FoxBox 2.1.0

FoxBox 2.1: play it your way

A melody that loops while your hands shape it, three ways to play, and your hands as MIDI for any synth or Ableton Live.

• LOOP (Melody mode): S switches PLUCK · FLOW · LOOP. Pick a melody (or 🎲) and it loops on the beat. Right hand up for brighter, left hand for a higher octave, hands apart for space, a fist drops it.
• The loop strip: your melody's notes under the stage. Hover to drag, stretch, add or delete them; whatever you do stays in key.
• Frames, simpler: hold a frame and the last 4 beats loop. Wider for more, let go to stop, and each new frame is the next effect.
• How you play: CURL (curl a finger to pluck), PALM (tap the air with an open palm, like a drum pad) or ONE HAND (everything with either hand). No style is better; switch any time in Settings → Playing.
• Easier plucks: a smaller fold plays a note. Too easy? Settings → Playing → Pluck sensitivity.
• MIDI & Ableton: turn on the "FoxBox" MIDI port and your hands play any DAW or synth: plucks send notes, your hands send CCs. As far as your DAW knows, you bought a controller. FoxBox for Ableton Live installs from Settings → MIDI & Ableton (Live Suite, or Standard with Max for Live), with four macros to map. Each take also saves a .mid.
• Ableton Link: tempo in sync with Live and other Link apps. It's off by default: turn it on in FoxBox (Settings → MIDI & Ableton) and in Live.
• Strings of light: SAUCE's and REMIX's strings, redrawn.
• Setup and languages: new installs start with five quick questions, and FoxBox now speaks Español, and in beta Português (Brasil), Français, Deutsch and 日本語. It follows your Mac; change it in Settings → Playing → Language.

Install: download the DMG (macOS 14+, Apple silicon, a camera). Already on 2.0? FoxBox updates itself in the app, and WHAT'S NEW shows the new moves.

Privacy: Ableton Link, when you turn it on, talks to other Link apps on your local network; macOS may ask once about Local Network access. Nothing else changes: the camera, your hands and your music stay on your Mac.

The stem splitter's weights are Meta's (Demucs), licensed for scientific use only; FoxBox says so before the download.

Windows beta (SAUCE only, unsigned): FoxBox-Setup-2.1.0-x64.exe, for Windows 10 and 11 (x64). REMIX and the library are coming to Windows. The installer isn't signed yet, so Windows asks once: in Edge choose … → Keep → Keep anyway, then on "Windows protected your PC" click More info → Run anyway. Built from snapshot 5370227.

FoxBox 2.0.1

FoxBox 2.0.1: play with one hand

FoxBox now plays with one hand. Turn it on in Settings → Playing → One-handed, and either hand plays.

• Hold to switch: hold a shape to turn its effect on, and hold it again to turn it off. Hold one L to make a frame, and hold it again to let it go.
• Fits your reach: the hold time and the wobble tolerance are adjustable, and Calibrate reach sets the notes between your highest and lowest comfortable heights.
• Keys too: F frames, P changes the frame's style, and L opens the library.
• The GUIDE has a one-handed version. It opens the first time you turn One-handed on.

A small update; nothing else changes.

FoxBox 2.0.0

FoxBox 2.0: an instrument for your hands

Curve your hands into a C in front of the camera, and strings of light stretch between your fingertips.

• SAUCE: make sounds with no song. A hand's height picks the note; curl a finger to pluck. Two hands play two notes. Twist to bend, shake for vibrato, point up or down for the octave. Seven sounds, melodies to play along with, and 🎲 for a new one.
• REMIX: load a song and remix it with your hands. Hold a shape for beat-locked FX (TEAROUT, RIDDIM CHOPS, WOBBLE, HALFTIME, SUB DROP, BUILD ROLL), fold a finger to cut its band, and ▶ starts just before the drop.
• Frames: make a frame and the last 4 beats loop inside it, picture and sound. Pinch and hold for a moment to change the effect, and turn both hands over for its flip side. Let go and it shatters.
• The library wheel: hold the shaka 🤙 or press L. Spin with your right index, preview and load with your left hand. It reads a music folder, a Rekordbox XML export or your Serato library.
• Board, Visuals and Record: knobs for the sound or the song, five visuals, and WAV or video takes you can drag into Ableton, Rekordbox or Finder.
• Make it yours: Edit shapes in Hands or Beat FX; pluck sensitivity and a left-handed layout in Settings (in FLOW your left hand plays and your right makes the shapes; the library dial moves to your left index). The GUIDE (G) walks you through it with your own camera.

Looking for STUDIO, VISUALS, MASKS or the voice mask? FoxBox 2.0 is the hands instrument only. The full toolkit stays available as FoxBox 1.5.5. Updating doesn't delete any of your files.

Install: download the DMG (macOS 14+, Apple silicon, a camera). Already on 1.5? FoxBox updates itself in the app. This update is bigger, once: about 180 MB, because FoxBox's engine is replaced with a much smaller one. Later updates are small again.

Free up space (1.x users): FoxBox 2.0 no longer uses 1.x's voice models (Kokoro, Qwen3-TTS, DeepFilterNet, Whisper and the aligner), up to ~12 GB. They're the models--… folders in ~/Library/Application Support/FoxBox/models/hub, and every one except models--mlx-community--demucs-mlx-fp16 (REMIX's stem splitter) is safe to delete.

If the camera stays dark after updating, open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera and turn FoxBox on, or run tccutil reset Camera com.smittytech.foxbox.

The stem splitter's weights are Meta's (Demucs), licensed for scientific use only; FoxBox says so before the download.

FoxBox 1.5.5

FoxBox 1.5.5: STRINGS

▶ Watch the one-minute STRINGS explainer

• STRINGS: remix the drop with your hands. Hold a hand shape and its beat FX plays, locked to the grid: ✊ TEAROUT, ✌️ RIDDIM CHOPS, 🤏 WOBBLE, 🖐 GROWL, 🤘 HALFTIME, 👇 SUB DROP and ☝️ BUILD ROLL (let go: the DROP). Raise a hand for more depth; one effect per hand, two at once.
• Play the strings: stretch them for tension (slack builds dark, taut opens the song up), tilt them to slide the 808, and shake them for vibrato.
• Finger filters: fold a finger to cut its band: thumb SUB, index LOW, middle MID, ring HIGH-MID, pinky HIGH.
• GLASS: frame your hands for a pane onto another world (THERMAL, X-RAY, HALFTONE, PRISM, KALEIDO, DATAMOSH), each with its own sound. Let go and it shatters.
• One press of ▶ plays any track, starting two bars before the drop. Load a track right on STRINGS, or try the TEST BEAT.
• Scrub the track: tap a section (INTRO · BUILD · DROP · BREAK …), drag the waveform, or press ←/→ to jump by section. Every jump lands on the bar, in time.
• Cleaner stems: less vocal bleed, and the 808 stays with the bass. The stem splitter's weights are Meta's, for scientific use only, and the download says so.
• Tracking no longer freezes when the room goes dark (club lights down), so face hiding keeps following you.
• FACE HIDING on STRINGS hides your face in one click; RECORD and SEND TO OUTPUT ask first while it shows.
• WHAT'S NEW plays a live STRINGS guide, and the GUIDE link on STRINGS replays it.
• TouchDesigner is paused for now; its looks are greyed out while STRINGS takes the stage.

Install: download the DMG (macOS 14+, Apple silicon). Already on 1.5? FoxBox updates itself in the app (about 30 MB this time).

If the camera stays dark after updating, open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera and turn FoxBox on, or run tccutil reset Camera com.smittytech.foxbox.

FoxBox 1.5.4

FoxBox 1.5.4: SMOOTH TOUCHDESIGNER

• Smooth all set: TouchDesigner keeps full speed while hidden. It no longer slows down after about 30 seconds.
• No flash: TouchDesigner's window no longer shows on screen as it starts.
• PROD: the gesture card shows only when a look has gestures, and the tiles' tags no longer cover their names.

Install: download the DMG (macOS 14+, Apple silicon). Already on 1.5? FoxBox updates itself in the app (about 30 MB).

If the camera stays dark after updating, open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera and turn FoxBox on, or run tccutil reset Camera com.smittytech.foxbox.

FoxBox 1.5.3

FoxBox 1.5.3: A CAMERA FIX

• Camera: TouchDesigner looks see your camera again. 1.5.2 could start them without it.
• Long sets stay smooth: TouchDesigner no longer keeps every message FoxBox sends it.

Install: download the DMG (macOS 14+, Apple silicon). Already on 1.5? FoxBox updates itself in the app (about 30 MB).

If the camera stays dark after updating, open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera and turn FoxBox on, or run tccutil reset Camera com.smittytech.foxbox.

FoxBox 1.5.2

FoxBox 1.5.2: PROD · A NEW VISUALS

• PROD: 12 TouchDesigner looks for your body or your hands on the new PROD page, several built as full TouchDesigner networks, with more coming. FoxBox runs your own free TouchDesigner in the background, feeds it the music and the camera, and walks you through setting it up.
• FACE CHECK: FoxBox asks before your real face goes out live.
• PERFORM: press P for a full-screen stage with 8 pads for your saved looks, BLACKOUT, FREEZE, DROP FX and VOICE.
• AUTO-VJ: changes the look at each new part of the track, except the layers you LOCK.
• VOICE: fold the voice mask into one row under the stage, with PUSH always in reach.
• MASK FIRST: hide your face before TouchDesigner ever sees the camera. FACE VISIBLE lights up whenever your real face could be on screen.
• EFFECTS: preview any effect on the stage by hovering over it.
• Changes the sound: presets marked CHANGES THE SOUND filter, echo, stutter or tape-stop the playing track as you move. AUDIO FX turns them off; your mic and voice mask never go through them.
• Non-commercial label: the free TouchDesigner is for non-commercial use, so its picture carries a DEMO · NON-COMMERCIAL label, and so do clips you save from it.
• Face tracking: a close-up face that slips out of view is found again across the whole frame.
• REMIX is back in the workshop: it's greyed out while we rebuild its sound. Your saved remixes are kept.

Install: download the DMG (macOS 14+, Apple silicon). Already on 1.5? FoxBox updates itself in the app (about 158 MB this time: it carries a newer Electron for TouchDesigner's picture).

If the camera stays dark after updating, open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera and turn FoxBox on, or run tccutil reset Camera com.smittytech.foxbox.

FoxBox 1.5.1

FoxBox 1.5.1: MASKS · A NEW REMIX

• MASKS: build your own face mask like a game character. Pick a starting mask from the LINEUP, flip its parts, tune colours, finishes and effects to the drop, RANDOMIZE with locks, then WEAR it in VISUALS.
• REMIX (BETA): a new look and a new engine. Bass that follows the song's key and chords, vocal chops in the drop, GRIT · WOBBLE · SUB · GLIDE, and BUILD about twice as fast.
• SAMPLE LAYERS: add a folder of your own drum one-shots; they play instead of FoxBox's for the parts they cover.
• Face tracking: it follows your head first, so glasses and headphones stay covered, there's one mask per face, always, and it holds on when you look down at the decks.
• IMPORT FROM REKORDBOX: pick tracks from your rekordbox.xml, with their grids and cues, in REMIX, the Studio or VISUALS.
• Safe mid-set: unplug the projector and the output closes, then reopens when it's back; a song dropped while a track plays waits until it stops.

Install: download the DMG (macOS 14+, Apple silicon). Already on 1.5? FoxBox updates itself in the app (about 30 MB).

If the camera stays dark after updating, open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera, or run tccutil reset Camera com.smittytech.foxbox.

FoxBox 1.5.0

FoxBox 1.5.0: REMIX · VISUALS THAT FOLLOW THE SONG

• REMIX: VIP drop swaps, mashups and genre flips of your own tracks. ROLL for new takes, rate them, shape the one you like on a lite-DAW timeline, then EXPORT with rekordbox cues.
• AUTO-VJ: the visuals follow the song: builds tighten, the breath before the drop goes still, the drop hits. LOCK the layers you want to keep.
• Bass music: held subs, stabs, wobbles and 808 glides each move the picture their own way; half-time slows it down.
• The preview is the output: pick 9:16, 16:9 or 1:1 and the stage, the projector window, SAVE CLIP and REC LIVE all match exactly.
• Face masks: FOX MASK, LOW-POLY, DEPTH GLITCH (beta) or your own drawing, all on your Mac. Lean in or reach out to break through the effects, still hidden.
• Safe mid-set: the projector keeps playing when you change pages, the display stays awake, and FoxBox asks before quitting while it's live.
• TEXT: your lyrics or drop line decrypt, slam and shatter on the drop.
• Updates install before you start, and flashes are held to 3 a second (WCAG).

Install: download the DMG (macOS 14+, Apple silicon). Already on 1.4? FoxBox updates itself in the app (about 23 MB).

If the camera stays dark after updating, open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera, or run tccutil reset Camera com.smittytech.foxbox.

FoxBox 1.4.0

FoxBox 1.4.0: VISUALS

LIVE is now VISUALS: make visuals and promo videos for your music, or run them live.

New

• Audio source:
  • TRACK: your song, with SPLIT STEMS. Drums, bass, vocals and other are separated on your Mac (HT-Demucs, about 15× real time), so every layer can react to its own stem.
  • LIVE INPUT: your DJ output from an audio interface (e.g. your mixer's USB record out) or Mac system audio.
  • MIC: the voice mask, as before. A track plays without your mic; press ARM MIC to talk over it.
• Base layer: nothing, the track's waveform, the voice core, the camera (faces hidden), a photo, or a video.
• Effects: stack styles and filters over the base, each with its own opacity, blend mode and the stem it reacts to.
  • FOXBOX, MILKDROP and SHADERS styles, plus 10 new filters that work on the picture beneath: RGB split, datamosh, kaleidoscope, pixel sort, halftone, VHS, trails, thermal, edge glow, zoom pulse.
• SAVE CLIP: renders the drop, the whole song or a bar range as a 9:16, 16:9 or 1:1 MP4, frame-accurate, in sync and several times faster than real time, with the watermark. It saves into your exports folder (Clips) with drag-out.
• REC LIVE: records the stage as you play. Pick THE DROP and it plays the drop and records exactly that, so with the CAMERA base you film yourself (face hidden) through it.
• Sync to Rekordbox: Ableton Link locks the visuals to your decks' tempo and beat. Turn Link on in rekordbox's Performance mode.

Notes

• SPLIT STEMS needs a one-time 84 MB download (offered in place the first time).
• Mac system audio as an input needs macOS 14.2+ and asks once for System Audio Recording permission. An audio interface input needs no permission.
• Link may ask once to accept incoming network connections.

Updating from 1.3.x: it installs in the app as a small (~15 MB) update.