This repository contains C++ source code that demonstrates how to communicate with Ableton's Push 2 display. The example uses JUCE, allowing the use of all the existing juce::Graphics methods to render the content of the display. Thanks to JUCE, it is also cross-platform and can be compiled using MacOS, Windows, and Linux.
Together with our Push interface description, this enables you to take full control of Push to develop custom software.
To get an idea of what this can allow you to do, here's an example video of Mutable Instrument's drum sequencer "Grid" running standalone on a Raspberry Pi driven from a Push 2.
The low-level classes used to communicate with the display are not tied to JUCE in any way. This means they can be extracted from this example and used in another framework if desired.
This software is distributed under the MIT License.
In order to communicate over USB, this example uses libusb. On MacOS and Windows, libusb is compiled as part of the example. On Linux, you will need to use your favorite package manager to install the development package; for example,
sudo apt-get install libusb-1.0-0-dev
Note that if you ship an application using libusb, you should ensure that you respect their licensing terms.
On Linux, you will also need to fetch the packages needed for JUCE.
Clone the repo (including the submodules for JUCE and libusb):
git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/Ableton/push2-display-with-juce.git
The example uses the standard JUCE folder structure and, although it doesn't make any sound, is based on the "Audio Application" template from the Introjucer.
There are projects ready for Xcode and Visual Studio 2013, as well as a Linux
Makefile-based system, all located in the Builds folder.
Once the program is compiled, running it will open a window on the computer's screen and display an animation on the Push display. As a bonus, the computer window will display MIDI messages generated by touching the Push 2 pads, buttons, and knobs.
Note that by default on Linux, the USB port can only be used by root. Unless you change the device's permissions, you will need to sudo to execute the binary.
cd Builds/LinuxMakefile/
make
sudo ./build/juce2push2
If you would like to quickly hack some drawing of your own, have a look at the
Demo::drawFrame() method in juce2push2/Source/Push2Demo.cpp.
Happy coding!