tek

a music making program for 24-bit unicode terminals.

written in rust with ratatui on crossterm for jack and pipewire.

tek is available as source, statically linked binaries, and on the aur.

hmu on mastodon @unspeaker@mastodon.social or matrix @unspeaker:matrix.org

this codebase produces the following binaries:

• tek_sequencer is a single-track, multi-pattern MIDI sequencer with properly tempo-synced pattern switch
• tek_groovebox connects the sequencer to a sampler, so that you can sample while you sequence
• tek_arranger is a multi-track sequencer based on a familiar clip launching UI
• tek_transport is a JACK transport controller
• tek_sampler is a MIDI-controlled sampler
• tek_plugin is an audio plugin host.
• tek_channel is a standalone channel strip
• tek_mixer is an audio mixer.

some of these are currently work in progress.

the project roadmap is at https://codeberg.org/unspeaker/tek/milestones

getting started

• requirements: linux; jack or pipewire; 24-bit terminal (i use kitty)
• recommended: midi controller; samples in wav format; lv2 plugins.

arch linux

tek is available as a package in the AUR. you can install it using an AUR helper (e.g. paru):

paru -S tek

downloads

see the releases page.

building from source

you'll need a Rust toolchain and various system libraries.

you can obtain the former using rustup and the latter using nix-shell. there's a shell.nix provided with the project.

from there, use the commands in the Justfile, e.g.:

just arranger

note that tek > 0.2.0-rc.7 will require rust nightly for the unstable features type_alias_impl_trait and impl_trait_in_assoc_type. make some noise for lucky rust rfc2515 if you want to see this buildable with stable/beta.

design goals

lightweight

• pop-up scratchpad for musical ideas
• low resource consumption, can stay open in background
• advanced toolset allows quickly expanding on compositions

flexible

• inspired by trackers and hardware sequencers
• able to record while playing!

programmable

• human-readable project format
• command architecture allows for scripting and remapping

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Note

Your moral support means a lot to me. Feel free to contact me on Mastodon![^0]

Love, 🤫 (a rogue knowledge worker in a cyberpunk dystopia)