A curated list of live coding 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.

Contents

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

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.

• TOPLAP, the home of Live Coding

(In Alphabetical Order)

• afterglow, a live-coding lighting controller, building on the Open Lighting Architecture with Clojure and bits of Overtone. Windows | macOS | GNU/Linux lisp FLOSS audio
• Alda, a music programming language for musicians. Windows | macOS | GNU/Linux FLOSS audio
• ChucK, Strongly-timed, Concurrent, and On-the-fly Music Programming Language. Windows | macOS | GNU/Linux FLOSS audio
• Conductive, a set of Haskell libraries for livecoding and real-time music applications. Windows | macOS | GNU/Linux haskell Supercollider FLOSS audio
• Cyril, a programming language designed for fast prototyping of visualisations and livecoding visuals. Windows | macOS | GNU/Linux openFrameworks FLOSS visuals
• Extempore, (previously Impromptu) a programming language and runtime environment designed to support 'cyberphysical programming'. Windows | macOS | GNU/Linux lisp FLOSS audio
• Fluxus, a rapid prototyping, playing and learning environment for 3D graphics, sound and games. Windows | macOS | GNU/Linux | Android | PS2 racket-lang lisp FLOSS visuals
• FoxDot, Live Coding with Python and SuperCollider. Windows | macOS | GNU/Linux Python Supercollider FLOSS audio
• Gibber, creative coding for JavaScript. Google Chrome | Mozilla Firefox web JavaScript FLOSS audio
• ixi lang, an experimental project concerned with the creation of digital musical instruments and environments for generative music. Windows | macOS | GNU/Linux Supercollider audio
• i-score, an interactive sequencer that allows live programming of OSC-enabled applications, through a visual language and JavaScript scripting. Windows | macOS | GNU/Linux C++ FLOSS audio
• 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 | macOS | GNU/Linux web FLOSS visuals
• Max, a visual programming language for media. Windows | macOS graphical-language Commercial audio visuals
• Moonlet, Lua live coding. Windows | GNU/Linux audio
• 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 | macOS | GNU/Linux Supercollider lisp FLOSS audio
• PraxisLive, hybrid visual IDE for live creative coding. Windows | macOS | GNU/Linux Java Processing GLSL graphical-language FLOSS visuals
• 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 | macOS | GNU/Linux graphical-language FLOSS audio visuals
• re<urse, a language for generating musical patterns. Windows | macOS | GNU/Linux TypeScript FLOSS audio
• Repetition.sc, a set of tools to build a SequenceableCollection of Events. Windows | macOS | GNU/Linux Supercollider FLOSS audio
• serialist, a live coding environment that generates MIDI messages. Windows | macOS | GNU/Linux JavaScript FLOSS audio
• Skoar, a high-level language for coding music with SuperCollider. Windows | macOS | GNU/Linux SuperCollider Python FLOSS audio
• Sonic Pi, the Live Coding music synth for everyone. Windows | macOS | GNU/Linux Ruby Supercollider FLOSS audio
• Steno, Concatenative little metalanguage for live coding. Windows | macOS | GNU/Linux Supercollider audio
• SuperCollider, a platform for audio synthesis and algorithmic composition, used by musicians, artists, and researchers working with sound. Windows | macOS | GNU/Linux FLOSS audio
• synth-x, an experimental live coding environment for making music created with modern web technologies. Windows | macOS | GNU/Linux JavaScript nodejs audio
• TidalCycles, is a language for Live Coding pattern. Windows | macOS | GNU/Linxux Haskell Supercollider FLOSS audio
• Vivid, Haskell synth live coding. Haskell Supercollider audio
• Vuo, a realtime visual programming language for interactive media. macOS visual-language FLOSS | Commercial visuals
• vvvv, a hybrid visual/textual live-programming environment for easy prototyping and development. Windows visual-language Freeware | Commercial visuals
• Wulfcode, a Midi live-coding environment for performance or composition. macOS | Windows* | GNU/Linux* FLOSS audio
• xi, a domain-specific language for Live Coding musical patterns in Ruby. Windows | macOS | GNU/Linux Ruby Supercollider FLOSS audio

(Also in Alphabetical Order)

• Arcadia, live coding Clojure in Unity3D.
• Bonzomatic, GLSL and HLSL live coding environment, originally designed for live coding competitions at demoparties.
• CHmUsiCK, library to make chucK a 'more algorave like' language.
• cl-collider, A SuperCollider client for CommonLisp.
• 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.
• Fragment, collaborative live GLSL coding environment, additive/spectral/granular synthesizer.
• The Force, webGL live coding performance IDE.
• Gibberwocky, use Gibber inside Max/MSP and Max4Live.
• glslViewer, Live GLSL coding render for MacOS and Linux.
• hsc3, a Haskell SuperCollider client.
• hydra, Live Coding networked visuals in the browser.
• HYLOGEN, an embedding of GLSL in Haskell.
• incudine, Music/DSP programming environment for Common Lisp.
• 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).
• Petal, a small language on Sonic Pi with similar syntax to TidalCycles.
• 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.
• Republic, SuperCollider library for conversational coding.
• s2hs2, an interface between TidalCycles and Processing.
• Siren, a tracker interface that embodies abstractions where programming is realized as the medium for pattern sequencing in a modular fashion.
• sonic-pixels, interactive lighting effects for Sonic Pi.
• SpectralTricks, a haskell package adding spectral effects to Tidal.
• tidal-autocode, auto-generates patterns for TidalCycles (requires Atom editor).
• tidal-chord, an add-on to the amazing live coding project TidalCycles.
• tidal-maxmsp, connecting the Tidal live coding environment to MaxMSP.
• 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.

• 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.
• PBUP - a patchwork portrait, a documentary about PowerBooks UnPlugged, "the first acoustic computer band".

• 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.
• howto_co34pt_liveCode, Guide on how to live code in SuperCollider based on the performance practice of live coder co￥ﾡpt.
• Run the code: is algorave the future of dance music?, another part of the Guardian’s underground music series (2017).

• 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.
• Algorave Guidelines, guidelines to host an Algorave.

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

• 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.
• LiveCoders, a semi-curated list of people doing live coding in the performing arts.

• 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.
• Programming Languages Used for Music, an historical list of languages to produce music.

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