Nightfall
Lighting control, show programming, and 3D visualization.
Nightfall is a modern, open-source DMX lighting controller built for programming and running live or timecoded shows.
Patch fixtures, create looks in the programmer, build cues and sequences, and arrange playback on a timeline—all in a customizable panel workspace.
Website · Downloads · User guide · Contributing
What you can do
- Patch and visualize fixtures. Manage fixture profiles and DMX addresses, position lights in the 3D visualizer, and inspect channel output.
- Program looks and effects. Work with fixture groups, cues, sequences, reusable blueprints, and effects.
- Build and play shows. Bind sources to clips, trigger them or arrange them on timelines.
- Connect your equipment. Use Art-Net, sACN, and supported USB DMX outputs, with MIDI and OSC inputs for control.
- Your workflow, your workspace. Build and save layouts with dockable panels.
Nightfall is in active development. Try out the in-browser demo or Check the downloads page for available builds and release information.
Get started
- Get a build for your platform from nightfall.live/downloads.
- Launch Nightfall and create a new showfile or open an existing one.
- Open the command palette using the search button in the top toolbar, or Ctrl+Shift+P (Cmd+Shift+P on macOS), to find panels and actions.
- Use the user guide to learn patching, programming, and playback. The Properties panel follows the active panel, so select the item you want to edit first.
You can explore programming and the visualizer without connecting lighting hardware. Configure hardware transports in the I/O Transports panel when you are ready to use physical outputs.
Windows: uDMX devices
For a supported uDMX device to be discoverable on Windows, set it to use the WinUSB driver with Zadig.
Build from source
See CONTRIBUTING.md for platform prerequisites, Rust and Node setup, generated web assets, and validation commands.
After completing that setup, run the backend and frontend in separate terminals:
cargo run
pnpm run dev
Open the local URL printed by Vite. The development backend defaults to port 3030 and the frontend to 3031; a worktree's .env can select another port pair.
The engine lives in crates/, the SolidJS interface in webui/, and the manual and design documents in docs/.
Feedback and contributions
Found a bug or have an idea? Open an issue. Include your Nightfall version, operating system, and steps to reproduce the problem; screenshots and a minimal example showfile can help.
Code and documentation contributions are welcome. Read the contribution guide for development checks and the Developer Certificate of Origin. Sign off your commits with git commit -s.
License
Nightfall is licensed under the Mozilla Public License 2.0. Bundled third-party components and assets retain their respective licenses and notices.
