Installing

DMX Engine runs as a desktop app, or as a headless engine you open in a browser. Both are the same engine, and the same pages.

The desktop app

The desktop app runs the engine inside its own window, on a Mac, on Windows 10 and 11, or on 64-bit Linux as an AppImage. Quitting saves the show.

Shows live in Documents/DMX Engine. The demo show is copied there the first time, and the app reopens the last show you used.
Fixture types you add or import are kept in the app's data folder (on macOS, ~/Library/Application Support/io.github.suva.dmx-engine/library; on Windows, %APPDATA%\io.github.suva.dmx-engine\library). The Open Fixture Library copy is read from inside the app.
The app listens on the network, so tablets can use the touch remote right away.
It uses port 7400, or another free port while a headless engine already has 7400.

The beta isn't signed yet, so the first time:

On a Mac, macOS says it can't check the app. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway beside DMX Engine.
On Windows, the installer says Windows protected your PC: click More info, then Run anyway. When the app first starts, allow it on private networks, or tablets and network output can't reach it.
On Linux, make the AppImage executable (chmod +x DMX-Engine.AppImage) and open it. It needs FUSE, which most desktops have; on Ubuntu it's the libfuse2 package.

The app checks for a newer version when it starts, and from Check for Updates… in the DMX Engine menu on a Mac (File on Windows and Linux). It asks before installing; then it saves the show and restarts into the new version. Updates don't need the first-time steps above.

To build it from the source on a Mac, run ./run.sh bundle; it produces DMX Engine.app and a .dmg. The Windows installer and the Linux AppImage are built on GitHub, by the Release builds workflow.

The headless engine

./run.sh server builds the interface and starts the engine, with the interface at http://localhost:7400. Changes are saved back to the show file within a second, and when you stop it. Useful options:

Option	Does
`--show <file>`	The show to open.
`--bind 0.0.0.0`	Allow other devices, such as a tablet. There is no login, so only on networks you trust.
`--port <n>`	Use another port.
`--sacn-unicast <ip>`	Send sACN to one address instead of multicast.
`--unlocked`	Start with editing unlocked.
`--no-audio`, `--no-osc`	Turn audio analysis or OSC off.

Permissions on macOS

Microphone: the engine analyzes the system's default audio input, and macOS asks for access the first time. See Tempo and audio.
Local Network: macOS asks the first time the engine sends sACN or announces itself to tablets. Without it, sending fails with "No route to host". See Troubleshooting.

Fixtures

The fixture library is already included: our own profiles and a copy of the Open Fixture Library. See Patching fixtures.