Novolis.Audio.Live.Protocol 2026.1.10.96

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Novolis.Audio.Live.Protocol

MessagePack DTOs and helper methods for the Novolis Audio Live control plane.

Install

dotnet add package Novolis.Audio.Live.Protocol

Quick start

using Novolis.Audio.Live.Protocol;
using Novolis.Transports.LocalIpc;

var endpoint = LiveTransportEndpoints.CreateDefault();
using var client = LocalIpcTransport.CreateClient();
await using var connection = await client.ConnectAsync(endpoint);

What this package owns

This package defines the audio-domain wire contract for live coding, plus the performer REPL client (Novolis.Audio.Live.Repl namespace inside this assembly). It does not implement transport itself.

It contains:

• request/response DTOs for compile, snapshot, and queue-swap
• immutable program, track-effect, and diagnostic payloads
• mapping helpers between domain objects and wire DTOs
• endpoint helpers for the default local IPC address
• readiness wait (WaitUntilListeningAsync / IsListeningAsync) for host startup
• MessagePack serialization helpers

The reusable transport implementation lives in Novolis.Transports.LocalIpc.

Transport model

The live host and its clients communicate over a framed local IPC stream:

• Windows: named pipes
• Unix-like systems: Unix domain sockets

The wire format is:

LocalIpcFrame
  → sequence number
  → message kind (`request` / `response`)
  → method name
  → MessagePack payload

This package layers typed live-audio semantics on top of that frame envelope.

RPC methods

The current control surface is intentionally small:

State flow

REPL / visual client
  → build typed program definition
  → choose named instruments and optional effect chains
  → MessagePack request
  → host compiles to immutable LiveProgram
  → host either accepts or rejects without disturbing the current performance
  → host returns diagnostics + program payload
  → host publishes current snapshot on demand

Activation rules

SwapPolicy controls when a validated program becomes active:

• Immediately
• NextBeat
• NextBar
• NextPhrase

The host owns the clock and applies the queued swap at the next matching boundary.

Example

using Novolis.Audio.Live.Protocol;
using Novolis.Audio.Live.Protocol.Dto;
using Novolis.Transports.LocalIpc;

using Novolis.Audio.Live;

var endpoint = LiveTransportEndpoints.CreateDefault();
var client = LocalIpcTransport.CreateClient();
await using var connection = await client.ConnectAsync(endpoint);

var request = new LiveCompileRequestDto(
    RequestId: 1,
    Program: someProgramDefinition.ToDto(),
    SwapPolicy: SwapPolicy.NextBeat);

await connection.SendMessageAsync(1, LiveRpcMessageKinds.Request, LiveRpcMethodNames.Compile, request);

Versioning rules

Wire contracts are additive-first:

• keep existing fields stable
• add new fields at the end of DTOs
• prefer new DTOs and new methods over changing existing ones
• include RequestId on all request/response pairs

That keeps the live host and clients loosely coupled while still staying strongly typed.