FLUX guide

Quick start

FLUX turns sound into visuals in your browser or the Mac app. In a browser you need Chrome or Edge on a laptop or desktop, with hardware acceleration switched on, and nothing to install. For gigs, use the Mac app (see "The Mac app" below).

1. Open fluxvisual.app and click anywhere to enter. The moving lines you see are a preview; nothing is listening yet.
2. Give FLUX some sound. Drag in a track or use "Load tracks". No track to hand? Press "Sound sketch" for a built-in demo.
3. Press Space to play. The LOW, MID and HIGH meters should start moving.
4. Pick a visual from the behaviour list and explore.
5. Press F to go fullscreen. Press B for blackout, H to hide the controls, Escape to come back.

Start with a punchy house or techno track. FLUX reads kicks, claps and hats best, so a track with clear drums looks better than a soft, washy one.

The Mac app

The Mac app is FLUX built for gigs. It's free and needs an Apple Silicon Mac with macOS 13 or later.

Getting started

1. Download it from fluxvisual.app and drag FLUX to Applications.
2. Open it and allow microphone and camera access when macOS asks. Do this at home, so no system prompt ever appears on a projector.
3. Sign in and let your looks and Sets load.
4. Wait for View → Offline cache: Ready. FLUX can now run with no internet.

Offline

Once it has been online, the app runs fully offline: every behaviour, your local looks and, with Pro, your cloud looks, Sets, mapping and Autopilot. Offline you can play everything, but editing cloud looks and Sets waits for a connection. After each FLUX update, open the app online once so it picks up the new version.

Projector

Press ⌘⇧P to send the visuals to the projector, then F for Perform. The Remote opens on your laptop screen. If the projector cable drops, the visuals move to your laptop and return when it's reconnected. The app keeps your screen awake while it's open.

Good to know

• The app and your browser keep separate sign-ins, local looks and maps. Cloud looks sync; local looks and maps don't.
• About and the guide open in their own window, so your Studio is never interrupted.
• Updates download in the background and install when you quit, never mid-set.
• Closing the visuals window quits FLUX.

How FLUX listens

FLUX listens to three parts of your music: low (kick and bass), mid (snares, claps, vocals) and high (hats and cymbals). From each it reads two things:

• Level: how much is there right now. Drives size, shape and slow movement.
• Hit: a sudden onset, like a kick landing. Drives flashes, sparks and punches.

Every reaction returns to rest. A shape swells on a kick and settles back; nothing stays stuck.

Make it react the way you want

Most controls have a selector beside them that links them to low, mid, high or nothing. Some also let you choose whether they follow hits or the sustained level. If something isn't reacting, link it to a part of the track that's busy: high for a hat-heavy groove, low for a big kick.

"Source gains" set how strongly each band drives the visuals overall. They're reaction strength, not volume.

Tempo

FLUX detects tempo automatically. If it's off, tap it in. Tempo drives anything that changes on the beat or the bar.

Punchy tracks with clear drums look best. Soft, washy music gives FLUX less to grab.

Audio inputs and interfaces

For live performance, feed FLUX a line signal from your mixer through a USB audio interface. It's cleaner, faster and more reliable than a microphone.

What you need for line in

• Any USB audio interface with line inputs that works without drivers. The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 is a good, cheap choice.
• A cable from your mixer's spare output to the interface. Most DJ controllers have RCA booth or record outputs, so you'll want an RCA-to-jack cable.
• A USB cable from the interface to your laptop.

Wiring it up

1. Leave your master output going to the speakers as it is.
2. Connect your mixer's booth or record output to the interface inputs. If your only spare output is the master, use RCA splitters.
3. Plug the interface into your laptop over USB.
4. In FLUX, click "Live input" and allow audio access when the browser asks.
5. Choose your interface from "Audio input device".
6. Play a track. Set the interface gain so the signal is strong but the clip light never comes on. Then shape the reaction with "Source gains" in FLUX.

FLUX remembers your interface. Choose it once and "Live input" uses it from then on. If the cable gets knocked out mid-set, FLUX switches to your laptop's built-in mic so the visuals keep going, shows a notice, and switches back by itself the moment the interface returns. The mic is a rescue, not a setup: it's slower and reacts differently.

You won't hear live or tab audio through FLUX. That's deliberate, so your speakers only play what your mixer sends them. FLUX's volume control only affects loaded tracks.

Using DJ software on the same laptop

On a Mac you can route your DJ software's output into FLUX with a virtual audio device such as BlackHole or Loopback. It appears in "Audio input device" like any interface. This is a power-user setup; an interface is simpler.

Tab audio

Click "Tab audio", pick the tab playing your music, and tick "Share tab audio" in the browser's picker. If you forget the tick, FLUX hears nothing.

Projectors and displays

FLUX is built for black. Most visuals are bright shapes on true black, so the projector's contrast and black level matter more than raw brightness.

Choosing a projector

• Prioritise native contrast and a deep black floor. A grey "black" turns the whole wall into a glowing rectangle.
• Laser light sources hold colour and start instantly, which helps at gigs.
• Short throw is easier in small rooms and keeps people out of the beam.

Setting up

1. Connect the projector over HDMI and set it as an extended display, not a mirror.
2. Open FLUX, then click "Remote" to open the control window.
3. Drag the main FLUX window onto the projector and press F, or click "Perform". In the Mac app, press ⌘⇧P to send it to the projector, then F.
4. Keep the Remote on your laptop screen. That's your control surface for the night.
5. Square the projector physically first: position, zoom and focus. Use FLUX's projection mapping for fine alignment (Pro).

Getting the best picture

• Darken the room. Every bit of stray light lifts the black.
• Keep the background on black. The other darks are for screens and moods, not projection.
• Very light or pale colours wash out to white on a projector. Saturated colours read best.
• If the picture stutters, lower the render quality.
• Plug the laptop into power and stop it sleeping. Battery saver can throttle the graphics. The Mac app keeps the screen awake for you.

Projection mapping (Pro)

Mapping fits FLUX onto real objects: a DJ booth, a wall of boxes, a pillar. One full-size visual sits behind your shapes, and each shape reveals its own part of it. Nothing gets squashed.

All mapping controls live in the Remote, so the projector only ever shows the result.

The basic workflow

1. Turn mapping on and switch to edit mode. A calibration grid appears on the projector.
2. Drag the corners of the frame until the grid fits your surface.
3. Add shapes around the objects you want lit. Draw freehand for irregular objects, or use a circle for round ones.
4. Set each shape to reveal the visual, or to block it and keep that area black (the DJ's face, a fire exit sign).
5. Leave edit mode to go live.

Two visuals at once

You can show a second saved look inside some of your shapes, with its own behaviour, listening to the same music. Lasers on the booth, ink on the wall behind. Keep Camera looks on the main layer.

Good to know

• Your map is saved on this computer. The browser and the Mac app keep separate maps.
• You can't record while mapping is on.
• If something doesn't show, the mapping panel tells you what's missing.

Live control

Perform from the Remote, a MIDI controller or the keyboard. The main FLUX window stays clean on the projector.

The Remote

Click "Remote" in the main window. A second window opens with every visual control, your looks, Autopilot and mapping.

The Remote runs on the same computer, in the same browser or in the Mac app (⌘⇧R). It doesn't work from your phone or another laptop. Keep the main window open; if it closes, the Remote waits for it.

A few things only work in the main window: loading tracks, starting audio input, choosing a camera, recording and fullscreen. Closing the Remote doesn't stop anything that's running.

Keyboard shortcuts (main window)

In the Mac app:

MIDI controller

FLUX works with the Novation Launch Control XL 3 in Custom Mode. MIDI control is free.

1. Plug the controller in and put it in Custom Mode.
2. Turn it on in the Remote. FLUX finds it automatically.
3. Assign your favourite looks to the look buttons.

The faders set how strongly low, mid and high drive the visuals. The knobs cover the main global controls plus the current behaviour's key settings, and they follow you when you switch behaviour. The buttons fire your looks and quick actions like blackout and kaleidoscope.

After a look loads, a fader waits until you move it past its current value, so nothing jumps. Other controllers only work if they send the same messages as the XL 3; there's no MIDI learn yet.

Looks, Sets and Autopilot

A look is a snapshot of a visual: the behaviour, colours, how it reacts and every setting. Build a few you love, then recall them instantly when the track changes.

Looks

Save the current visual as a look and give it a name. Recall it from the main window, the Remote or a controller button. Each behaviour also comes with presets to start from.

The free version saves a few looks in this browser. FLUX Pro saves unlimited looks to the cloud, so your library follows you to any computer. When you upgrade, you can copy your existing looks across.

A look doesn't store your audio, your map or your camera. Those belong to the room, not the visual.

Sets (Pro)

A Set groups looks for a gig or a genre: "Techno", "Warehouse party", "Chill". Build them ahead of time so the night's looks are ready in one place. Deleting a Set never deletes its looks.

Autopilot (Pro)

Autopilot plays a sequence of looks for you, so you can DJ without touching the visuals. Build the list in the Remote; it runs in the main window, so it keeps going even if the Remote closes.

Time each look in seconds or in bars, fade between them, shuffle or loop the list, and hold on a look when the moment's right. Tweak a look mid-run and the change applies to that entry only; your saved look stays as it was.

Keep the main window visible during long runs in a browser, as browsers slow down hidden tabs. The Mac app doesn't have this limit.

Playing without wifi

The Mac app runs fully offline once it has been online: open it at home, sign in, let your looks and Sets load, and wait for View → Offline cache: Ready. Offline you can play every look and Set; editing cloud looks and Sets waits for a connection.

In a browser, the page needs a connection to load. Once it's open, looks you've already loaded keep working if the signal drops, but don't reload the page at a venue with no signal.

Colour, light and kaleidoscope

These controls work on every behaviour, so a good habit here pays off everywhere.

Colour

Pick a palette, or build your own. Colour can also move with the music: shifting on the bar, or draining in a breakdown and flooding back on the drop. A few visuals use their own fixed colours and ignore the palette.

On a projector, saturated colours read best. Very pale colours wash out to white.

Light

• Glow adds bloom around bright shapes. A little makes things feel alive; too much turns sharp detail into fog.
• Exposure sets overall brightness.
• Freeze stops the visual moving while the music carries on. Great for a held moment.
• Blackout is true black. Use it between tracks or for a dramatic drop.

Kaleidoscope

The kaleidoscope mirrors the whole picture into segments, on any behaviour. Turn it on, choose how many segments, then let the music drive it: it can spin, punch in on the kick and reshape itself on the beat.

It works best on sparse, sharp visuals. On busy visuals it can turn to mush, so use fewer segments or less glow.

Camera

The Camera behaviour turns live video into the visual: you, a dancer, the crowd, whatever the camera sees. Video is processed on your computer and never uploaded or stored.

Choose Camera from the behaviours and allow camera access. If you have more than one camera, pick which to use. There are several styles; try them all.

Getting a good result

• Light the subject and keep the background dark. A single spotlight on the performer works brilliantly.
• Use the isolate setting to focus on the lit parts of the image, or on a person.
• The image is mirrored by default, so it behaves like a mirror when you face it.
• If the camera fails, FLUX switches to another visual and tells you.

Recording for socials

Record straight from FLUX to get a clean video with the audio baked in, ready for Instagram or TikTok.

1. Choose the shape: portrait (9:16) for Reels and TikTok, square for the feed, landscape for YouTube.
2. Pick a frame rate and resolution. 60 fps at 1080p is a good default for socials.
3. Press "Record" in the main window. Press it again to stop; the file downloads automatically.

• Keep the main window visible while recording. A hidden tab records badly.
• If FLUX warns that it's running below the capture rate, lower the frame rate or resolution.
• Mapping must be off to record.
• The recording includes the music. Social platforms mute or remove videos with tracks you don't have rights to, so use your own productions or properly licensed music.

Behaviours

A behaviour is a type of visual: lightning, lasers, fluid ink, particles, geometry and more. They're all free, and new ones are added regularly.

• 3D Wireframe

  Rotating wire shapes, from tori to tunnels.

• Arc

  Lightning that strikes on the beat.

• Camera

  Live video turned into the visual.

• Constellations

  Starlight travelling between the stars.

• Cube Swarm

  A cloud of tumbling cubes.

• Dancer

  Motion-capture dancers locked to the beat.

• Fireworks Needs WebGPU

  Realistic fireworks fired on the beat.

• Flower of Life

  Sacred geometry breathing with the track.

• Fracture

  Full-screen cracks that split on every hit.

• Gravity

  A web that tightens in the breakdown and explodes on the drop.

• Grid

  Tiling patterns that pulse and bend.

• Gyroscope Rings

  Nested rings turning in 3D.

• Ink

  Fluid ink bursting in colour on black.

• Laser Lattice

  Dense laser lines that flare with the music.

• Lasers

  Club-style laser beams and formations.

• Network

  Maps and networks with light flowing along the routes.

• Orrery

  Orbits locked to the beat, bar and phrase.

• Science

  Molecules, DNA, atoms, planets and circuits.

• Shatter Needs WebGPU

  Glass breaking on impact.

• Strata

  A landscape built from the track's recent history.

• Strings

  Club-style laser beams and formations.

• Swarm

  A thin flock banks and folds in flight; kicks send waves through it.

• Type

  Font outlines that breathe with bass and sparkle with hats. Apply text to commit it.

• Warp Needs WebGPU

  Flying through stars and nebulae.

• Impact

  A prototype collision of physical mass and hard light.

• Apparition

  A prototype sculpture emerging from black through raking light.

Some behaviours need WebGPU, available in recent Chrome and Edge. They're marked in the behaviour list if your browser can't run them.

A rough way to choose: sharp, punchy visuals suit techno and mapping; fluid and particle visuals suit big colour moments; geometric visuals suit calmer sections. Most behaviours have variants and styles, so explore each one before moving on.

Gig checklist

Run through this at soundcheck, with the real rig, before the doors open.

Before you leave home

• Use the Mac app for gigs: open it online, sign in, let your looks and Sets load, and check View → Offline cache: Ready
• Microphone and camera access already allowed in the Mac app, so no system prompt appears on the projector
• Map saved and tested on a similar surface, if you're mapping
• Controller buttons assigned to tonight's looks
• Pack: interface, USB cable, RCA-to-jack cable, RCA splitters, HDMI cable and adapter, laptop charger

At the venue

• Laptop on mains power, sleep and screen saver off, notifications muted
• Other browser tabs and heavy apps closed
• Projector set as an extended display, FLUX fullscreen on it (⌘⇧P in the Mac app), Remote on the laptop
• "Live input" started and running from your interface, not the laptop mic
• Meters moving on LOW, MID and HIGH with the DJ's actual music
• Source gains set for the room's genre
• Map adjusted to the venue, then edit mode off
• Blackout tested (B or controller)
• One safe fallback look on a button, in case anything misbehaves
• In a browser, don't reload the page once the night starts

Troubleshooting

What FLUX doesn't do

So you can plan your rig honestly:

• No OSC, Syphon, Spout or NDI output to other VJ software.
• No phone remote. The Remote runs on the same computer.
• The Mac app runs on Apple Silicon Macs only. No Windows app yet.
• No exporting looks as files yet.