v0.7.3-rc.2

Patches v0.7.0

Patches is a modular audio synthesiser system for live-coding performance.
You describe a signal graph of modules in a plain-text .patches file; the
engine builds and runs the graph in real time. Edit and save the file while
audio is playing — the engine re-plans the graph and swaps it in without
interrupting the audio stream or resetting module state.

Getting started

Download the archive for your platform, unpack it, and run:

patch_player examples/radigue_drone.patches

Edit the file while it plays. Changes take effect on save.

macOS — first-run step

macOS will block the binary because it is not signed with an Apple
certificate. Run this once after unpacking:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine patch_player

After that, patch_player runs normally.

What's new since v0.2

Full .patches DSL

The DSL has matured into a complete language for describing modular
signal graphs:

• Module declarations with named parameters and unit literals
  (440Hz, -6dB, C4, A#3)
• Scaled connections (-[0.5]->)
• Typed template parameters (float, int, bool, str) with defaults
• Variable-arity templates ([*n]) for building N-voice structures
• Indexed ports (in[1]) and at-blocks (@0: { ... }) for grouping
  per-index parameters
• Template boundary ports ($) and param references (<freq>)
• include directives for reusing templates across files

Module library

The module set has grown from 14 to 60+. Highlights:

• Oscillators: Osc, PolyOsc, Lfo, PolyLfo with FM, phase-mod,
  drift, and sync inputs
• Filters: Lowpass/Highpass/Bandpass biquads, Svf state-variable
  filter (mono and poly variants)
• Envelopes: Adsr, PolyAdsr
• Amplifiers/mixers: Vca, PolyVca, Sum, PolySum, Mixer,
  StereoMixer, PolyMixer, StereoPolyMixer, MonoToPoly, PolyToMono
• MIDI: MidiToCv, PolyMidiToCv (with LIFO voice stealing), MidiCC,
  MidiArp, MidiDelay, MidiSplit, MidiTranspose, MidiDrumset
• Sequencing: Clock, MasterSequencer, PatternPlayer, TempoSync,
  MsTicker, TriggerToSync, SyncToTrigger
• Drum synthesis: Kick, Snare, Clap, ClosedHiHat, OpenHiHat,
  Tom, Cymbal, Claves
• Delays & reverb: Delay, StereoDelay (multi-tap with per-tap
  feedback/drive), FdnReverb (plate/room/chamber/hall/cathedral),
  ConvReverb, StereoConvReverb (built-in IRs or file)
• Dynamics/effects: Limiter, StereoLimiter, Bitcrusher, Drive,
  TransientShaper, RingMod, PitchShift (spectral WOLA phase vocoder
  with optional formant preservation)
• Utilities: Glide, Tuner, PolyTuner, Quant, PolyQuant, Sah,
  PolySah

Hot-reload engine

• Off-thread plan compilation; lock-free plan handoff via rtrb ring buffer
• Module state (oscillator phase, filter history, envelope stage) carried
  forward across reloads; only structurally changed sub-graphs reset
• Cleanup thread for deferred drops — audio thread never deallocates
• ParamFrame + ArcTable data plane for parameter delivery without
  locks (ADR 0045)
• CoefRamp / PolyCoefRamp primitives eliminate zipper noise on
  filter-coefficient changes; biquad/SVF/ladder kernels migrated (ADR 0050)

CLAP plugin host

patches-clap ships Patches as a CLAP plugin for DAWs (Reaper, Studio
One, Ableton, Bitwig). Includes patch persistence, hot-reload, MIDI note
and CC input, flexible audio routing, and an in-GUI path editor with
module rescan.

Native FFI plugin system

Modules can be loaded as dynamic libraries (ADR 0045, spikes 0–9):

• Stable repr(C) ABI, ABI_VERSION = 5
• Compile-time descriptor hashing for host/plugin alignment
• export_plugin! macro for boilerplate-free plugin definition
• ParamFrame / ArcTable fuzz targets + 10k-cycle alloc-trap soak
  (E111)
• Module panics caught at the tick boundary; engine halts cleanly with
  attribution breadcrumb instead of taking down the host (ADR 0051, E113)
• WANTS_PERIODIC const + default Module::periodic_update replaces the
  raw-pointer as_periodic() footgun (ADR 0052, E114)

VS Code extension & LSP

patches-lsp provides diagnostics, hover, and go-to-definition for
.patches files, plus custom patches/renderSvg and
patches/rescanModules methods. Bundled into platform-specific
.vsix packages — no separate install needed.

Player & I/O

patches-player gains:

• --oversampling 1|2|4|8 for anti-aliased high-frequency content
• --record out.wav for offline bounce
• --output-device / --input-device / --list-devices
• --module-path for loading FFI plugin bundles
• --no-stdin for headless operation

VS Code extension

Platform-specific .vsix packages are attached to this release. Each
bundles the patches-lsp binary for its platform.

Install

code --install-extension patches-vscode-<platform>-<version>.vsix

macOS — removing quarantine from the LSP binary

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine ~/.vscode/extensions/vulpus-labs.patches-vscode-*/server/patches-lsp

Or: System Settings > Privacy & Security → find patches-lsp in
the Security section → Allow Anyway.

Windows — unblocking the LSP binary

Windows SmartScreen may block the binary on first use.

1. Navigate to %USERPROFILE%\.vscode\extensions\vulpus-labs.patches-vscode-*\server\
2. Right-click patches-lsp.exe → Properties → check Unblock → OK

Or click More info → Run anyway when SmartScreen prompts.

Workaround: custom binary path

If the bundled binary doesn't work:

cargo build --release -p patches-lsp

Then set patches.lsp.path in VS Code settings to the built binary path.

Known limitations

• macOS binaries are ad-hoc signed only — see the first-run step above.
• ASIO not supported on Windows — uses WASAPI. Comment on the GitHub
  issue if ASIO support matters to you.
• External FFI plugin diagnostics are sparse — descriptor-hash
  mismatches are silently rejected, and malformed parameter frames are
  silently truncated in release builds. Both become strict errors in v0.8.
• The legacy YAML patch format is still supported but no longer the
  primary format. New patches should use .patches.