Skip to content

    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.

    Visuals

    Generating Visuals

    WavePhase has a GPU-powered visual engine: procedural generators, effects, layered compositing, media and camera input, and custom shaders — all driveable from the signal patch and outputtable to screens or LEDs.

    Generators

    A Viz Generator produces a Video from a built-in pattern. Every parameter — speed, colours, scale — can be wired from the signal patch, so the visuals react to the music.

    Patterns

    Solid, linear/radial/mesh gradients, lines, noise (value, smooth, cellular, turbulence), metaballs, plasma, radial rays, tunnel, voronoi, and stripes.

    Blending

    Each generator has an opacity and a blend mode (normal, add, multiply, screen, overlay) and a layer order for compositing.

    Effects & transforms

    Video Effect

    Grayscale, invert, colour adjust, posterize, colorize, strobe, pixelate, kaleidoscope, mirror, tile, RGB split, hue rotate, chromatic aberration, vignette, and wave warp.

    Video Transform

    Position, scale, rotation, and opacity — move and place a visual within the frame.

    Chain effects after a generator to build up a look, and wire their parameters (e.g. strobe rate, warp frequency) to audio for reactive results.

    Compositing layers

    The Compositor stacks multiple video inputs into one output, each layer with its own transform, opacity, blend mode, and optional effects. A Video Switch picks one of several video inputs by index — great for switching scenes on a beat, MIDI pad, or API trigger.

    Bringing in media & cameras

    Media In

    Load an image or video file (PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP, MP4…). Wire a playhead or timecode for frame-accurate playback.

    Camera In

    Capture a live webcam or capture device as a video source.

    Text Visual

    Render text — static or driven by a String input — with font, size, and colour control.

    Custom shaders

    For complete freedom, set a generator to Custom and write a WGSL shade(uv, time) function in the built-in shader editor. You get UV coordinates, elapsed time, and optional uniforms, with hot-reload from an external .wgsl file — fractals, simulations, anything the GPU can draw.

    Reactive by design

    Custom or built-in, every visual parameter is a pin. Wire spectral bands, the beat, envelope, or a spectral band into them and the visuals move with the music for free.

    Outputting visuals

    • Screen Out — send a visual fullscreen to a chosen monitor or projector.
    • LED Map Out — pixel-map a visual onto LED fixtures (see LED Bars & Pixel Mapping).

    Was this page helpful?