Collidertracker

<p align="center"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zViMACW6VbQ"> <img width="600" alt="vlcsnap-2025-08-23-18h24m04s244" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/7d4c36c0-bd28-4611-a41b-ddf864af045c" /> </a> <br> <a href="https://github.com/schollz/collidertracker/releases/latest"> <img src="https://img.shields.io/github/v/release/schollz/collidertracker" alt="Version"> </a> <a href="https://github.com/schollz/collidertracker/actions/workflows/build.yml"> <img src="https://github.com/schollz/collidertracker/actions/workflows/build.yml/badge.svg" alt="Build Status"> </a> <a href="https://github.com/sponsors/schollz"> <img alt="GitHub Sponsors" src="https://img.shields.io/github/sponsors/schollz"> </a> </p>

A terminal-based music tracker powered by SuperCollider.

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 (to my knowledge) that uses SuperCollider as the sound engine, which allows for very flexible sound design and synthesis.

Prerequisites

• SuperCollider (required; extensions are checked at launch). Download here.
• collidertracker binary. See installation options below.

Automatic Plugin Downloads

ColliderTracker will automatically download required SuperCollider extensions on first run if they are not already installed. These extensions are downloaded to your system's standard SuperCollider extensions directory:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/SuperCollider/Extensions
• Linux: ~/.local/share/SuperCollider/Extensions
• Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%/SuperCollider/Extensions

The following extensions are automatically downloaded:

• PortedPlugins (schollz/portedplugins) - Audio effects including Fverb and AnalogTape
• mi-UGens (v7b1/mi-UGens) - Mutable Instruments synthesizer modules including MiBraids
• Open303 (schollz/open303) - TB-303 bassline synthesizer emulator
• Juno60 (schollz/juno-60) - Roland Juno-60 analog polysynth emulator with chorus
• SC3 Plugins (supercollider/sc3-plugins) - Community collection of SuperCollider plugins including FM7

Checking the SuperCollider Installation Worked

First, open the SuperCollider IDE by searching for and running 'SuperCollider IDE'. The IDE should open and give you three main panes:

• a large blank text window
• a help window
• a post window containing text about how the startup process went.

Secondly, boot the server using the command in the Language menu, or Ctrl+B.

Thirdly, enter the following into the blank text window:

supercolliderCopy
{SinOsc.ar}.play

Ensure the cursor is on this line and hit Ctrl+Enter. You should now hear a sine tone. Kill the sine tone by hitting Ctrl+.. If you don't hear the tone, remember to check your speakers, volume control – all the regular suspects!

Installation

macOS

Option 1: Homebrew (Recommended)

bashCopy
brew tap schollz/tap
brew install collidertracker

Option 2: Manual Download
Grab the latest build from Releases.

Linux/Windows

Grab the latest build from Releases.

Run

Option 1: (Recommended)

Simply run collidertracker - it will automatically detect if SuperCollider is already running with ColliderTracker code, or start a new instance if needed:

bashCopy
./collidertracker

Note: On Windows, you may need to add SuperCollider to the list of approved programs. Run the following commands in an Administrator-level PowerShell:

powershellCopy
Add-MpPreference -ExclusionProcess "C:\Program Files\SuperCollider-3.13.0\sclang.exe"
Add-MpPreference -ExclusionProcess "C:\Program Files\SuperCollider-3.13.0\scsynth.exe"

Option 2: Manual SuperCollider Management

If you prefer complete manual control:

1. Run SuperCollider and then open collidertracker/internal/supercollider/collidertracker.scd in SuperCollider. Then, in SuperCollider, goto "Language" -> "Evaluate File". SuperCollider should become Active.
2. Run collidertracker with the --skip-sc flag to bypass all detection and management:

bashCopy
./collidertracker -s

Command-line Options

Flag	Default	Description
-p, --project <dir>	save	Project directory for songs and audio files
--port <port>	57120	OSC port for SuperCollider communication
-r, --record	false	Enable automatic session recording (entire session to SuperCollider recordings folder)
-s, --skip-sc	false	Skip SuperCollider detection and management entirely
-l, --log <file>	-	Write debug logs to specified file

Tutorial

<p align="center"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFGIcI3h3m0"> <img width="600" alt="vlcsnap-2025-08-23-18h24m04s244"src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/7d4c36c0-bd28-4611-a41b-ddf864af045c"/> </a> </p>

Keyboard — Quick Reference

Navigation Between Views

Key Combo	Description
Shift+Right	Navigate deeper into structure:<br>• Song → Chain (selected track/row)<br>• Chain → Phrase (selected row)<br>• 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

Navigation Within Views

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.)

Playback and Recording

Key Combo	Description
Space	Play/stop from current position
Ctrl+@	Play/stop from top (global)
C	Smart trigger/fill function:<br>• Non-empty values: Triggers EmitRowDataFor (plays row with full parameters)<br>• Empty values: Fills with next available content or copies last row<br>• Works in Song, Chain, and Phrase views
Ctrl+R	Toggle recording mode

Recording Features

ColliderTracker offers two types of recording:

Session Recording (-r, --record flag)

• Records the entire session from start to finish
• Output saved to SuperCollider's default recordings folder
• Captures everything: all tracks, effects, and audio output
• Automatic recording begins when the program starts

Multitrack Recording (Ctrl+R in program)

• Context-aware recording of active tracks only
• Records current track (Chain/Phrase view) or all active tracks (Song view)
• Output: Generates master mix + individual track stems with timestamps
• Toggle recording on/off during playback for selective capture

Value Editing

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

Copy and Paste

Key Combo	Description
Ctrl+C	Copy cell
Ctrl+X	Cut row
Ctrl+V	Paste
Ctrl+D	Deep copy

File Operations and System

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

Views

Main Structure Views

View	Description
Song	Top-level arrangement: 8 tracks × 16 rows (chains per track)<br>• Each track can be either Instrument or Sampler type
Chain	Pattern sequences: 16 rows mapping to phrases
Phrase	Main tracker grid with two modes:<br>• Sampler – Full sample manipulation (pitch, effects, files)<br>• Instrument – Note-based with chords, ADSR, arpeggio

Support Views

View	Description
Settings	Global configuration (BPM, PPQ, audio gains, etc.)<br>• Access with p key or Shift+Up
Mixer	Per-track volume levels and mixing<br>• Access with m key or Shift+Down

File Management Views

View	Description
File Browser	Select audio files for sampler tracks
File Metadata	Configure BPM and slice count per file<br>• Metadata is automatically saved with samples for portability

Effect Configuration Views

View	Description
Retrigger	Envelope settings for retrigger effects
Timestretch	Time-stretching parameters
Arpeggio	Arpeggio pattern editor (Instrument tracks only)
Modulate	Note modulation with randomization, scaling, and probability

Modulation Settings

The Modulation system provides powerful note transformation capabilities for both Instrument and Sampler tracks. Access it by navigating to a MO (Modulate) column value and pressing Shift+Right.

Overview

Modulation settings allow you to:

• Add controlled randomness to notes
• Apply mathematical transformations (add/subtract)
• Quantize notes to musical scales
• Create incremental note sequences
• Control probability of modulation effects

Parameters

Parameter	Range	Description
Seed	none/random/1-128	Random number generator seed:<br>• none = No randomization<br>• random = Time-based seed (different each time)<br>• 1-128 = Fixed seed for reproducible results
IRandom	0-128	Random variation range applied to notes (0 = no randomization)
Sub	0-120	Value subtracted from the note after randomization
Add	0-120	Value added to the note after subtraction
Increment	0-128	Increment value applied based on playback counter
Wrap	0-128	Wrap point for increment counter (0 = no wrapping)
ScaleRoot	C-B	Root note of the scale (C, C#, D, etc.)
Scale	Various	Musical scale for quantization:<br>• all = No scale quantization<br>• major, minor, dorian, mixolydian<br>• pentatonic, blues, chromatic
Probability	0-100%	Chance that modulation will be applied (100% = always)

Processing Order

Modulation is applied in this sequence:

1. Increment - Added based on playback counter (if active)
2. Random Variation - Applied if IRandom > 0 and Seed is not "none"
3. Subtraction - Sub value is subtracted
4. Addition - Add value is added
5. Scale Quantization - Note is quantized to nearest scale note (if not "all")

Usage Examples

Basic Randomization

• Seed: random, IRandom: 12, Sub: 6, Add: 0
• Adds ±6 semitones of random variation to notes

Incremental Sequences

• Increment: 2, Wrap: 12
• Each successive trigger moves the note up 2 semitones, wrapping after 12 semitones

Scale Quantization

• ScaleRoot: C, Scale: major, Probability: 75%
• 75% chance to quantize notes to C major scale

Controlled Chaos

• Seed: 42, IRandom: 24, Sub: 12, Add: 5, Scale: minor
• Reproducible random variations within a minor scale

Track-Specific Behavior

Instrument Tracks: Modulation applies to:

• Individual notes when no chord/arpeggio is active
• All chord notes when chords are used without arpeggio
• All arpeggio notes (including root) when arpeggio is active

Sampler Tracks: Modulation applies to the sample's playback pitch

Tips

• Use fixed seeds (1-128) for reproducible "random" patterns
• Set Probability < 100% to create organic, non-mechanical variations
• Combine Increment with Wrap for cyclical melodic patterns
• Use scale quantization to keep random variations musically coherent

Smart 'C' Key Functionality

The C key provides context-aware trigger and fill functionality across all views:

Phrase View

• Non-empty row: Triggers EmitRowDataFor with 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

Chain View

• Non-empty slot: Triggers first row of the referenced phrase
• Empty slot: Fills with next unused phrase

Song View

• 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.

Phrase Columns

Sampler View

SL  DT  NN  PI  GT  RT  TS  Я  PA  LP  HP  CO  VE  VL  MO  FI

Instrument View

SL  DT  NOT  C  A  T  A D S R  AR  MI  SO  VL  MO

Column Descriptions

• 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)
• MO (modulate) – Modulation settings index for note randomization and scaling
• 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)

Key Features

Unified DT Column

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.

Velocity Support

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.

Probability-Based Reverse Effect

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.

Portable Sample Management

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.

Building from source

Prerequisites for Building

• Go (latest stable version)
• C/C++ compiler (GCC on Linux, Xcode on macOS, MinGW on Windows)
• System dependencies (varies by platform)

Windows

1. Install MSYS2: Download from https://www.msys2.org/

2. Install required packages in MSYS2 terminal:

   bashCopy
   pacman -S --noconfirm mingw-w64-x86_64-rtmidi mingw-w64-x86_64-toolchain

3. Set environment variables:

   bashCopy
   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__"

4. Build:

   bashCopy
   go build -v -o collidertracker.exe

macOS

1. Install dependencies with Homebrew:

   bashCopy
   brew update
   brew install pkg-config rtmidi

2. Set environment variables:

   bashCopy
   export CGO_ENABLED=1
   export CGO_CXXFLAGS="-D__RTMIDI_DEBUG__=0 -D__RTMIDI_QUIET__"

3. Build:

   bashCopy
   go build -v -o collidertracker

Linux

Standard Build (Dynamic Linking)

1. Install dependencies (Ubuntu/Debian):

   bashCopy
   sudo apt-get update
   sudo apt-get install -y libasound2-dev

   For other distros: Install equivalent packages for ALSA development headers

2. Set environment variables:

   bashCopy
   export CGO_CXXFLAGS="-D__RTMIDI_DEBUG__=0 -D__RTMIDI_QUIET__"

3. Build:

   bashCopy
   go build -v -o collidertracker

Static Build (Portable)

For a fully static binary that runs on any Linux system:

1. Use Alpine Linux environment (Docker recommended):

   bashCopy
   docker run --rm -v $(pwd):/workspace -w /workspace golang:1.25-alpine sh -c '
   apk add --no-cache git build-base autoconf automake libtool linux-headers alsa-lib-dev &&
   cd /tmp &&
   git clone https://github.com/alsa-project/alsa-lib.git &&
   cd alsa-lib && git checkout v1.2.10 &&
   libtoolize --force --copy --automake && aclocal && autoheader &&
   automake --foreign --copy --add-missing && autoconf &&
   ./configure --prefix=/usr/local --enable-shared=no --enable-static=yes --disable-ucm &&
   make -j$(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
   '

Testing the Build

After building, verify the binary works:

bashCopy
./collidertracker --help

Build Notes

• 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>"

Big list of trackers

Popular Modern / Commercial

• Renoise
• SunVox
• DefleMask
• dirtywave m8

Cross-Platform / General Trackers & Experimental

• OpenMPT (ModPlug Tracker)
• MilkyTracker
• Schism Tracker
• Furnace
• Radium Music Editor
• Psycle
• Buzztrax
• SoundTracker (GTK/Unix) · Source
• ChibiTracker
• Propulse Tracker
• Pata Tracker

Classic Trackers & Clones

• FastTracker II (original info) · ft2-clone
• ProTracker 2 clone (pt2-clone)
• HivelyTracker
• Impulse Tracker (mirror)
• Scream Tracker 3
• Skale Tracker
• MadTracker

Game Boy / NES / Console-Focused / Chiptune

• LSDj (Little Sound Dj)
• 0CC-FamiTracker
• FamiStudio · Website
• LittleGPTracker (LGPT) · Website
• NitroTracker · GitHub Fork
• klystrack · Itch.io page
• Lovely Composer

Commodore 64 / SID

• GoatTracker 2
• SID Factory II
• CheeseCutter
• SID-Wizard (C64 release info)
• JITT64 (Java Ice Team Tracker)

Yamaha / FM & Multi-Chip

• BambooTracker
• Protrekkr
• Reality Adlib Tracker (RAD)

Web / Browser / Mobile Trackers

• BassoonTracker · Live Demo
• XO-Tracker DEMO
• Sound Composer NX

Niche / Experimental

• Shield Tracker (sTracker) · Shortcuts
• 1tracker (1-bit ZX/retro)
• WaveTracker
• Oxide Tracker

Uninstalling ColliderTracker

To completely remove all ColliderTracker-related data from your system:

1. Remove ColliderTracker Binary and Project Data

• Delete the ColliderTracker binary from wherever you installed it (e.g., /usr/local/bin/collidertracker or the downloaded location)
• Delete your project directory (default: ./save/ in the directory where you run ColliderTracker, or custom directory specified with -p flag)

2. Remove Downloaded SuperCollider Extensions

ColliderTracker automatically downloads SuperCollider extensions to the following locations:

• macOS: Remove ~/Library/Application Support/SuperCollider/Extensions/PortedPlugins/, ~/Library/Application Support/SuperCollider/Extensions/mi-UGens/, ~/Library/Application Support/SuperCollider/Extensions/Open303/, ~/Library/Application Support/SuperCollider/Extensions/Juno60/, and ~/Library/Application Support/SuperCollider/Extensions/SC3plugins/
• Linux: Remove ~/.local/share/SuperCollider/Extensions/PortedPlugins/, ~/.local/share/SuperCollider/Extensions/mi-UGens/, ~/.local/share/SuperCollider/Extensions/Open303/, ~/.local/share/SuperCollider/Extensions/Juno60/, and ~/.local/share/SuperCollider/Extensions/SC3plugins/
• Windows: Remove %LOCALAPPDATA%/SuperCollider/Extensions/PortedPlugins/, %LOCALAPPDATA%/SuperCollider/Extensions/mi-UGens/, %LOCALAPPDATA%/SuperCollider/Extensions/Open303/, %LOCALAPPDATA%/SuperCollider/Extensions/Juno60/, and %LOCALAPPDATA%/SuperCollider/Extensions/SC3plugins/

Note: These extensions may also be used by other SuperCollider applications. Only remove them if you're sure they're not needed by other software.

3. Clean Up Temporary Files

ColliderTracker may create temporary .scd files in your system's temp directory during operation. These are automatically cleaned up when the application exits, but you can manually remove any remaining files with names like:

• collidertracker_*.scd
• dx7_*.afx
• dx7_*.scd

4. SuperCollider Recordings (Optional)

If you used the recording feature (-r flag), recordings are saved to SuperCollider's default recordings directory. You may want to back up or remove these files:

• macOS: ~/Music/SuperCollider Recordings/
• Linux: ~/SuperCollider/
• Windows: %USERPROFILE%/Music/SuperCollider Recordings/

Notes

LOC:

bashCopy
cloc --by-file --include-ext=go --not-match-f='dx7' internal

License

MIT