Merik 0.7.0

Merik 0.7.0

A big update for Merik, the live MIDI/audio backing tracks player for the stage: the player is now always reachable at http://merik.local, you can render MIDI to audio with Merik's own SoundFont, back up all your setlists, and the web page has a setlist view with jump buttons. There are also help pages for everything.

What's new

• merik.local and port 80. Merik announces itself on the network (mDNS/Bonjour) as merik.local, and the web page now uses the normal web port 80, so http://merik.local is all you type on the tablet. If port 80 is in use, Merik falls back to 8888. The IP address always works too. Settings → General shows the addresses.
• Render with Merik's own SoundFont. Settings → Tools → Render MIDI files... has a new Sound source: Merik's SoundFont renders every family much faster than real time, without hardware or other software, and saves a .merik per song. Merik can also do it from the command line (--render-internal, see docs/render.md). Rendering through a hardware module or a software synth works as before.
• Backup and restore of all setlists. Settings → Tools → Backup saves all setlists and songs (with titles, transpose and volume) in one file, merik.backup, and restores it later after a warning. The MIDI and .merik files must stay in the same places; songs that cannot be found are shown in red.
• Web page:
  • A setlist view (with the key): the setlist that is playing, the time left, and Jump now / Jump next for every song.
  • Sections from the MIDI file (Intro, Verse, Chorus, ...) at the top right, with a beat counter.
  • A wait pill that counts down before the next line.
  • The time left in the setlist, also in the app.
• Search and play next: a song that you play next now respects Auto play next, and the setlist continues where it was.
• Volume per song now goes back to 0 dB (or the song's own value) for every new song, just like the transpose.
• Layout: version, build, IP address and memory moved to Settings → General; the title bar only shows the web address. The default reverb is room 50, damping 50, width 50, level 10 (for new installations).
• Help pages in docs/: playing MIDI files, audio files and both together, the web page, rendering, backup and the .merik format, with new screenshots. The four demo songs now have sections.

Install

macOS

1. Download the file for your Mac: Merik-0.7.0-arm64.dmg (Apple silicon, macOS 14 or later) or Merik-0.7.0-intel.dmg (Intel, macOS 15 or later). Open it and drag Merik onto Applications.
2. The app is not notarized, so macOS blocks the first start. Right-click Merik.app, choose Open and confirm. If it is still blocked, run this in Terminal:

   xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Merik.app

Windows (64-bit)

1. Download Merik-0.7.0-windows-x64.zip and extract it to a folder.
2. Run Merik.exe. If SmartScreen warns about an unknown app (the build is not code-signed), click More info, then Run anyway.
3. Allow Merik on private networks when Windows asks, to use the lyrics and remote control web page.

On all systems, choose a General MIDI SoundFont (.sf2) under Settings → Soundfont. Merik does not include one. MatrixSF_v2.1.5.sf2 is a great free option, but many others exist.

Known limits

• merik.local, port 80 and rendering with the internal SoundFont have been tested on macOS only. Some Android devices cannot resolve .local names; use the IP address there.
• Rendering through an external module has been tested on macOS only.
• A .merik of 4 GB or more cannot be made. Transpose is not available for songs with stems. Linux is not supported yet.

Feedback

Found a bug or have an idea? Please open an issue and include your system (macOS or Windows version), what you did and what you expected.

Merik is free software under the GNU AGPL v3. Source code and third-party licenses are in the repository.