All things livecoding

A curated list of livecoding languages and tools

This list was created with the intention of giving a quick-glance over the many possibilities to engage in this practice. For further information, head over to TOPLAP.

Table of Contents

• All things livecoding
  • What is livecoding?
  • Websites
  • Languages
  • Libraries and tools
  • To Watch
  • To Read
  • To Dance
  • Conferences
  • Community
  • Related lists
  • Acknowledgement
  • License

What is livecoding?

Quoting Wikipedia

Live coding (sometimes referred to as 'on-the-fly programming', 'just in time programming' and 'conversational programming') is a performing arts form and a creativity technique centred upon the writing of source code and the use of interactive programming in an improvised way.

Websites

• TOPLAP, the home of Live Coding

Languages

(In Alphabetical Order)

• afterglow, a live-coding lighting controller, building on the Open Lighting Architecture with Clojure and bits of Overtone Windows | OS X | GNU/Linux lisp FLOSS
• Alda, a music programming language for musicians. Windows | OS X | GNU/Linux FLOSS
• ChucK, Strongly-timed, Concurrent, and On-the-fly Music Programming Language. Windows | OS X | GNU/Linux FLOSS
• Conductive, a set of Haskell libraries for livecoding and real-time music applications. Windows | OS X | GNU/Linux haskell Supercollider FLOSS
• Cyril, a programming language designed for fast prototyping of visualisations and livecoding visuals. Windows | OS X | GNU/Linux openFrameworks FLOSS
• Extempore, (previously Impromptu) a programming language and runtime environment designed to support 'cyberphysical programming'. Windows | OS X | GNU/Linux lisp FLOSS
• Fluxus, a rapid prototyping, playing and learning environment for 3D graphics, sound and games. Windows | OS X | GNU/Linux | Android | PS2 racket-lang lisp FLOSS
• FoxDot, Live Coding with Python and SuperCollider. Windows | OS X | GNU/Linux Python Supercollider FLOSS
• Gibber, creative coding for JavaScript. Google Chrome | Mozilla Firefox web JavaScript FLOSS
• ixi lang, an experimental project concerned with the creation of digital musical instruments and environments for generative music. Windows | OS X | GNU/Linux Supercollider
• i-score, an interactive sequencer that allows live programming of OSC-enabled applications, through a visual language and JavaScript scripting. Windows | OS X | GNU/Linux C++ FLOSS
• LiveCodeLab, a web-based language and environment for VJs, musicians and graphic artists. Allows for immediate and engaging run-as-you-type prototyping, also used in education. Windows | OS X | GNU/Linux web FLOSS
• Max, a visual programming language for media. Windows | OS X graphical-language Commercial
• Moonlet, Lua live coding Windows | GNU/Linux
• Overtone, an open source audio environment designed to explore new musical ideas from synthesis and sampling to instrument building, live-coding and collaborative jamming. Windows | OS X | GNU/Linux Supercollider lisp FLOSS
• PraxisLive, hybrid visual IDE for live creative coding Windows | OS X | GNU/Linux Java Processing GLSL graphical-language FLOSS
• Pure Data, an open source visual programming language that can be used to process and generate sound, video, 2D/3D graphics, and interface sensors, input devices, and MIDI. Windows | OS X | GNU/Linux graphical-language FLOSS
• re<urse, a language for generating musical patterns. Windows | OS X | GNU/Linux TypeScript FLOSS
• serialist, a live coding environment that generates MIDI messages. Windows | OS X | GNU/Linux JavaScript FLOSS
• Sonic Pi, the Live Coding music synth for everyone. Windows | OS X | GNU/Linux Ruby Supercollider FLOSS
• SuperCollider, a platform for audio synthesis and algorithmic composition, used by musicians, artists, and researchers working with sound. Windows | OS X | GNU/Linux FLOSS
• synth-x, an experimental live coding environment for making music created with modern web technologies Windows | OS X | GNU/Linux JavaScript nodejs
• TidalCycles, is a language for Live Coding pattern. Windows | OS X | GNU/Linxux Haskell Supercollider FLOSS
• Vivid, Haskell synth live coding Haskell Supercollider
• vvvv, a hybrid visual/textual live-programming environment for easy prototyping and development. Windows | OS X visual-language Freeware | Commercial
• Wulfcode, a Midi live-coding environment for performance or composition OS X | Windows* | GNU/Linux* FLOSS
• xi, a domain-specific language for Live Coding musical patterns in Ruby. Windows | OS X | GNU/Linux Ruby Supercollider FLOSS

Libraries and tools

(Also in Alphabetical Order)

• Arcadia, live coding Clojure in Unity3D
• CHmUsiCK, library to make chucK a 'more algorave like' language
• dafxpipe, software for live coding audio effects and synths
• disclojure, a live coding environment for Overtone and Leipzig.
• EspGrid, synchronization and sharing for network music
• Extramuros, language-neutral shared-buffer networked live coding system
• The Force, webGL live coding performance IDE
• Gibberwocky, use Gibber inside Max/MSP and Max4Live
• glslViewer, Live GLSL coding render for MacOS and Linux
• HYLOGEN, an embedding of GLSL in Haskell
• isobar, a Python library for algorithmic composition by expressing and constructing musical patterns
• KodeLife, Real-time GPU shader editor, live-code performance tool and graphics prototyping sketchpad
• LÖVELive, 💕 Live coding framework for LÖVE(2D Game Engine)
• pytebeat, a piece of software for doing livecoding bytebeat performances
• p5-live, Live Coding for p5.js
• REPL Mode, this mode adds in a Read-Evaluate-Print-Loop console to Processing 3.0
• s2hs2, an interface between TidalCycles and Processing
• sonic-pixels, interactive lighting effects for Sonic Pi
• tidal-autocode, auto-generates patterns for TidalCycles (requires Atom editor)
• tidal-chord, an add-on to the amazing live coding project TidalCycles
• TidalUnity, an interface between TidalCycles and Unity 3D
• Tidal-Unity, TidalCycles meets Unity 3D
• tida1vm, another TidalCycles environment inside Docker
• tidebox, TidalCycles live coding environment inside a Docker container
• Troop, real-time collaborative live coding with FoxDot
• WavTexture, a Unity example showing how to bake a waveform of an audio clip into a texture and use it in a shader

To Watch

• Live coding for Algoraving, Shelly Knotts+Joanne Armitage / workshop supported by YSWN + LCRN
• Arte Tracks - Live coding and Algorave
• Programming as Performance, Sam Aaron
• THIS is computer music, Ge Wang
• Programming in Time - Live Coding for creative performances, Andrew Sorensen
• ComputerMusic(now), Andrew Sorensen
• Show Us Your Screens, a Documentary about live coding practise by Louis McCallum and Davy Smith
• Algorithms are Thoughts, Chainsaws are Tools, a short film on livecoding presented as part of the Critical Code Studies Working Group, March 2010, by Stephen Ramsay
• ICLC Youtube Channel, International Conference on Live Coding
• TidalCycles Youtube Channel, Official channel of the TidalCycles collective
• SuperCollider Tutorials, a video series by Eli Fieldsteel
• Hacking Choreography, a live coded dance performance

To Read

• Manifesto (draft), Obscurantism is dangerous. Show us your screens
• Origins of Live Coding, Nick Collins - Durham University
• Herding Cats: Observing Live Coding in the Wild, Thor Magnusson - Department of Music - University of Sussex
• Algorave: the live coding movement that makes next-level electronic music, MixMag magazine article about live coding (2017)
• Real DJs Code Live, Wired magazine article about live coding (2006)
• Alex McLean's publications, Conference papers, book chapters and journal articles
• Live Coding Mailing List Archive, a piece of history
• TOPLAP Wiki, videos, articles, and papers
• Collaboration and learning through live coding, Blackwell, Alan ; McLean, Alex ; Noble, James ; Rohrhuber, Julian

To Dance

• Algorave, embrace the alien sounds of raves from the past, and introduce alien, futuristic rhythms and beats made through strange, algorithm-aided processes
• Eulerroom, algorithmic music streams, mainly live coded and/or algorave but possibly also stranger things

Conferences

• ICLC, International Conference on Live Coding
• FARM, Workshop on Functional Art, Music, Modeling and Design
• ICLI, International Conference on Live Interfaces

Community

• LiveCode Slack, enter your email address and you're ready to go! chat
• LURK, a host for discussions around cultural freedom, experimental, new media art, net and computational culture, and things like that Mailing List
• POTAC, Programing of The Art Computer, Weblog
• /r/livecoding, the Live Coding subreddit

Related lists

• Awesome Creative Coding, 🎨 Creative Coding, Generative Art, Interaction Design, Resources
• Awesome Audio visualization, a curated list about Audio Visualization
• Awesome Music, a categorized collection of awesome music libraries, tools, frameworks and software.
• Awesome Live Coding Music, a curated list of awesome Music Live Coding Music environments, libraries and talks

Acknowledgement

This has been brought to you by these contributors.

How to contribute?

• Fork this repository
• Add the changes you feel appropriate (be it a language, something to read, something to watch, a tool, a conf, etc)
• Create a Pull Request with a description of what you've modified
• ???
• PROFIT !

Here is a friendly guide of how to proceed.

Code Of Conduct

This list follows the Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct v1.4.0, available here.

In the interest of fostering an open and welcoming environment, we as contributors and maintainers pledge to making participation in our project and our community a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, body size, disability, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, level of experience, nationality, personal appearance, race, religion, or sexual identity and orientation.

TL;DR: Be nice to each other.

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

To the extent possible under law, Mauro Lizaur has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this work.