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https://github.com/morgant/midisndiokontrol

WIP utility to control `sndio` audio levels & multimedia applications under OpenBSD (currently specific to the Korg nanoKONTROL2)
https://github.com/morgant/midisndiokontrol

midi midi-controller openbsd openbsd-scripts sndio sndiod x11 x11-automation xdotool

Last synced: 29 days ago
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WIP utility to control `sndio` audio levels & multimedia applications under OpenBSD (currently specific to the Korg nanoKONTROL2)

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README 

        
# midisndiokontrol

by Morgan Aldridge 



## OVERVIEW



A WIP (work in progress) utility that lets you control [sndio](https://sndio.org/) devices & state, plus X11 media applications, under [OpenBSD](https://www.openbsd.org/) using a MIDI control surface. It's currently being developed & tested with a [Korg nanoKONTROL2](https://www.korg.com/us/products/computergear/nanokontrol2/) (hence 'kontrol' in the name), but I plan to make it much more generic and configurable. It is currently just a wrapper around OpenBSD's [midicat(1)](http://man.openbsd.org/midicat), [sndioctl(1)](http://man.openbsd.org/sndioctl), [xdotool(1)](https://github.com/jordansissel/xdotool), but I expect to rewrite it in C once I have stabilized the concept more, for performance reasons.



*IMPORTANT:* _I am not a regular user of MIDI devices, nor have I delved into the spec yet, so I'm likely using incorrect terminology at this point. Please feel free to suggest corrections/improvements."_



## FEATURES



### CURRENT



`midisndiokontrol` can currently handle MIDI CONTROL CHANGE "Expression" (CC11) messages from the Korg nanoKONTROL2 and trigger:



* X11 key, keyup, or keydown events for various standard `XF86Audio*` media keys (via `xdotool`)

* Set, unset, or toggle mute for `sndio` devices (via `sndioctl`)

* Set a knob/slider value as the level for a `sndio` input, output, or application device (via `sndioctl`)



The script is currently relatively straightforward to modify for your specific MIDI input device, `sndio` devices, and X11 applications. I suggest:



1. Run `midicat -d -q midi/`

2. Press a key on your MIDI input device

3. Look at the 2nd column of hex output in the output of Step 1 to determine the key hex code

4. Edit the appropriate `key_*` variable content and set it to the hex code you identified

5. Update the `"$key_*")` handler in the `case` statement for the appropriate key to perform the action you'd like

6. Go to Step 2 and repeat until you've updated as you see fit



### PLANNED



* Rewrite in Perl

* Make more configurable, especially the following for any MIDI key input:

    * MIDI key hex ID

    * Event type (i.e. "key", "down", "up", "value")

    * Action type (i.e. `xdotool`, `sndioctl`, etc.)

    * Action parameters (e.g. `key `, `keydown `, `keyup ` for `xdotool` or `.level=` or `.mute=` for `sndioctl`)

* Add support for panning audio in sndioctl(1) by calculating/adjusting the individual levels for stereo devices (e.g. `sndioctl -i .level[0]= .level[1]=`; with the device 'level' assumed to equal 'level[0] + level[1]' if 'level[0]' != 'level[1]')

* Monitor `sndioctl -m` output for device value state changes and send MIDI commands to control surface to illuminate buttons, as appropriate (e.g. on Korg nanoKONTROL2, when LEDs set to 'external': illuminate 'play' button when playing and maybe pulse/flash when paused, illuminate fast-forward/rewind buttons while depressed, illuminate 'mute' buttons for individual input/output devices when they are muted, etc.)

* Create defaults for various devices

* Rewrite in C for increased performance

* Port to other platforms which support sndio



## PREREQUISITES



* [OpenBSD](https://www.openbsd.org/)

* A MIDI device

* [xdotool](https://github.com/jordansissel/xdotool)



## USAGE



1. Install `xdotool`:

    `doas pkg_add xdotool`

2. Connect your MIDI device

3. Either use midicat(1) to send your MIDI device's input to `midithru/0` as follows, or update the `midisndiokontrol` script to specify the specific MIDI device to use:

    `midicat -q midi/0 -q midithru/0 &`

4. Execute `midisndiokontrol` to start it processing MIDI events and triggering `sndioctl` changes or `xdotool` keyboard input events



## SIMILAR UTILITIES



You might want to check out these similar projects for controlling OpenBSD's sndiod(8) from X11:



* [sndiokeys](https://github.com/ratchov/sndiokeys)

* [xsndiomenu](https://github.com/morgant/xsndiomenu)



## RESOURCES



* [MIDI](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MIDI)

* [MIDI CC Lists & Explanations](https://nickfever.com/music/midi-cc-list)



## LICENSE



Released under the [MIT license](LICENSE).