sc-dotfiles

Personal TidalCycles and SuperCollider environment.

This repository contains my shared live-coding and sound-design setup:

• TidalCycles configuration
• SuperCollider startup configuration
• custom SynthDefs
• custom effects
• samples
• C++ UGens
• TidalCycles files

The repository should remain small, direct, and easy to understand.

Structure

sc-dotfiles/
├── README.md
├── BootTidal.hs
├── startup.scd
├── synthdefs/
├── effects/
├── samples/
├── ugens/
└── sets/

BootTidal.hs

TidalCycles boot configuration.

It may contain:

• Tidal stream configuration
• custom control parameters
• reusable pattern functions
• OSC targets
• MIDI targets

Individual tracks and live-coding sessions belong in sets/.

startup.scd

Main SuperCollider entry point.

It is responsible for:

• configuring and booting the SuperCollider server
• starting SuperDirt
• loading the standard Dirt-Samples banks
• loading samples from samples/
• loading SynthDefs from synthdefs/
• loading effects from effects/
• waiting for asynchronous operations when necessary
• printing a ready message when startup is complete

Paths inside the repository should be resolved relative to startup.scd.

A machine’s regular SuperCollider startup file can load this file:

"~/path/to/sc-dotfiles/startup.scd"
    .standardizePath
    .load;

synthdefs/

Custom SuperCollider SynthDefs.

synthdefs/
├── fm.scd
├── granular.scd
├── physical-modeling.scd
└── sampler.scd

Each file may contain one instrument or a closely related group of instruments.

SynthDefs used through SuperDirt should support the necessary event parameters and output routing.

Prefer musically meaningful controls such as:

brightness
body
pressure
roughness
instability
material

effects/

Custom SuperCollider and SuperDirt effects.

effects/
├── distortion.scd
├── spectral-blur.scd
└── spectral-delay.scd

Effect files should describe their parameters and expected value ranges when these are not obvious.

Matching control parameters may also need to be defined in BootTidal.hs.

Included effects:

• tiny-smear.scd: filter-free per-event stereo PartConv reverb controlled only by tinySmear
• disperser.scd: per-event cascaded all-pass phase rotation controlled only by disperser

samples/

Samples loaded by SuperDirt.

Each immediate subdirectory is treated as a sample bank.

samples/
├── metal/
│   ├── hit.wav
│   └── scrape.wav
├── texture/
│   └── noise.wav
└── voice/
    ├── a.wav
    └── b.wav

Example:

d1 $ sound "metal:0 voice:1 texture:0"

Only store samples that are appropriate to keep in this repository.

ugens/

Source code for custom SuperCollider C++ UGens.

Each UGen should have its own directory.

ugens/
└── MySpectralEngine/
    ├── CMakeLists.txt
    ├── plugins/
    ├── classes/
    ├── help/
    └── README.md

Source files belong in the repository. Generated build output does not.

A custom UGen may be used when the required DSP is unavailable, impractical, or too slow to implement with existing SuperCollider UGens.

sets/

TidalCycles files.

sets/
├── test.tidal
├── 2026-08-02.tidal
├── weird-rhythm.tidal
├── abc.tidal
└── untitled.tidal

No directory structure or naming convention is required.

Design

TidalCycles handles:

• timing
• sequencing
• pattern transformation
• repetition
• high-level parameter control

SuperCollider and custom UGens handle:

• synthesis
• sample playback
• signal processing
• effects
• audio routing

Prefer extending the system with custom SynthDefs, effects, Tidal parameters, and UGens instead of modifying SuperDirt itself.

Keep BootTidal.hs and startup.scd as the two main entry points.

Setup

Configure the VS Code TidalCycles extension to use:

/path/to/sc-dotfiles/BootTidal.hs

Configure SuperCollider to load:

/path/to/sc-dotfiles/startup.scd

The external loader path may be machine-specific. Code inside this repository should otherwise remain portable.

Workflow

The normal performance workflow remains VS Code plus the SuperCollider application. Command-line support is also available for repeatable setup and automated checks:

make new
make check
make start
make status
make logs
make stop
make restart
make rec5
make rec10
make rec30

make new creates the next set for the current date using sets/YYMMDD-NN.tidal. Numbering begins at 01, increments without overwriting existing files, and supports up to 99 sets per day.

Use make check after changing startup.scd, SynthDefs, effects, or samples. It boots the complete SuperCollider environment, waits for the ready message, and shuts it down again.

The repository's VS Code workspace setting clears any global custom boot-file override. The TidalCycles extension therefore discovers the local BootTidal.hs when this folder is opened.

Use make start when a visible SuperCollider IDE is not needed. It first shuts down any existing SuperCollider, sclang, scsynth, or supernova processes, then starts exactly one background SuperCollider/SuperDirt instance and writes output to .run/supercollider.log. make stop shuts down every SuperCollider process, escalating from TERM to KILL when necessary. make restart performs a full stop followed by a clean start.

make rec5, make rec10, and make rec30 directly record stereo output bus 0 from the running SuperCollider server. Recordings are written to recordings/ with timestamped filenames.

During a TidalCycles session, evaluate hush to stop all active patterns without shutting down SuperCollider.