showstack / software / ola
OLA (Open Lighting Architecture)
A daemon and library that translates between lighting transports, so an application can output DMX without knowing whether it lands on Art-Net, sACN or a USB widget. The usual glue layer on Linux and macOS.
Protocols it speaks
| Protocol | Direction | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| art-net | bidirectional | Art-Net 1, 2 and 3 are listed in the plugin documentation. |
| sacn | bidirectional | Documented as the Streaming ACN (E1.31) plugin. |
| dmx512 | bidirectional | Through more than twenty supported USB DMX widgets. |
| pathport | bidirectional | Listed as the Pathway Pathport plugin. |
| kinet | out | |
| osc | bidirectional | |
| rdm | bidirectional | OLA carries a full RDM responder and controller stack. |
What to watch for
Windows support is partial. The documentation targets Linux, macOS and FreeBSD, so a Windows-only crew should plan on different tooling rather than a port.
A plugin has to be enabled and its universes patched in olad before anything moves. Installing the package is only the first half of the job.
Licensing is mixed across the tree, with the library under LGPL and other components under GPL. Check the specific file before you embed it in a product.
Typical use
- Protocol bridge between a USB DMX widget and an Art-Net or sACN network
- Scripted and automated fixture control from Python or C++
- RDM discovery and troubleshooting from a laptop
- Test rigs and CI for lighting software
Sources
- OLA developer documentation — Open Lighting Project primary
- OpenLightingProject/ola source repository — Open Lighting Project primary
Understand the mechanism
Something wrong, or missing?
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