control=64, value=127, omni=True)
footswitch.map_midi_release(type='control_change', control=64, value=0, omni=True)
def get_config() -> Config:
return Config(midi_inputs=ALL_MIDI_INPUTS)
def on_project_load():
try:
callback = Track('Track 1').toggle_mute
footswitch.set_callback_pressed(callback)
except TrackNotFoundError:
Host.display('Incompatible project loaded')
def host_callback(midi: List[bytes]):
footswitch.process(midi)Calls to raw DAW abstraction interface
footswitch = Footswitch()
def get_config() -> Config:
return Config(midi_inputs=ALL_MIDI_INPUTS)
def host_callback(midi: List[bytes]):
for msg in make_midi_messages(midi):
if msg.is_cc() and msg.control == 64:
if msg.value == 127:
footswitch.press()
elif msg.value == 0:
footswitch.release()
if footswitch.poll():
if footswitch.pressed():
host.toggle_track_mute(host.get_track_by_name('Track 1'))Control track volume from a web browser
const { host, connect } = dawscript;
const track = await host.getTrack('Track 1');
const slider = document.createElement('input');
slider.type = 'range';
slider.min = -68;
slider.max = 6;
slider.value = await host.getTrackVolume(track);
slider.addEventListener('input', (ev) => {
host.setTrackVolume(track, parseFloat(slider.value));
});
host.addTrackVolumeListener(track, (vol) => {
slider.value = vol;
});
connect();The web service is advertised using DNS-SD (Bonjour) under the name «dawscript»
Coming soon
Debugging while running on a DAW can be a tedious process, so dawscript can also run stand-alone when started from a terminal. In this case, a JACK server is required to provide MIDI input, and calls to the DAW APIs target a mock implementation that prints to stdout. MIDI implementation is planned to be replaced by RtMidi so no additional software is required.
Check out Consul, my CLAP/VST plugin for MIDI remote control.
REAPER
https://www.reaper.fm/sdk/reascript/reascripthelp.html
https://forums.cockos.com/showthread.php?p=2572493
https://github.com/majek/wdl/blob/master/WDL/db2val.h
Live
https://nsuspray.github.io/Live_API_Doc/11.0.0.xml
https://github.com/gluon/AbletonLive11_MIDIRemoteScripts
Other
https://jackclient-python.readthedocs.io/en/0.5.5/
https://mido.readthedocs.io/en/stable/
https://www.standardsapplied.com/nonlinear-curve-fitting-calculator.html