OSC

Arkestra receives OSC (Open Sound Control) messages over UDP. OSC lets you control parameters from any software or hardware that speaks OSC - TouchOSC, Lemur, Max/MSP, Pure Data, custom scripts, etc.

Enabling the OSC receiver

Open the OSC panel (network icon) in the right sidebar and:

1. Enable the toggle under Enabled
2. Set the Port (default: 8000)

Mapping OSC to a parameter

Right-click any parameter → Map to OSC → New OSC Mapping

Enter the OSC address (e.g. /arkestra/speed) and Arkestra will listen for messages on that address and route them to the parameter.

Alternatively, use OSC Learn: right-click → OSC Learn, then send a message from your controller - Arkestra captures the address automatically.

Message format

Arkestra accepts messages with a single numeric argument (float, double, or integer). By default, values are passed through as-is — send 0.0–1.0 for direct 0–1 control. If your controller sends a different range (e.g. 0–127 or -1 to +1), use the Input Scaling section in the OSC panel to set the expected min/max, and Arkestra will normalise to 0–1 automatically.

/arkestra/speed  0.75

Multiple parameters per address

Multiple parameters can be mapped to the same OSC address - they all update simultaneously when that address receives a message. Useful for controlling a macro-style parameter that you haven’t formally set up as a macro.

OSC vs MIDI

	MIDI	OSC
Transport	Hardware cable / USB	UDP (network, localhost)
Values	7-bit (0-127)	32-bit float (arbitrary precision)
Addressing	CC number	Free-form string path
Best for	Hardware controllers	Software, custom controllers