Macroverse 42 — The Wired Atelier

Ride the signal. The wire is not a metaphor.

A GLSL/ISF shader lab and VJ tool. Two ways in — one binary.

Try it live → | Showcase → | Download → | Source / Docker →

Two Ways In

As a standalone VJ tool

Browse, preview, and perform with your entire GLSL/ISF shader collection. Tag, categorise, search. A/B deck with crossfader and mix modes. Stream MJPEG output to OBS, pipe through v4l2loopback as a virtual webcam on Linux. The whole library, live, under your hands.

As a Resolume Wire pipeline

Load any GLSL/ISF file, check Wire compatibility, expose magic-number literals as parameter sliders, run the shader fix chain (broken glows → fixed in seconds), then push the finished shader straight into Resolume Wire. From raw .fs to a working Wire macro with exposed parameters and proper ISF metadata.

# Build from source (requires Go 1.21+, Node 20+)
./build.sh          # Linux / Mac
build.bat           # Windows
# then open http://localhost:8765

Pre-built binaries for Windows, Linux, and Mac (amd64/arm64): Releases

Cloud edition vs desktop

	Cloud (macroverse.aday.net.au)	Desktop / self-host
Shader lab, Preview, Code, Split, VJ, Gallery	Yes	Yes
Gig sessions, audience QR, co-VJ WebSocket	Yes	Yes
MIDI / OSC / FFT in browser	Yes	Yes
Server library writes	No — IndexedDB in this browser	Yes — disk + optional git commit
Pipeline / Wire Hub tabs	Hidden	Yes
Spout / NDI / MacroCam MJPEG	No	Yes
Cursor agent, Explorer, Notepad, Scan, Update	Hidden	Yes
Ollama / Cursor Refactor / Vibe toolbar	Limited on cloud	Full

Export browser-local edits from Settings → Browser-local edits on cloud. Run the Go binary locally or self-host with Docker for the full Wire pipeline.

LAN bridge agent (macroverse-bridge-agent/): optional Node service on a Pi or venue LAN machine. Bridges Ableton Link clock (BPM/beat/bar) into the cloud WebSocket session; OSC LAN relay is planned. See docs/BRIDGE.md.

What It Does

graph LR
    A[Your Shader Files<br>.fs .glsl .frag .isf] -->|Scan & Index| B[Macroverse Backend<br>Go / Port 8765]
    B -->|REST API| C[Macroverse Frontend<br>Vite / Port 5173]
    C -->|Live Preview| D[WebGL Renderer]
    C -->|Edit & Fix| E[GLSL Editor + Fix Chain]
    C -->|Expose Params| F[ISF Parameter Sliders]
    B -->|Export| G[Resolume Wire<br>ISF Shaders + Params]

    style A fill:#0d0820,stroke:#4488cc,color:#c0c0d0
    style B fill:#0d0820,stroke:#ee8833,color:#c0c0d0
    style C fill:#0d0820,stroke:#4488cc,color:#c0c0d0
    style D fill:#06040f,stroke:#00ddaa,color:#c0c0d0
    style E fill:#06040f,stroke:#cc44ff,color:#c0c0d0
    style F fill:#06040f,stroke:#4488cc,color:#c0c0d0
    style G fill:#0d0820,stroke:#ee8833,color:#c0c0d0

One Go binary. No Docker, no Node runtime, no external database. Drop it next to your shader folder and open localhost:8765.

Expose Parameters

Turn raw GLSL literals into live ISF parameter sliders — the core feature for Wire integration.

Expose (instant) — click Expose in the toolbar. Regex-based literal detection, zero tokens, zero latency.
AI Expose — deeper analysis with Ollama or Cursor for complex shaders.
Exposed parameters are written directly into the ISF JSON block and become controllable in Resolume Wire's universe.

// Before: magic literals scattered through your shader
float speed = 2.5;
vec3 color = vec3(0.4, 0.8, 1.0);

// After: exposed as ISF sliders, controllable from Wire
// INPUTS: speed (float, 0.1–10.0), colorR/G/B (float, 0.0–1.0)

Shader Fix Chain

When a shader fails to compile, fixes run in order — stop at the first success:

Local regex fix — free, instant. Handles precision qualifiers, missing semicolons, WebGL 1 incompatibilities, #version stripping.
Ollama — free local LLM. ollama pull deepseek-coder-v2:16b and configure in Settings.
Cursor agent — cloud tokens. Requires API key in Settings > LLM Provider Chain.

The chain is configurable: reorder, enable/disable each provider, select model per provider.

Command Palette

Every action in the app is registered as a command and runnable from a Slack/Discord-style palette.

Open with Ctrl+K / Cmd+K, or / when no input is focused
Categories: Editor, Parameters, Wire, External, View, App, Display effects, Panels
Up/Down to move, Enter to run, Esc to close
Mobile-friendly: the same palette is reachable via the >_ button in the top app bar and the Commands >_ button on the More sheet

Top App Bar & Mobile UI

A persistent header on every device:

Logo opens Settings
Shader name with a copper "dirty" dot when there are unsaved changes
View dropdown mirrors the view tabs (handy when the strip is hidden on phones)
Last build badge: build date + git short-SHA from /api/version (hidden under 900px)
Save / Palette / Hamburger buttons on the right

On phones (< 640px) a five-tab bottom bar appears:

Tab	What it does
Library	Toggle the left dock (shader index)
Preview	Switch to Preview view (or Split if currently in Code)
Code	Switch to Code view, close side docks
Params	Toggle the right dock (parameter sliders)
More	Open a sheet of secondary actions: VJ deck, Gallery, Pipeline, Wire Hub, Split, Commands, Settings, Help, Paths, Rescan

A Mobile / Desktop toggle in the status bar force-applies the mobile CSS on any device; preference persists in localStorage.

Pipeline View & Wire Hub View

Two extra view tabs alongside Preview / Code / Split / VJ / Gallery:

Pipeline — full signal-flow diagram from your shader sources through the Go backend to the WebGL renderer, ISF JSON, and Resolume Wire export. Click nodes to jump into the relevant panel.
Wire Hub — Wire-side controls: Check ISF Wire, Clipboard to Wire, push to Wire, batch export. Use the diagram view tab to see all 5 FX topologies (feedback, beat-sync, glitch, geometric, colour) at once.

Update Button (in-app rebuild)

The toolbar Update button auto-pulls and rebuilds from GitHub.

Five seconds after launch the app silently runs git fetch + git log HEAD..origin/HEAD
If the remote is ahead, the button turns amber and shows Update (N)
Clicking opens a modal listing the incoming commits; Apply & Restart writes a temp script that runs git pull origin + build.bat (or build.sh) + relaunches the new binary, then exits the current process so Windows can overwrite the running exe
Gracefully no-ops outside a git repo

Backend endpoints: GET /api/update/check, POST /api/update/apply.

Display Effects

All toggleable from the status bar or via the command palette:

Scanlines — horizontal scan-line overlay on the preview
Vignette — darkened corners on the preview
CRT — phosphor glow on the code editor
Full Screen — status-bar button or F11

A light-theme preset is available alongside the default Wired Atelier dark palette.

Roliblock (multi-device, BLE / USB)

N simultaneous Roli Lightpad blocks, each with independent MIDI, handshake, LED buffer, and per-device settings.

USB-first auto-rig — Request MIDI auto-detects Roli USB input/output pairs, enables them, and defaults to shared master-output mirroring
Per-device deck assignment — shared / deckA / deckB / auto. Shared is the default; Deck A/B is available when you want independent deck pads
Per-deck XY — in Independent mode, one enabled block can drive Deck A XY and a second enabled block can drive Deck B XY. Shared output mode drives the global VJ mouse from every enabled block.
BLE MIDI — Web Bluetooth pairing; Device A can be BLE while Device B is USB. 250ms handshake / 80ms LED stream on BLE; 150ms / 50ms on USB. SysEx chunked for BLE MTU.
LED filters — per-device contrast, brightness, saturation, gamma, grayscale, invert, posterize, channel isolation
LED drawing modes — Shared output / Mirror (default), independent per-deck LEDs, linked XY mode, or stretched 30x15 output split across two blocks
Stretched mode — sample 30x15 from the output canvas, split left/right to two devices for a wide LED display
Debug page — dual-device debug with independent shaders, mouse XY pads, WebGL preview, per-device LED stream, library cycling (Prev / Next / Random / Auto), view modes (A Only / B Only / Both / Combined 30x15)
Background render keeps the LED stream alive when the browser tab is hidden

VJ Scratchpad

A/B deck mixer for live performance. Access via the VJ tab.

Startup splash — VJ collaboration + audience stream QRs while the index loads
Shader carousel — thumbnail strip above decks; filter, A/B load, drag to deck
Single-viewport layout — resizable deck / preview / controls rows; touch-friendly (Steam Deck, phone, tablet)
Decks A and B — load different shaders, tweak params independently
Crossfader — smooth blend between decks
Mix modes — Crossfade, Alpha Layer, Add, Multiply
Auto VJ — automatic shader cycling with configurable timing; independent toggles for shader swap vs depth/param motion
AKAI/APC MIDI performance map — grid and scene buttons load Deck A, Shift + grid/scene loads Deck B, track knobs control Deck A params, device knobs control Deck B params, faders follow Shift, CC14 crossfades, and page/bank controls move Deck A/B pages
MIDI / OSC — map physical controllers to any parameter; the VJ controller and OSC actions share the same crossfader, clip, deck-param, Auto VJ, and page actions
Pop-out output — separate window for full-screen output on a second display
WebXR VR — vj-vr.html on Quest/headsets: audience immersive dome stream, or VJ controller role (remote desk + live shader push). QR panel: Copy VR audience / Copy VR VJ
Show sessions — Settings → VJ Show Session ID; same ID on all devices syncs decks over WebSocket. Pi HDMI: vj-output.html?remote=1&sessionId=YOUR-GIG. VR: vj-vr.html?remote=1&viewToken=…. LAN bridge: docs/BRIDGE.md and macroverse-bridge-agent/.

# MJPEG stream for OBS / browser source:
http://localhost:8765/api/output/macrocam/stream

# Linux virtual webcam:
ffmpeg -i http://localhost:8765/api/output/macrocam/stream -f v4l2 /dev/video0

Gallery Mode

Browse your full shader collection as a live-rendered grid — every cell is a running WebGL shader. Access via the Gallery tab.

Navigate with arrow keys (← → ↑ ↓); Alt+← / Alt+→ jump pages
Per-page options: 1, 4, 8, 14, or 24 shaders — grid layout auto-adjusts
Tag shortcuts — press 1–9 to toggle preset tags on the focused shader (same key removes the tag)
Set shortcuts — press Shift+1–9 to toggle preset VJ Sets
A — set-toggle prompt showing all preset sets with current membership
F — toggle favourite on the focused shader
R — rename the focused shader
? — floating shortcut HUD with all key bindings

Preset VJ Sets (9 named slots, Shift+1 through Shift+9): vj-ambient · vj-techno · vj-cosmic · vj-glitch · vj-geometric · vj-organic · vj-wire-ready · vj-dark · vj-colour

Seed VJ Sets — one click auto-assigns shaders by name/format heuristics.

Export ▾ — export any filtered view, set, or tag as CSV, JSON, or a plain path list (.txt, one path per line — feed directly into Resolume Avenue's batch loader).

LLM Provider Chain

Configurable priority: Local regex → Ollama → Cursor

Enable/disable each provider independently
Reorder in Settings > LLM Provider Chain
Ollama recommended: ollama pull deepseek-coder-v2:16b
All providers optional — the tool works fully offline with just the local regex layer

Wire Integration

Check ISF Wire — validates the shader's ISF block for Wire compatibility
Clipboard to Wire — sends the current shader and params to Wire's clipboard format
Expose — surfaces literal values as ISF INPUTS (sliders, colours, booleans)
Refactor / Vibe — AI-assisted code cleanup and structure improvements

Every ISF parameter has at minimum: useFrameIndex, fps, timeScale, speed. Most shaders also expose mouseX/Y, colorR/G/B, brightness/saturation/contrast.

Development With Hot-Reload

# Terminal 1 — Go backend
cd api && go build -o ../Macroverse42 . && cd .. && ./Macroverse42

# Terminal 2 — Vite frontend (hot reload)
cd frontend && npm install && npx vite --host 0.0.0.0
# open http://localhost:5173

Vite proxies /api to the Go backend on port 8765. Always build then run; go run . won't find the shader assets.

Cross-Platform

Runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac with the same binary. No PowerShell. No native file dialog. Browser-based path picker, text-based everywhere.

Platform	Binary name
Windows	`Macroverse42.exe`
Linux / Mac	`Macroverse42`

Default Paths & Factory State

Everything lives next to the binary — no installation, no registry, no config scattered across the system.

What	Default path
Web UI	`http://localhost:8765`
Source paths	`./shaders/` (folder next to the binary)
Database	`./macroverse.db`
Settings	`./shader-preview-settings.json`
Error log	`./shader-errors.json`
Graveyard	`./unrecoverable-shaders.json`
Thumbnails	`./thumbnails.json`

All paths are relative to wherever you put the Macroverse42 binary. Move the binary, move the folder — everything comes with it.

Factory default settings (restored on NUKE or first run):

Setting	Default
Preview resolution	854 × 480
Target FPS	30
List view	List mode
Auto-fix pipeline	Enabled
Thumbnails	Enabled
Auto-optimize quality	Enabled
Git auto-commit	Disabled
MJPEG output	Disabled
Watch folders	Disabled

Source path fallback: if ./shaders/ doesn't exist on first launch, the app looks for a shaders/ folder next to the binary. You can add or remove source paths at any time in Settings → Source Paths.

Override the database path via environment variable: SHADER_INDEX_DB=/path/to/macroverse.db

Hard Reset (git)

The Hard Reset button in Settings zips the configured target folder, then restores it from the earliest git commit on main. The target path defaults to shaders/custom/ and is configurable in Settings → Hard Reset Path — set it to any folder tracked by a git repo.

It always creates a timestamped .zip backup before touching any files.

UI Cheat Sheet

Action	How
Preview a shader	Click it in the list, or drag and drop on the preview / code area
Search	Type in the filter box (name, tags, category)
Rename	Double-click the name, or right-click → Rename
Move category	Right-click → Move to category
Add tags	Click `+` next to tags, or right-click → Edit tags
Expose parameters	Click Expose in the code toolbar (or right-click a sweet-spot dashed underline)
Send to Wire	Click Clipboard to Wire after exposing
Switch List/Grid	List / Compact / Grid buttons
Version history	Right-click → See versions → click any to revert
A/B VJ deck	Click the VJ tab
Gallery browse	Click the Gallery tab
Gallery navigate	Arrow keys; Alt+←→ for pages
Gallery tag	1–9 toggles preset tag on focused shader
Gallery set	Shift+1–9 toggles preset VJ Set
Gallery shortcuts	Press ? inside Gallery for full HUD
Command palette	`Ctrl+K` / `Cmd+K`, or `/` when no input is focused
Pipeline view	Click the Pipeline tab
Wire Hub view	Click the Wire tab
Update app	Click Update in the toolbar (turns amber when remote is ahead)
Mobile bottom bar	Visible automatically on phones (< 640px), or force-mobile in status bar
More sheet (mobile)	Tap More in the bottom tab bar
Display effects	Scan / Vignette / CRT toggles in status bar
Webcam input	Right panel → Texture inputs → Webcam
MIDI Learn	Right panel → MIDI → Enable, then Learn next to a param
AKAI/APC VJ map	VJ tab → MIDI → APC40 / Akai; grid=A, Shift+grid=B, track knobs=A params, device knobs=B params
OSC Listen	Right panel → OSC → set port → Listen, send to `/shader/<name>`
Audio FFT	Right panel → Audio → Start, map bands to params
Roliblock	Settings → Roliblock; shared master-output mirror by default, with Deck A / Deck B and 30x15 stretched modes still selectable
Full screen	Click Full Screen in status bar, or F11

Shader Library

Category	Count	What's in it
3d	582	Raymarched objects, scenes, spheres, cubes
color	331	Gradients, color cycling, hue effects
geometric	284	Circles, spirals, rings, patterns
misc	218	Everything else
grid	189	Checkerboards, tiles, voronoi, lattices
abstract	175	Organic flows, liquid, morphing
fractal	122	Mandelbrot, Julia, IFS fractals
noise	92	Perlin, simplex, FBM, distortion
tunnel	90	Infinite zoom, fly-through, depth
plasma	88	Fire, lava, plasma waves, heat
particles	81	Sparks, stars, dust, snow, rain
psychedelic	62	Kaleidoscope, acid, trippy, warp
space	41	Stars, galaxies, nebulae, planets
water	25	Ocean, ripples, caustics, pools

All shaders are ISF format with exposed parameters.

Screenshots & Demo Loops

Live screenshots live in docs/screenshots/ (full-ui-layout.webp, context-menu.webp, grid-view.webp, emoji-picker.webp).

Six procedural demo loops live in docs/videos/:

hero-loop.mp4 — Domain-warp FBM hero loop
vj-crossfade.mp4 — A/B deck crossfade
pipeline-flow.mp4 — GLSL → ISF → Wire signal flow
gallery-grid.mp4 — Eight live shaders in the gallery
expose-params.mp4 — Magic numbers turned into ISF sliders
fix-chain.mp4 — Local regex → Ollama → AI fix chain

All deterministic; rebuild with bash docs/videos/build-videos.sh (requires ffmpeg with libx264 + libwebp and lavfi sources). Each MP4 caps at ~1.5 MB.

See them live on the showcase page.

Production deploy (Linode)

The hosted app runs on Linode Docker Compose. Push main (or dev / tagged releases for other tracks) triggers macroverse-image, which pushes ghcr.io/aday1/macroverse.aday.net.au/macroverse:live (or :dev, :aday). deploy-linode refreshes ~/compose/macroverse.aday.net.au on the VPS. Source, docker-compose.yml, nginx config, and bridge agent are all in this repo.

Lane	URL	Notes
Live	https://macroverse.aday.net.au/	Cloud edition, public library
Test	https://macroverse-test.aday.net.au/	Also macroverse-dev.aday.net.au
Private	https://macroverse-private.aday.net.au/	Basic auth required on all paths (credentials in password manager only)
Showcase	https://showcase.macroverse.aday.net.au/	GitHub Pages from `docs/` (CNAME alias; mirror at aday1.github.io)

Tech Stack

Layer	What
Backend	Go — single binary, no runtime dependencies
Frontend	Vite + TypeScript — vanilla DOM, no framework
Renderer	WebGL 1.0 with GLSL ES
Shader format	ISF (Interactive Shader Format) 2.0
Database	SQLite via `modernc.org/sqlite` (pure Go, no CGO)
AI	Local regex → Ollama → Cursor priority chain
Target	Resolume Wire

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
.github/workflows		.github/workflows
VIBES/Reporting		VIBES/Reporting
api		api
docs		docs
frontend		frontend
infra		infra
macroverse-bridge-agent		macroverse-bridge-agent
nginx		nginx
ops		ops
pipeline		pipeline
private-data/aday-shaders		private-data/aday-shaders
scripts		scripts
shaders		shaders
.dockerignore		.dockerignore
.gitattributes		.gitattributes
.gitignore		.gitignore
AGENT-REBUILD.md		AGENT-REBUILD.md
AGENTS.md		AGENTS.md
DISTRIBUTION.md		DISTRIBUTION.md
Dockerfile		Dockerfile
Macroversed-FortyTwoEdition.7z		Macroversed-FortyTwoEdition.7z
README.md		README.md
SHADER_BASELINE_REPORT.txt		SHADER_BASELINE_REPORT.txt
START.txt		START.txt
_tmp_compare.js		_tmp_compare.js
ascii.art		ascii.art
build.bat		build.bat
build.sh		build.sh
changelog.md		changelog.md
docker-compose.yml		docker-compose.yml
fly.toml		fly.toml
package-lock.json		package-lock.json
package.json		package.json
shader-index.factory.json		shader-index.factory.json
shader-index.ps1		shader-index.ps1
shader-preview-settings.default.json		shader-preview-settings.default.json
thumbnails-baked.json		thumbnails-baked.json

Navigation Menu

Repository files navigation

Macroverse 42 — The Wired Atelier

Two Ways In

As a standalone VJ tool

As a Resolume Wire pipeline

Cloud edition vs desktop

What It Does

Expose Parameters

Shader Fix Chain

Command Palette

Top App Bar & Mobile UI

Pipeline View & Wire Hub View

Update Button (in-app rebuild)

Display Effects

Roliblock (multi-device, BLE / USB)

VJ Scratchpad

Gallery Mode

LLM Provider Chain

Wire Integration

Development With Hot-Reload

Cross-Platform

Default Paths & Factory State

Hard Reset (git)

UI Cheat Sheet

Shader Library

Screenshots & Demo Loops

Production deploy (Linode)

Tech Stack

About

Releases

Packages

Contributors

Languages

Latest commit

History

Folders and files

Repository files navigation

Macroverse 42 — The Wired Atelier

Two Ways In

As a standalone VJ tool

As a Resolume Wire pipeline

Cloud edition vs desktop

What It Does

Expose Parameters

Shader Fix Chain

Command Palette

Top App Bar & Mobile UI

Pipeline View & Wire Hub View

Update Button (in-app rebuild)

Display Effects

Roliblock (multi-device, BLE / USB)

VJ Scratchpad

Gallery Mode

LLM Provider Chain

Wire Integration

Development With Hot-Reload

Cross-Platform

Default Paths & Factory State

Hard Reset (git)

UI Cheat Sheet

Shader Library

Screenshots & Demo Loops

Production deploy (Linode)

Tech Stack

About

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Contributors

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