showstack / software / lightwright
Lightwright
The lighting paperwork database: channel hookups, instrument schedules, colour and equipment counts, focus charts and work notes. Stays in sync with a Vectorworks plot over an .xml link and talks to Eos over OSC during focus and work calls.
Protocols it speaks
| Protocol | Direction | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| osc | bidirectional | Eos Console Link uses OSC over the lighting network, or 127.0.0.1 on a single machine, to trigger cues, turn lights on and off during focus and work calls, and import, label and document cues and groups. |
What to watch for
The Vectorworks link is an .xml file named after the .vwx and living beside it. Rename or move the .vwx and Lightwright keeps reading the old .xml, so the two files silently drift apart.
Vectorworks UIDs are not guaranteed to be unique. A new light whose UID matches an old deleted one makes Lightwright restore the deleted light, which can cause all kinds of chaos.
One undefined or corrupted character in a data field can invalidate the whole exchange .xml. When the two files disagree, do a Complete Export on Exit from Vectorworks.
Backslashes in folder names, particularly on Mac, stop Vectorworks and Lightwright communicating at all.
Eos Console Link needs OSC RX and TX enabled in Eos Setup with TCP mode set to Slip (v1.1), OSC enabled on the active network port, and Lightwright on a complementary IP and subnet.
Importing into Eos from a file is a different path from the live link: tab-separated .txt with Windows line endings, and only rows whose Device Type is Light will import.
Lightwright moved from a perpetual licence to subscription with the January 2026 platform release. Lightwright 6 keeps working, but legacy bug-fix support was stated to end 1 July 2026.
The Lightwright 6 student licence was a hard stop: after three years the software will cease to function.
Typical use
- Building and maintaining the hookup and instrument schedule for a plot
- Work notes and focus tracking through tech
- Two-way sync with a Vectorworks Spotlight drawing via the .xml link
- Channel checks and cue/group labelling straight from Lightwright to an Eos console
- Colour, gobo and equipment counts for the shop order
Sources
- About Lightwright 6 — John McKernon Software primary
- Vectorworks / Lightwright Data Exchange — John McKernon Software primary
- Eos Console Link - Lightwright user guide — Lightwright LLC primary
- Lightwright licence types — John McKernon Software primary
- Lightwright Unveils Historic Platform Overhaul: Introducing Real-Time Collaboration — Live Design
- Importing Lightwright Data Into Eos Family Consoles — Electronic Theatre Controls
Understand the mechanism
Something wrong, or missing?
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