Hydra Desktop (Tauri)

Desktop version of Hydra - live coding video synthesizer, built with Tauri for native performance.

Original Hydra: https://hydra.ojack.xyz
Original Repository: https://github.com/hydra-synth/hydra

What's Different from Original Hydra

This fork adds desktop application features:

1. Local File Support

Load local video and image files using helper functions:

// Load local video
loadVideo(s0, "C:/Users/YourName/Videos/video.mp4")
src(s0).out()

// Load local image
loadImage(s1, "C:/Users/YourName/Pictures/image.jpg")
src(s1).out()

// Or use file picker dialog
const fileUrl = await pickFile()
if (fileUrl) {
  s0.initVideo(fileUrl)
  src(s0).out()
}

2. Fullscreen Mode

• F11 or Alt+Enter: Toggle fullscreen
• ESC: Exit fullscreen
• Or call toggleFullscreen() in console

3. Developer Tools

• F12: Open developer console (debug builds only)

4. Available Helper Functions

• localFile(path): Convert Windows path to asset URL
• loadVideo(source, path): Load local video file
• loadImage(source, path): Load local image file
• pickFile(options): Open file picker dialog
• toggleFullscreen(): Toggle fullscreen mode

Building

Prerequisites

• Linux (Arch Linux recommended)
• Node.js and npm
• Rust toolchain (rustup)

Common Setup

# Clone and install dependencies
git clone <your-repo-url>
cd hydra
npm install

Building for Linux

Install Linux Dependencies (Arch Linux)

# Install Tauri dependencies
sudo pacman -S webkit2gtk-4.1 gtk3 libayatana-appindicator

# Optional: NSIS for creating installer packages
sudo pacman -S nsis

Build

# Build Linux packages
npm run tauri build

Output Files

• AppImage: src-tauri/target/release/bundle/appimage/Hydra_*_amd64.AppImage (portable, requires linuxdeploy)
• DEB package: src-tauri/target/release/bundle/deb/Hydra_*_amd64.deb
• RPM package: src-tauri/target/release/bundle/rpm/Hydra-*.x86_64.rpm
• Binary: src-tauri/target/release/app

Running on Linux

# Run the binary directly
./src-tauri/target/release/app

# Or install DEB package (Debian/Ubuntu)
sudo dpkg -i src-tauri/target/release/bundle/deb/Hydra_*_amd64.deb

# Or run AppImage (if built)
chmod +x src-tauri/target/release/bundle/appimage/Hydra_*_amd64.AppImage
./src-tauri/target/release/bundle/appimage/Hydra_*_amd64.AppImage

Example: Local video on Linux

// Linux path format
loadVideo(s0, "/home/username/Videos/video.mp4")
src(s0).out()

Building for Windows (Cross-compile from Linux)

Setup

# Add Windows target
rustup target add x86_64-pc-windows-gnu

# Install MinGW cross-compiler (Arch Linux)
sudo pacman -S mingw-w64-gcc nsis

# Configure Cargo for cross-compilation
cat > ~/.cargo/config.toml << 'EOF'
[target.x86_64-pc-windows-gnu]
linker = "x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc"
ar = "x86_64-w64-mingw32-ar"
EOF

Build

# Build Windows installer
npx tauri build --target x86_64-pc-windows-gnu

Output Files

• Installer: src-tauri/target/x86_64-pc-windows-gnu/release/bundle/nsis/Hydra_*_x64-setup.exe
• Executable: src-tauri/target/x86_64-pc-windows-gnu/release/app.exe

Example: Local video on Windows

// Windows path format (use forward slashes or escaped backslashes)
loadVideo(s0, "C:/Users/YourName/Videos/video.mp4")
src(s0).out()

Original Hydra Documentation

For Hydra syntax, functions, and examples, see:

• Getting Started
• Function Reference
• Examples
• User Patterns

Quick Start

// Oscillator
osc(20, 0.1, 0.8).out()

// Webcam
s0.initCam()
src(s0).out()

// Kaleidoscope
s0.initCam()
src(s0).kaleid(4).out()

// Local video (desktop only)
loadVideo(s0, "C:/path/to/video.mp4")
src(s0).kaleid(4).out()

Keyboard Shortcuts

Web version:

• Ctrl+Enter: Run line
• Ctrl+Shift+Enter: Run all code
• Alt+Enter: Run block
• Ctrl+Shift+H: Hide/show code

Desktop additions:

• F11 or Alt+Enter: Fullscreen
• F12: Developer tools

License

AGPL-3.0 (same as original Hydra)

Credits

Original Hydra by Olivia Jack
Desktop port modifications: Local file support, fullscreen toggle, Tauri integration