1
Layers
Open L1–L5, choose a tool and check its library status. Press LOAD, UPDATE or DOWNLOAD to use it; selecting the name alone does not change the running Layer.
Bridge
Bridge connects Ableton Live to INDEX HTML, its first supported ecosystem. Compose five visual layers, shape parameters and colors, add MIDI modulation and perform through a dedicated live render window.
RENDER DEVICE VIEW
COMPATIBILITY
DAWAbleton Live 12 + Max for LiveEstablished development target; exact minimum release version is not certified.
PLATFORMmacOSScoped checks on the current complete-folder 1.3 testing package passed on Apple M5 with Live 12.4.6 and bundled Max 9.1.5. Intel, Windows and older Max versions remain unverified for this package. Performance depends on the computer and composition.
RUNTIMENode for Max / ChromiumThe testing layout is Bridge.amxd with its complete Support folder. It requires Node for Max and a supported installed Chromium browser. Native UI modules are embedded; complete-folder loading and relocation were checked on M5. Independent installation on Intel and public redistribution are not yet cleared.
CHANGELOG
VERSION HISTORY
Device development history, including testing milestones. These entries do not indicate public distribution.
1.3 — Testing milestones
· development milestone
- Bridge is the product name; INDEX HTML is its first supported ecosystem. These milestones describe development, not an available public release.
Complete-folder packaging and scoped M5 checks
· development milestone
- Embedded the five existing native UI modules and consolidated the testing layout as Bridge.amxd plus Support, preserving controls and behaviour.
- Scoped M5 checks covered loading and relocation, rendering, MIDI, mapping, automation, recall, browser lifecycle and HELP launch. Intel acceptance, redistribution clearance and final public-guide review remain pending.
Testing preparation
· development milestone
- Improved isolation and cleanup of the live Chromium window, with a complete-folder testing package.
- A Live/LFO Remote-unmapping limitation after Set recall remains documented as a known limitation, not a Bridge fix. Independent Intel acceptance is pending.
Interface and recall milestone
· development milestone
- Refined the Core, Layer and Performance panels and HELP access.
- Corrected synchronization of the selected editing Layer after Set recall; retained parameter identities and stored values.
1.2 — Performance-only development milestone
· development milestone
- Refined the Core and MIDI-assigned control feedback.
- Introduced a dedicated Chromium output per instance and a guide focused on the five-layer live workflow.
1.1 — First performance-only derivative
- Established the performance-only branch from the earlier prototypes; recording/export experiments are outside the current product.
0.23.9-rc.3 — Earlier prototype
· development milestone
- Refined timing, retry and output-file handling in the historical recording/export prototype. This workflow is not included in the current 1.x product.
0.23.9-rc.2 — Earlier prototype
· development milestone
- Refined host-clock and audio-file ownership checks, together with the historical export controls.
0.23.9-rc.1 — Earlier prototype
· development milestone
- Added conservative job-owned resource handling and validation of exported files; retired the public PNG-output option.
0.23.8-rc.2 — Earlier prototype
· development milestone
- Replaced the performance display with a native read-only dial and explicit activity colours.
0.23.8-rc.1 — Earlier prototype
· development milestone
- Explored performance-display feedback and resource lifecycle handling.
0.23.7-rc.1 — Earlier prototype
· development milestone
- Added per-Set tool-state persistence, native tool hosting and performance-monitor updates.
0.23.6 — Native tool-hosting milestone
- Added native INDEX tool hosting, capability validation and native parameter/drawing paths with legacy compatibility.
0.23.5 — Performance-monitor milestone
- Introduced a read-only performance display and full-window resolution framing.
0.23.0 — Historical local reference
- Preserved local development reference for the earlier architecture; no public release date is asserted.
HELP
Email app did not open? Request a new language
Help manifest unavailable.
Open this page through the B4~M4L local server or check that the documentation manifest is present.
Open this page through the B4~M4L local server or check that the documentation manifest is present.
Quick start
2
Shape it
Open PARAMETERS, COLORS & BLEND and MIDI MAPPING in any combination.
3
Render live
RENDER opens the external Chromium compositor. Your five Layers are combined there.
4
Perform live
Use RENDER, choose FPS/RES for your workload and save the Live Set to retain tools and controls.
Core The permanent strip: project, HELP, live output and five Layers.
INDEX HTML
Open the INDEX HTML project website.
HELP (?)
Open this online HELP in your normal browser. The current 1.3 testing package opens this device-specific guide at #help. The click and destination were checked on M5; final content acceptance of this updated guide remains pending.
Toggle one dedicated Chromium output owned by this Bridge instance.
Layer visibility
Include or exclude each Layer independently from editor visibility.
Layer editor
Open one Layer editor; click its control again to close it.
Layers Five independent visual slots, composed from L1 upward. Effects process only what sits below them.
One editor, five layers
Open one Layer editor at a time. Layer visibility is independent from whether its editor is open.
Tool loading
Choosing a tool in the dropdown only selects it. Press LOAD to use the selection. A new LOAD restores manifest defaults. Keep the complete Support folder with Bridge.amxd; the bundled INDEX_TOOL RC2 and legacy SKETCH_TOOL files remain available locally.
Generator vs effect
Generators draw their own canvas. Effects receive the composite of the Layers beneath them and process that result.
Remembered per layer
Each Layer remembers its section visibility. Saving a Live Set also stores the loaded tools, native values, HEX, mappings and device settings. Changing a tool resets its values: there is no separate preset memory for every tool. Keep the local tool files available when reopening a Set.
Library
Status
The library compares the files installed locally with the INDEX catalogue. These labels explain each possible result:
CURRENT
Local file exists and installation version equals catalogue version.
OUTDATED
Local file exists and installation version differs from catalogue version.
MISSING
Installation metadata or resolved local file is absent.
LOCAL
Installed entry absent from the remote catalogue, with an existing local file.
CHECK INDEX
Refreshes the remote catalogue and compares it with the flat local tools/ library. It does not download tools automatically.
UPDATE ALL
Queues only MISSING and OUTDATED catalogue tools. CURRENT entries are left untouched; local-only fixtures remain local.
Selected tool
Depending on state, the action becomes LOAD, UPDATE or DOWNLOAD. A dropdown selection alone never changes the running Layer.
Parameters Twelve numeric slots per Layer, mapped to each tool’s own manifest labels and ranges.
Native Live parameters
87 functional Live controls keep their identities, plus one hidden performance gauge. Each of the five Layers exposes up to 12 numeric slots, with independent color opacity and visibility controls.
Reset & defaults
Use the single reset beside a parameter for that control only. DEFAULT restores the loaded tool’s manifest defaults.
Effective values
With internal Note/CC assigned, the dial uses a grey effective arc and needle, an updating final numerical readout and a separate reference to the native Live input. That input can already include Macro modulation. Mouse editing is disabled for the assigned slot; no cosmetic values are written back to Live. Unassigned slots retain native drawing.
Automation stays yours
The Live parameter remains the automation and external modulation target. Internal Note/CC temporarily owns the final value of an assigned slot; choose NONE to return it to native editing.
Colors & Blend Up to four tool-defined colors, independent opacity and per-Layer blend mode.
Colors
Up to four manifest-defined colors per Layer. Edit them with the native picker or #RRGGBB text; unused slots display UNUSED.
Opacity
Color opacity is a native host control and does not consume P01–P12. Missing host opacity keeps the standalone tool behaviour unchanged.
Blend
NormalAddMultiplyScreen
Effects
Effect Layers do not use generator blend in the same way: their shader processes the lower composite directly.
MIDI Mapping Map NOTE or CC directly onto P01–P12 with amount and envelope/smoothing controls.
Source
NONEMIDI NOTEMIDI CC
Mappings start unassigned. Choose the MIDI input and channel, then a slot source and NOTE/CC ID. NONE unassigns a slot. Amount sets the contribution; attack/release shape its response. Assignments are Layer-specific and saved with the Set; the functional Live controls keep their automation identities.
NOTE
Velocity becomes the modulation peak. Attack rises to that peak, then release returns automatically to zero.
CC
The incoming 0–127 value becomes the target. Attack smooths upward movement; release smooths downward movement.
Assigned slots
Choose NONE to return an internally mapped slot to native editing. Check its final value and destination response after changing assignment.
Render One dedicated live Chromium output for each Bridge instance.
Live output
RENDER launches the localhost compositor in an external Chromium app window. Live state reaches one compositor SSE connection, then the five tool iframes through postMessage.
Requirements
A ready local Node host, a supported installed Chromium browser and compatible Canvas/WebGL support are required.
Session ownership
RENDER uses a private browser session for each instance. It is designed to close its rendering processes when you close the output, toggle RENDER, switch Live Sets or quit Live. If the output remains open, see Troubleshooting.
Live Render Performance Monitor completed live frames and choose the rendering workload.
Automatic panel
PERFORMANCE appears between CORE and LAYER when external RENDER opens, and hides when that window closes.
Read the monitor
Actual / target FPS shows completed visual frames. The display-only dial fills up to the target and cannot be edited. FRAME CADENCE reports the observed interval between completed frames in milliseconds, not GPU execution time. PREVIEW shows the effective buffer dimensions.
FPS · AUTO / 30 / 60
AUTO follows browser / display-driven cadence; its target is estimated (~). Fixed settings request a maximum of 30 or 60 FPS across the hosted tools and compositor. Actual FPS can be lower with heavier tools.
RES · AUTO / 720p / 1080p / 1440p / 4K UHD
AUTO keeps window-dependent rendering. Fixed presets control pixel workload: 1280 × 720, 1920 × 1080, 2560 × 1440 or 3840 × 2160 in a 16:9 window. Other window shapes keep their framing and fill the window, using a buffer that fits within the preset dimensions. PREVIEW reports the actual size; Retina does not multiply a fixed preset.
Same view, different quality
The full composition scales to the RENDER window without zooming or cropping when RES changes. Settings survive closing and reopening RENDER and are saved with the Live Set. A new unconfigured device starts from AUTO / AUTO. If a buffer is unsupported, INDEX reports the error and restores the preceding selection.
Troubleshooting The useful failure boundaries, current limitations and what not to expect from this build.
Browser or missing resources
Keep the complete folder together, load a local tool, and confirm Chromium is installed. RENDER opens an isolated app-style Chromium window; HELP uses the normal browser. Missing tool/module/font errors need the exact Console message and package version. CHECK refreshes metadata without replacing HTML; UPDATE explicitly downloads a selected tool.
Output will not open
Check the complete runtime folder, the ready Node host and a supported installed Chromium browser. Capture the first exact Console error and package/build version; missing UI or READY errors are separate from initial startup warnings.
Output stops or is slow
Check whether a loaded Layer is visible, whether the selected tool was actually loaded, and the actual/target FPS readout. Reduce FPS or resolution for a heavy composition; a requested cap is not an achieved-rate guarantee.
Browser session remains open
Report the exact build and closure path. A session with uncertain ownership may be retained intentionally; do not close unrelated personal browser processes as a workaround.
Unmapping an LFO after reopening a Set
Observed during Live/LFO testingAfter reopening a Set, directly removing a stock LFO’s Remote mapping sometimes left its target uneditable (Live 12.4.2 / Max 9.1.4 and Live 12.4.6 / Max 9.1.5). This also occurred with native devices without Bridge. The cause is not isolated or confirmed by Ableton; it is not a universal Live defect.
Before UNMAP, switch Remote → Mod. This prevented the problem in the tested cases; recovery after an UNMAP already performed is unverified.
Mod%: the base-value indicator and modulation arc can differ.
Under the hood Only if you care: how Max, Node and Chromium divide the work.
Max / Live
Owns the native UI, Live parameter identities, MIDI mapping and the per-Set state contract.
Node
Hosts the local bridge and library metadata, forwards live controls and owns the dedicated Chromium session lifecycle.
Chromium
Draws Canvas/WebGL tools, composes the five Layers and processes effects through the existing renderer.
No Jitter renderer
INDEX HTML stays browser-native. The fundamental split is simple: Max decides what happens; the browser decides how to draw it.
Support
Report an issue or get in touch.