Overview

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Sektron is a midi step sequencer, made with live performance in mind, that runs in the terminal (TUI). Its main purpose is to mimic the fun and immediacity of hardware sequencers by being entirely controllable via keyboard.

It's heavily inspired by elektron devices.

sektron screenshot

Features

  • Fully (and only) controllable by keyboard
  • Customizable keyboard mapping
  • Up to 10 midi tracks, that can be attached to specific midi device and channel
  • Up to 128 steps per track. The number of steps per track is independent, allowing complex polyrhythms
  • Parameters can be set per track or step (parameter locking)
  • Up to 64 patterns can be loaded at the same time
  • Pattern chaining

Installation

Download the last release for your platform.

Then:

# Extract files
mkdir -p sektron && tar -zxvf sektron_VERSION_PLATFORM.tar.gz -C sektron

# Run sektron
./sektron

You can also build it yourself if your want to.

Usage

Basic commands

# Run sektron
./sektron

# Display current version
./sektron --version

Hit ? to see all keybindings. esc to quit.

MIDI

Sektron doesn't generate sound on its own, but it works seamlessly with MIDI software or hardware. You can connect it to your favorite synthesizers, virtual instruments, or any MIDI-compatible devices for live performances or production.

Some companion apps that receive MIDI for testing Sektron:

Keyboard mapping

Keys mapping is fully customizable. After running Sektron for the first time, a config.json is created. You can edit all the keys inside it.

You can select one of the default keyboard layouts available:

# QWERTY
./sektron --keyboard qwerty

# AZERTY
./sektron --keyboard azerty

# QWERTY MAC
./sektron --keyboard qwerty-mac

# AZERTY MAC
./sektron --keyboard azerty-mac

Default keyboard mapping

The default key mapping looks like this:

keyboard layout

For qwerty keyboards, here's the default mapping:

  • space play or stop
  • tab toggle parameter mode (track, record)
  • ` toggle pattern bank mode
  • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 select track
  • ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) toggle track
  • q w e r t y u i q s d f g h j k select step or switch to pattern
  • Q W E R T Y U I Q S D F G H J K toggle step or chain pattern
  • , previous step
  • . next step
  • = add track
  • - remove track
  • + add step to the selected track
  • _ remove step from the selected track
  • p page up either steps or patterns if more than 16 items
  • ; page down either steps or patterns if more than 16 items
  • shift+up increase tempo
  • shift+down decrease tempo
  • ctrl+c copy selected step
  • ctrl+v paste selected step
  • ctrl+up add new midi control to the selected track
  • ctrl+down remove midi control. It will remove the selected one
  • enter validate selection
  • left move parameter selection to the left
  • right move parameter selection to the right
  • up increase selected parameter value
  • down decrease selected parameter value
  • ? show help
  • escape or ctrl+q quit

Pattern bank

You manage your projects using a bank. When you start the program, you can provide a bank JSON file, or if none is provided, a default file (default.json) will be created or loaded automatically. Each bank can store up to 128 patterns.

./sektron --bank my-patterns.json

The patterns are saved automatically whenever you changes pattern or exit the program, so you never have to worry about losing progress.