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    These docs are a work in progress. The software can already be used — download WavePhase.

    Documentation

    Docs for WavePhase v0.9.3 · reviewed 2026-08-10

    A newer app release may have shipped since this review. These pages describe the latest public WavePhase release. If something looks different in your build, check for an app update.

    Getting Started

    What is WavePhase?

    WavePhase turns live audio, timing, and external control into light and visuals. You map DSP signals, beats, timecode, MIDI, OSC, DMX, and API values onto DMX fixtures, LED pixels, and GPU-rendered visuals — all from a single node-based workspace.

    Whether you're running a club night, a festival stage, an installation, or a livestream, WavePhase gives you one place to take a signal — a beat, a transient, a frequency-band level, an OSC message, or an API trigger — and route it anywhere: a moving head, an LED bar, a projector, or another application over the network.

    Built for real shows

    Audio-reactive control, DMX over Art-Net/sACN, the node graph, Stage 3D, Web Control, and packaged Cloud shows are available in the current public release. Lead with beat, key, and DSP sources for show-critical moments — see Sources for what to rely on today. For opening older show files safely, see Show Compatibility.

    What you can do

    React to the music

    Built-in analysis detects BPM, musical key, frequency bands, envelope levels, and transients you can wire live into fixtures and visuals.

    Control real fixtures

    Define fixtures, patch them to DMX universes, and drive them over Art-Net or sACN. Group fixtures and store cues for instant looks.

    Map signals with nodes

    A visual signal patch wires sources through logic, math, and animation nodes into outputs — no scripting required.

    Drive LED pixels

    Place LED bars and panels on a canvas and pixel-map any visual onto them, output as DMX.

    Generate visuals

    GPU generators, effects, layered compositing, media and camera input, and custom WGSL shaders — sent to a screen or mapped to LEDs.

    Talk to everything

    OSC, MIDI, DMX input, SMPTE timecode and an HTTP/MCP API let WavePhase fit into any rig or software setup.

    How it fits together

    The whole app revolves around four ideas:

    • Sources produce values — from live audio analysis, time and timecode, or external inputs like OSC, MIDI, DMX, and the API.
    • Nodes transform and combine those values inside the signal patch using logic, math, and animation.
    • Fixtures & outputs turn values into DMX, OSC, or pixel data sent to the real world.
    • Visuals are generated on the GPU and can be shown on a screen or mapped onto LED fixtures.

    New here?

    Follow the guide in order. Start with Installation, then the Quick Start to get a fixture blinking to the beat in a few minutes.

    WavePhase Cloud

    Cloud stores versioned packaged shows — graph, fixtures, layout, and the media the show needs — so you can open the same project on another machine. Wavy (WI) and optional internet Web Control relay also run through Cloud. Details: Cloud Shows & WI. Local .wphase files still work fully offline.

    Who it's for

    WavePhase is built for lighting designers, VJs, and technical artists who want music-driven control without writing code, but who also want the depth to build complex, reactive shows. If you've used node editors, DMX consoles, or node-based visual software, you'll feel at home — and if you haven't, the Quick Start will get you going regardless.

    Join the community

    The WavePhase Discord is where people learn from each other, share patches, and showcase shows. Join Discord.

    Ready to try it? Get WavePhase Free.

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