A terminal-based music tracker powered by SuperCollider + JACK.
IMPORTANT NOTE: this software is currently in development and is definetly unstable and chock full of bugs.
COMPATIBILITY WARNING: Major version changes (X.0.0 -> Y.0.0) are not backward compatible. Save files from version X.0 cannot be used with version Y.0 and vice versa. Back up your projects before upgrading across major versions.
This is a music tracker designed to be used with any terminal (Linux, macOS, Windows WSL/terminal). It is the first tracker that (to my knowledge) uses SuperCollider as the sound engine, which allows for very flexible sound design and synthesis. It also uses JACK for audio routing, which allows for low-latency audio and MIDI routing.
- SuperCollider (required; extensions are checked at launch). Download here.
- SuperCollider extensions (required): Download here
- JACK (jackd) must be running with the output to your favorite speaker. Download here.
- collidertracker binary. See installation options below.
Option 1: Homebrew (Recommended)
brew tap schollz/tap
brew install collidertrackerOption 2: Manual Download Grab the latest build from Releases.
Grab the latest build from Releases.
Option 1: Automatic SuperCollider Management (Recommended)
- First start JACK audio server.
- Run collidertracker (it will automatically start and manage SuperCollider):
./collidertrackerOption 2: Manual SuperCollider Management
- First start JACK audio server.
- Run SuperCollider and then open
collidertracker/internal/supercollider/collidertracker.scdin SuperCollider. Then, in SuperCollider, goto "Language" -> "Evaluate File". SuperCollider should become Active. - Run collidertracker with the
--skip-scflag:
./collidertracker --skip-sc| Flag | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
--project <dir> |
save |
Project directory for songs and audio files |
-p, --port <port> |
57120 |
OSC port for SuperCollider communication |
--record |
false |
Enable automatic session recording |
--skip-sc |
false |
Skip SuperCollider management (assume SC running) |
--log <file> |
- | Write debug logs to specified file |
| Key Combo | Description |
|---|---|
| Shift+Right | Navigate deeper into structure: • Song → Chain (selected track/row) • Chain → Phrase (selected row) • Phrase → Retrigger/Timestretch/Arpeggio (if set) or File Browser |
| Shift+Left | Navigate back to parent view |
| Shift+Up | Go to Settings (from Song/Chain/Phrase) or File Metadata (from File Browser) |
| Shift+Down | Go to Mixer (from Song/Chain/Phrase) or back from Mixer |
| p | Toggle Preferences (Settings) view |
| m | Toggle Mixer view |
| Key Combo | Description |
|---|---|
| Arrow keys | Move cursor/navigate within current view |
| Left/Right | Navigate tracks (Song), chains (Chain), or columns (Phrase) |
| PgUp/PgDown | Jump to previous/next 16-row boundary (0x00, 0x10, 0x20, etc.) |
| Key Combo | Description |
|---|---|
| Space | Play/stop from current position |
| Ctrl+@ | Play/stop from top (global) |
| C | Smart trigger/fill function: • Non-empty values: Triggers EmitRowDataFor (plays row with full parameters)• Empty values: Fills with next available content or copies last row • Works in Song, Chain, and Phrase views |
| Ctrl+R | Toggle recording mode |
- Session Recording: Use
--recordflag or press Ctrl+R to toggle recording mode - Context-Aware Recording: Records current track (Chain/Phrase view) or all active tracks (Song view)
- Output: Generates master mix + individual track stems with timestamps
| Key Combo | Description |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+Up/Down | Coarse adjust values (+/-16, coarse increments) |
| Ctrl+Left/Right | Fine adjust values (+/-1, fine increments) |
| Backspace | Clear cell/value |
| Ctrl+H | Delete entire row |
| S | Paste last edited row |
| Key Combo | Description |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+C | Copy cell |
| Ctrl+X | Cut row |
| Ctrl+V | Paste |
| Ctrl+D | Deep copy |
| Key Combo | Description |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+S | Manual save |
| Ctrl+F | Smart fill/clear for DT column (Delta Time) |
| Ctrl+O | Open project selector to switch projects (press "n" to create new project) |
| Esc | Clear selection highlight |
| Ctrl+Q | Quit |
| View | Description |
|---|---|
| Song | Top-level arrangement: 8 tracks × 16 rows (chains per track) • Each track can be either Instrument or Sampler type |
| Chain | Pattern sequences: 16 rows mapping to phrases |
| Phrase | Main tracker grid with two modes: • Sampler – Full sample manipulation (pitch, effects, files) • Instrument – Note-based with chords, ADSR, arpeggio |
| View | Description |
|---|---|
| Settings | Global configuration (BPM, PPQ, audio gains, etc.) • Access with p key or Shift+Up |
| Mixer | Per-track volume levels and mixing • Access with m key or Shift+Down |
| View | Description |
|---|---|
| File Browser | Select audio files for sampler tracks |
| File Metadata | Configure BPM and slice count per file • Metadata is automatically saved with samples for portability |
| View | Description |
|---|---|
| Retrigger | Envelope settings for retrigger effects |
| Timestretch | Time-stretching parameters |
| Arpeggio | Arpeggio pattern editor (Instrument tracks only) |
The C key provides context-aware trigger and fill functionality across all views:
- Non-empty row: Triggers
EmitRowDataForwith complete parameter set:- Instrument tracks: Note, Chord (C/A/T), ADSR (A/D/S/R), Arpeggio (AR), MIDI (MI), SoundMaker (SO)
- Sampler tracks: All traditional sampler parameters
- Empty row: Copies last row with increment
- Non-empty slot: Triggers first row of the referenced phrase
- Empty slot: Fills with next unused phrase
- Non-empty slot: Finds first phrase in referenced chain and triggers its first row
- Empty slot: Fills with next unused chain
This unified approach allows instant playback testing of any musical element while maintaining the original fill functionality for composition workflow.
SL DT NN PI GT RT TS Я PA LP HP CO VE VL FI
SL DT NOT C A T A D S R AR MI SO VL
- SL (slice) – Row number display
- DT (delta time) – Unified playback control:
--/00= skip,>00= play for N ticks - NN/NOT (note) – MIDI note (hex) or note name
- PI (pitch) – Pitch bend (sampler only)
- GT (gate) – Note length/gate time
- RT (retrigger) – Retrigger effect index
- TS (timestretch) – Time-stretch effect index
- Я (reverse) – Reverse playback probability (0-F hex: 0=0%, F=100%)
- PA (pan) – Stereo panning
- LP/HP (filters) – Low-pass/High-pass filters
- CO (comb) – Comb filter effect
- VE (reverb) – Reverb effect
- VL (velocity) – Note velocity (0-F hex, affects volume and expression)
- FI (file index) – Sample file selection (sampler only)
- C (chord) – Chord type: None(-), Major(M), minor(m), Dominant(d) (instrument only)
- A (chord addition) – Chord addition: None(-), 7th(7), 9th(9), 4th(4) (instrument only)
- T (transposition) – Chord transposition: 0-F semitones (instrument only)
- A D S R (ADSR) – Attack/Decay/Sustain/Release envelope (instrument only)
- AR (arpeggio) – Arpeggio pattern index (instrument only)
- MI (MIDI) – MIDI settings index for external MIDI output (instrument only)
- SO (SoundMaker) – SoundMaker settings index for built-in synthesis (instrument only)
- VL (velocity) – Note velocity (0-F hex, affects volume and expression)
Both Sampler and Instrument views now use the same DT (Delta Time) column for playback control, replacing the previous separate P/DT system. This provides consistent behavior across both track types.
The VL (Velocity) column provides expressive control over note dynamics. SuperCollider tracks and responds to velocity values for both volume and expression, enabling more musical and dynamic performances.
The Я (Reverse) column in Sampler view now uses a probability system instead of a simple on/off flag:
- 0 = Never reverse (0% chance)
- 1 = ~6.7% chance to reverse
- F = Always reverse (100% chance)
- Values 1-E = Linear probability scaling between 6.7%-93.3%
Each time a note plays, the system randomly determines whether to apply reverse playback based on the probability value, adding dynamic variation to your tracks.
The application now uses a local folder structure (tracker-save/) instead of a single save file, automatically storing samples and their metadata together for complete project portability.
- Go (latest stable version)
- C/C++ compiler (GCC on Linux, Xcode on macOS, MinGW on Windows)
- System dependencies (varies by platform)
-
Install MSYS2: Download from https://www.msys2.org/
-
Install required packages in MSYS2 terminal:
pacman -S --noconfirm mingw-w64-x86_64-rtmidi mingw-w64-x86_64-toolchain
-
Set environment variables:
export CGO_ENABLED=1 export CC=x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc export CGO_LDFLAGS=-static export CGO_CXXFLAGS="-D__RTMIDI_DEBUG__=0 -D__RTMIDI_QUIET__"
-
Build:
go build -v -o collidertracker.exe
-
Install dependencies with Homebrew:
brew update brew install pkg-config rtmidi sox
-
Set environment variables:
export CGO_ENABLED=1 export CGO_CXXFLAGS="-D__RTMIDI_DEBUG__=0 -D__RTMIDI_QUIET__"
-
Build:
go build -v -o collidertracker
-
Install dependencies (Ubuntu/Debian):
sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install -y libasound2-dev sox
For other distros: Install equivalent packages for ALSA development headers and SoX
-
Set environment variables:
export CGO_CXXFLAGS="-D__RTMIDI_DEBUG__=0 -D__RTMIDI_QUIET__"
-
Build:
go build -v -o collidertracker
For a fully static binary that runs on any Linux system:
- Use Alpine Linux environment (Docker recommended):
docker run --rm -v $(pwd):/workspace -w /workspace golang:1.25-alpine sh -c ' apk add --no-cache git build-base autoconf automake libtool linux-headers alsa-lib-dev sox && cd /tmp && git clone https://github.com/alsa-project/alsa-lib.git && cd alsa-lib && git checkout v1.2.10 && libtoolize --force --copy --automake && aclocal && autoheader && automake --foreign --copy --add-missing && autoconf && ./configure --prefix=/usr/local --enable-shared=no --enable-static=yes --disable-ucm && make -j$(nproc) && make install && cd /workspace && export PKG_CONFIG_PATH="/usr/local/lib/pkgconfig:$PKG_CONFIG_PATH" && export CGO_CFLAGS="-I/usr/local/include" && export CGO_LDFLAGS="-L/usr/local/lib" && export CGO_CXXFLAGS="-D__RTMIDI_DEBUG__=0 -D__RTMIDI_QUIET__" && CGO_ENABLED=1 go build -buildvcs=false -ldflags "-linkmode external -extldflags \"-static -L/usr/local/lib\"" -o collidertracker '
After building, verify the binary works:
./collidertracker --help- The build requires CGO (C bindings) for MIDI and audio functionality
- Static linking is used on Windows and in the Alpine Linux build for portability
- The RTMIDI debug flags are disabled for release builds to reduce verbosity
- Version information can be embedded using:
go build -ldflags "-X main.Version=<version>"
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