This repo is both a set of libraries and a specifically built project-setup for creative coding. It is a Deno‑workspace monorepo that unifies browser/Vite apps, Deno notebooks (aka Jupyter notebooks using the Deno kernel), shared TypeScript packages, and native Rust helpers. The goal is to create a set of Typescript based libraries for creative coding that can run both "natively" via Deno and/or also in the browser. The goal of the project setup in this repo is to make VSCode intellisense work “out of the box” across all environments (Deno files, jupyter notebooks).

The purpose of integrating Deno is to allow for a first-class livecoding experience for sketching and prototyping. Deno comes out of the box with support for Jupyter Notebooks. checkout the examples in apps/deno-notebooks/examples

Requirements:

• bash (the setup script is a bash script)
• Internet access (to download toolchains and dependencies)

Run:

./setup.sh

If missing, setup.sh will install:

• Rust toolchain (via rustup)
• Deno
• uv (Python package manager)
• Node.js (via nvm)

Then it will:

• Build native Rust/FFI helpers
• Cache Deno dependencies
• Create the uv venv and install Jupyter
• Install the custom Deno (avtools unstable) Jupyter kernel
• Install npm dependencies for apps/browser-projections
• Build the piano-roll web component bundle used by livecode/tldraw views
• Install npm dependencies for apps/livecode-tldraw

After that:

1. Open avtools.code-workspace in VS Code - this should

Open the workspace file:

avTools/avtools.code-workspace

This is configured to keep the Deno LSP enabled for the Deno packages + notebooks while letting the browser app use the standard TS/Vite tooling.

When you open the repo in VS Code, you’ll be prompted to install the recommended extensions (Deno, Jupyter, Python, Vue language server, Rust analyzer). These are listed in avTools/.vscode/extensions.json.

The interactive livecode environment has a dedicated documentation entrypoint: docs/livecode/README.md. It covers the React/tldraw client in apps/livecode-tldraw, the Deno server in apps/deno-notebooks/livecode, their wire protocols, design principles, testing, known risks, and historical documents.

avTools/
├─ deno.json                 # Deno workspace + import map
├─ avtools.code-workspace    # Recommended VSCode multi‑root workspace
├─ docs/livecode/            # Canonical livecode docs and agent entrypoint
├─ packages/                 # Shared, Deno‑first TS libraries
│  ├─ core-timing/
│  ├─ creative-algs/
│  ├─ music-types/
│  ├─ ui-bridge/
│  ├─ power2d/
│  ├─ power2d-codegen/
│  └─ shader-fx/
├─ apps/
│  ├─ browser-projections/   # Vue + Vite web app
│  ├─ livecode-tldraw/       # React/tldraw livecode client
│  └─ deno-notebooks/        # Deno notebooks, livecode server, and Rust FFI libs
├─ tools/
│  ├─ vite-shader-plugin/    # Vite shader codegen wrapper
│  └─ shader-watch/          # Deno watcher for shader codegen
└─ webcomponents/            # Standalone webcomponent bundles for UI that runs in the notebooks

Two parts of the repo can be built as self-contained, double-clickable macOS .app bundles — no Homebrew, no Deno on PATH, no other host setup required. The build scripts walk the dylib chain, stage assets in Contents/Resources/, and ad-hoc sign so the kernel will launch them. Distribution outside the dev's own machine still needs a Developer ID cert + notarization; see the per-app READMEs.

• encoder-gui/ — Rust + egui frontend that drives ffmpeg to encode video into HAP / HAP-Q .happack files. The bundled .app ships its own ffmpeg + ffprobe and the full Homebrew dylib chain they need, so end users don't need ffmpeg installed. See encoder-gui/README.md. Build: cd encoder-gui && bundle/macos/build-app.sh.

• apps/deno-notebooks/examples/hanoiShow/ — combined_landscape.ts packaged as a Deno-compiled binary plus the four FFI Rust dylibs (deno_window, syphon_bridge, text_engine, midi_bridge), Syphon.framework, fonts, the poem, and the tweakpane / perf-pane web bundles. See apps/deno-notebooks/examples/hanoiShow/README.md. Build: cd apps/deno-notebooks && examples/hanoiShow/bundle/macos/build-app.sh.

A shared pattern, apps/deno-notebooks/bundle_paths.ts, handles the deno compile virtual-filesystem path mismatch by rewriting both Deno.dlopen and asset URLs to Contents/Resources/... when the binary is running compiled.

• Interactive livecode environment. apps/livecode-tldraw is the active spatial client; apps/deno-notebooks/livecode owns analysis, execution, projects, snapshots, language-server proxying, and piano-roll state. Start at docs/livecode/README.md, not the older Vue visualizer plans.
• Deno workspace first. The root deno.json defines all workspace members and the import map. Shared packages are Deno‑native and are referenced via @avtools/*.
• Browser app (Vue/Vite). apps/browser-projections uses Vite and Vue. It aliases @avtools/* to the workspace packages so the browser app can import shared logic.
• Deno notebooks. apps/deno-notebooks contains TypeScript notebooks and helpers. It also includes Rust FFI libraries:
  • native/fastsleep – precise sleep for Deno
  • native/midi_bridge – MIDI I/O via midir
  • native/deno_window – windowed WebGPU surface for Deno to display graphics
• Power2D split. Shader codegen lives in packages/power2d-codegen. The Vite plugin (tools/vite-shader-plugin) imports from that package directly.
• ShaderFX split. Babylon/WGSL + Babylon/GL post-processing runtime now lives in packages/shader-fx, with generated fragment wrappers emitted to packages/shader-fx/generated.
• creative-algs is a shared tools package used by both browser sketches and Deno notebooks.

• Use @avtools/* for cross‑workspace imports.
• For Deno + Vite compatibility, use explicit .ts extensions for local relative imports inside packages.

Most subtrees still lack a README. The two .app-bundle READMEs above are the most recent and detailed; the rest of this list is a punch-card of what's missing and what's stale, ordered roughly by how often you'd want to read it.

• Native crates under apps/deno-notebooks/native/: deno_window (wry-based window + webview FFI), text_engine (HarfBuzz shaping FFI), hap_decoder (HAP frame decoder used by the encoder + browser projections), push2_display (Ableton Push 2 RGB display FFI), fastsleep (precise-sleep FFI).
• Shared packages under packages/: core-timing, creative-algs, music-types, ui-bridge, power2d, power2d-codegen, shader-fx, shader-fx-codegen, compute-shader, compute-shader-codegen, codegen-common.
• Tools under tools/: vite-shader-plugin, shader-watch.

• apps/browser-projections/README.md — explicitly self-labelled "Documentation in progress, bugs guaranteed". The repo has grown a lot since.
• apps/browser-projections/src/pianoRoll/README.md — Oct 2025, may have drifted from the Konva implementation.
• apps/browser-projections/reaction-diffusion-webgl/README.md — Oct 2025, single-component, may still be accurate.
• webcomponents/README.md — short (15 lines); components have grown since it was written.