broomva Livecoding — TidalCycles + Hydra workflow
A skill for the algorave / livecoded-electronic-music workflow. You write code
in real time → patterns emit OSC messages → SuperDirt synthesizes the audio →
Hydra renders matching visuals. Same lineage as #livecode #electronicmusic #algorave.
This is code-as-music, not AI-generated music. The aesthetic comes from polyrhythmic + cyclic structure idiomatic to the tool, not from a generative model. For AI-music generation (Suno / Udio / MusicGen), that's a separate stack — out of scope here.
When to invoke
| User intent | Workflow | Quick command |
|---|---|---|
| "Get me set up" / fresh install / "is everything working?" | Boot | Walk prereq check + boot ritual |
| "Generate a pattern" / "make me a beat" / "give me an industrial pattern" | StarterPattern | Vibe descriptor → Tidal pattern |
| "Visuals" / "tunnel" / "kaleidoscope" / "open Hydra" | HydraVisuals | Open the Hydra page; offer pattern mutations |
Default discipline: any livecoding-domain conversation opens with a state check
— is SuperCollider running? Is SuperDirt.start; evaluated? Is Tidal booted in
the editor? — before generating patterns. Dumping a pattern into a chat when
the user's stack isn't running just produces frustration.
The stack
Editor (VS Code + Tidal extension) ← you write Haskell-ish patterns
│
▼ OSC (UDP 57120)
TidalCycles (Haskell, in ghci) ← cycles + pattern combinators
│
▼ OSC
SuperDirt (SuperCollider quark) ← sampler + synth router
│
▼
scsynth (SuperCollider server) ← audio synthesis → speakers
Browser / VS Code Simple Browser ← visuals pane
│
▼
hydra-synth (WebGL) ← livecoded visuals, separate process
Prereqs (Mac)
| Component | How to verify | Install |
|---|---|---|
| Homebrew | brew --version |
https://brew.sh |
| SuperCollider | ls /Applications/SuperCollider.app |
brew install --cask supercollider |
| SuperDirt | open SC → Quarks.installed.do(|q| q.name.postln) |
In SC: Quarks.install("SuperDirt", "v1.7.3"); |
| Haskell | ghc --version && cabal --version |
curl -sSf https://get-ghcup.haskell.org | sh |
| TidalCycles | ghci -e 'import Sound.Tidal.Context' |
cabal install tidal --lib |
| VS Code | ls /Applications/Visual\ Studio\ Code.app |
https://code.visualstudio.com |
| VS Code Tidal extension | code --list-extensions | grep tidal |
install tidalcycles.vscode-tidalcycles |
See Boot workflow for the full sequence with troubleshooting.
First sound (the boot ritual, short form)
- SuperCollider.app → evaluate
SuperDirt.start;(Cmd-Returnon the line) - VS Code → open a
.tidalfile → command palette →TidalCycles: Boot Tidal - In the
.tidalfile:d1 $ s "bd*4" Shift-Enteron that line. Kick drum every quarter beat.- To stop:
hushthenShift-Enter.
If you hear nothing → SuperDirt isn't running. Re-run SuperDirt.start; in SC.
Visuals (short form)
Open References/hydra-tunnel.html in your browser (or VS Code's Simple Browser
pane next to your .tidal file). Starter pattern: industrial kaleidoscopic
tunnel. Edit in the floating editor → Cmd-Enter to re-eval. See the
HydraVisuals workflow for audio-reactive setup
(via BlackHole virtual audio cable) and the full @lo.fi.sci.fi-aesthetic toolkit.
Composes with
- persist (P12) —
persist iterate livecoding-session.mdfor self-rebooting long sessions where the agent rotates through pattern mutations across hours - bookkeeping (P6) — high-signal patterns/textures discovered in a session
promote into
research/entities/concept/livecoding-*.mdvia Nous gate ≥ 5/9
Out of scope (for now)
- AI-generated music (Suno / Udio / MusicGen). Separate stack, separate skill.
- Foxdot, Sonic Pi. Siblings of Tidal, not yet covered.
- Strudel (
strudel.cc) — browser-only Tidal sibling; obvious next add since patterns mostly port directly. Roadmap. - Hardware MIDI / Eurorack integration. Workflow exists (SuperDirt → MIDI out) but isn't documented here.
References
- Workflows/Boot.md — full boot ritual with troubleshooting
- Workflows/StarterPattern.md — vibe→pattern generator
- Workflows/HydraVisuals.md — Hydra setup + tunnel primitives
- References/tidal-cheatsheet.md — Tidal mini-notation + effects + combinators
- References/hydra-cheatsheet.md — Hydra source/transform/blend API
- References/hydra-tunnel.html — self-contained Hydra page (CDN-loaded, no install)
Provenance
Substance ported from ~/broomva/research/notes/2026-05-23-tidalcycles-mac-setup.md
written 2026-05-23 in response to a user request to learn the
@_switch_angel / @_polymatters / @lo.fi.sci.fi algorave style. Validated against:
- SuperCollider 3.13+, SuperDirt 1.7.3
- TidalCycles 1.9+, GHC 9.6.6 LTS
- hydra-synth 1.4.0 (npm, CDN-served via unpkg)
- vercel-labs/skills CLI install semantics (verified 2026-05-23)