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!License: MIT

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🦊 Devalang — Write music, like you write code.

Devalang is a compact domain-specific language (DSL) for music makers, sound designers, and creative coders.
Compose loops, control samples, synthesize audio, and render your ideas — all in clean, readable text.

Whether you're prototyping a beat, building generative music, or performing live, Devalang gives you rhythmic precision with the elegance of code.

From studio sketches to live sets, Devalang puts musical ideas into motion.

📚 Quick Access

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⚡ Quick Start

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Launch the Devalang Playground to write, run, and share Devalang code directly in your web browser. No installation required !

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Visit the download page to get the latest releases for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

This is the recommended way to install Devalang, as the installers will set up everything for you, including adding Devalang to your system PATH.

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You can also download the standalone binaries for your OS from the download page.

You must ensure that the binary is executable (e.g., chmod +x on Linux/Mac).

You must also add the binary to your system PATH to use it from any terminal location.

---

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``bash
npm install -g @devaloop/devalang
`

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`bash
cargo install devalang
`

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`bash
code --install-extension devaloop.devalang-vscode
`

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`bash

Initialize a new project

devalang init my-project

Navigate to the project

cd my-project

Check syntax

devalang check --entry examples/index.deva

Build audio files

devalang build --path examples/index.deva --formats wav mid

Play audio (live mode)

devalang play --live --input examples/index.deva
`

📦 (optional) Install addons

Devalang supports addons to extend functionalities. This allows you to easily add sound banks, effects, or other features.

> To create your own addon, please refer to the Devapack documentation.

`bash

List available addons

devalang addon list

Install an addon (format: .)

devalang addon install devaloop.808
`

This will install the devaloop.808 sound bank in your current working directory inside .deva folder.

You can then use it in your Devalang scripts !

🎵 Your First Devalang File

Create a file hello.deva or index.deva (if you do not specify --input argument, it defaults to index.deva).

#### Nomenclature for .deva files

- Devalang files use the .deva extension.
- Devalang engine is indentation-sensitive for blocks, similar to Python.
- Files are plain text and can be edited with any text editor (VSCode recommended).
- Ensure your text editor supports UTF-8 encoding.
- Devalang is case-sensitive, so be consistent with capitalization.
- Devalang reads files from top to bottom, so order matters.
- Devalang files typically starts with :
1. Module system (load, import, use)
2. Global settings (bpm, bank)
3. Definitions (const/let/var, synth, pattern, group)
4. Algorithmic logic (if, loop, for)
5. Musical logic / Execution (trigger calls, automations, call, spawn, sleep)
6. Optional exports (export)
- Devalang files can include comments using # or // for single-line comments.
- You can name your files anything, but index.deva is a common convention for the main entry file.
- You can organize your project with subfolders as needed. (use module system like import { var } from '.deva' and export { var }).

Refer to the documentation for a complete syntax reference.

`deva

Import some variables from other modules

import { myTempo } from "./shared/variables.deva"

Load an external sample and a MIDI file

load "./samples/my-sample.wav" as mySample
load "./midi/my-midi-file.mid" as myMidiFile

Set the tempo with the imported variable

bpm myTempo

Load a bank of sounds (make sure you have the bank installed)

bank devaloop.808 as drums

Create a simple kick pattern (can also use "mySample")

pattern kickPattern with drums.kick = "x--- x--- x--- x---"

Define a constant for synth, with a global LFO effect

You can define variables scopes using const/let/var

const mySynth = synth saw
-> lfo({
rate: "1/8",
depth: 1.0,
waveform: "triangle",
target: "pitch",
semitones: 3.0
})

Define a melody using a group to organize notes

group myMelody:
mySynth -> note(C5)
-> duration(500) # Note playing for 500ms

mySynth -> note(E5)
-> duration(1/4) # Note playing for 1/4 beats

mySynth -> chord(Gmaj7)
-> duration(1/8) # Chord playing for 1/8 beats
-> velocity(100) # Velocity (0.0 to 1.0) or 0-127
-> lpf({
cutoff: 800.0, # Lowpass filter at 800 Hz
resonance: 0.5 # Filter resonance at 50%
})
-> reverb({ size: 0.3 }) # Small reverb effect

Play the kick pattern (in parallel) (non-blocking)

layer kickPattern

Play the melody (in sequential) (blocking)

sequence myMelody

Bind and play the loaded MIDI pattern with 'mySynth' synth

bind myMidiFile -> mySynth

Pause for 1/4 beats

sleep 1/4

Store the sample in a variable and apply effects to it

let myAwesomeSample = .mySample
-> reverse(true) # Reverse the sample audio
-> speed(2.0) # Multiply the playing speed by 2
-> dist({
amount: 1.0, # Apply a maximal distortion
mix: 0.5 # Apply a 50% mixing
})
-> reverb({
size: 1.0, # Apply a maximal reverb size
decay: 0.1, # Apply a short decay
mix: 0.5 # Apply a 50% mixing
})
-> reverb({ # Duplicate reverb for a stronger effect
size: 1.0,
decay: 0.1,
mix: 0.5
})

Playing the stored sample trigger in different ways

.myAwesomeSample # Play the full sample length
.myAwesomeSample auto # Use maximal sample length by default
.myAwesomeSample 1/8 # Play the sample for 1/8 beats

Play the sample in conditional loop

for i in 0..3:
if i == 2:
.myAwesomeSample 1/4 # Play for 1/4 beats on iteration 2
else:
.myAwesomeSample 1/8 # Play for 1/8 beats otherwise

Play the sample in a blocking loop (run 10 times before continuing)

loop 10:
.myAwesomeSample auto

Play the sample in an (infinite) passthrough loop (non-blocking)

This will continue playing in the background and let the script continue

You can also specify a duration using "loop pass():"

loop pass:
.myAwesomeSample auto

Export the melody

export { myMelody }
`

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You can create a devalang.json (recommended) or devalang.toml or even .devalang (legacy) file to customize check/build/play settings.

This typically evitate to re-type common arguments like --path, --formats, etc.

> Comments are not supported in config files, please use devalang init to generate a default config.

`jsonc
{
"project": {
"name": "My Awesome Project" // Change this to adjust project name
},
"paths": {
"entry": "audio/helloWorld.deva", // Change this to adjust entry file path
"output": "output" // Change this to adjust output directory
},
"audio": {
"format": ["wav", "mid"], // Change this to adjust output formats (options: wav, mid, mp3)
"bit_depth": 16, // Change this to 24 or 32 for higher quality
"channels": 2, // Change this to 1 for mono output
"sample_rate": 44100, // Change this to 48000 for higher quality
"resample_quality": "sinc24", // Change this to adjust resampling quality (options: sinc8, sinc16, sinc24, sinc32)
"bpm": 120 // Change this to adjust the project tempo (only if not set in code)
},
"live": {
"crossfade_ms": 50 // Change this to adjust crossfade duration when playing live
},
"rules": {
"explicit_durations": "warning",
"deprecated_syntax": "warning",
"var_keyword": "error", // Change this to "warning", "info" or "off" to relax the rule
"missing_duration": "info",
"implicit_type_conversion": "info",
"unused_variables": "warning"
}
}

`

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`bash

Build to WAV, MP3, and MIDI

devalang build --path hello.deva --formats wav,mp3,mid
`

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`bash

Play the audio file

devalang play --input hello.deva

Play live (repeats and watch until stopped)

devalang play --live --input hello.deva

Play live loop without crossfade

With 0ms, transitions between loops are no more distinguishable

devalang play --live --crossfade-ms 0 --input hello.deva
`

🚀 Features

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- ✅ Lexer & Parser — Complete tokenization and AST generation
- ✅ Patterns — Rhythmic notation with swing, humanize, velocity
- ✅ Synths — Built-in synthesizers with ADSR envelopes
- ✅ Filters — Lowpass, highpass, bandpass audio filtering
- ✅ Effects — Reverb, delay, distortion, drive, chorus
- ✅ Variables — let, const, var with scoping
- ✅ Groups & Spawn — Organize and parallelize execution
- ✅ Loops & Conditions — for, if, else control flow
- ✅ Triggers — Conditional audio triggering
- ✅ Events — Event system with on and emit

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- ✅ devalang init — Scaffold new projects
- ✅ devalang build — Compile to WAV/MIDI/MP3
- ✅ devalang check — Validate syntax
- ✅ devalang play — Audio playback
- ✅ devalang addon — Manage addons (install, list, discover)
- ✅ devalang login/logout — Authentication
- ✅ devalang telemetry — Privacy controls

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- ✅ render_audio() — Browser audio rendering
- ✅ render_midi_array() — MIDI export
- ✅ debug_render() — Debug information
- ✅ parse() — Parse Devalang code
- ✅ TypeScript types included

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- ✅ WAV — 16/24/32-bit audio export
- ✅ MIDI — Standard MIDI file export
- ✅ MP3 — Lossy audio export (via LAME)

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- ⚡ Fast builds — 7-10ms for typical projects
- ⚡ Low latency — Optimized audio engine
- ⚡ Release builds — 5-6x faster than debug

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- ✅ Online Docs — Complete language reference
- ✅ VSCode Extension — Syntax highlighting

💡 Why Devalang?

- 🎹 Prototype audio ideas without opening a DAW
- 💻 Integrate sound into code-based workflows
- 🎛️ Control audio parameters with readable syntax
- 🧪 Build musical logic with variables and conditions
- 🔄 Create patterns with expressive notation
- 🎨 Live code with fast iteration cycles
- 📦 Version control your music with git

🔧 Development

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`bash

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/devaloop-labs/devalang.git
cd devalang

NPM (TypeScript) and Cargo (Rust) are required

npm install

Build CLI (Rust)

cargo build

Build WASM (Web & Node.js)

npm run rust:wasm:all

Build TypeScript

npm run ts:build

Run tests

cargo test --features cli
npm test
``

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

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- 🐛 Report bugs via GitHub Issues
- 💡 Suggest features on hello@labscend.studio
- 🎵 Share examples of your creations with #devalang tag

📜 License

MIT License — See LICENSE for details.

Copyright (c) 2025 Labscend Studios

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Made with ❤️ by Labscend Studios


_{Star ⭐ the repo if you like it !}