Open Stage Control loads a JSON file that defines a portable OSC control surface

Open Stage Control is a free control-surface app that communicates over OSC and loads its surface from a JSON file describing the widgets (buttons, knobs, faders) and the OSC messages they send. Because the whole surface is a text file, it is portable and can be committed to a project repository alongside the Max device it drives. In this build the JSON file provides stop, play, and a clip-progress knob mapped to the first clip of the first track; to use it you download Open Stage Control, set its send/receive ports to match the Max device, and load the JSON. Editing the JSON is how you add or change controls.

Examples

After matching ports to the Max device, load the repository’s JSON in Open Stage Control to get stop, play, and a clip-progress knob for the first clip. Extending the surface means adding a widget entry (e.g. a fader with its own OSC address) to that JSON.

Assessment

Give one advantage of storing a control surface as a JSON text file over a proprietary binary, and outline the steps to add a control for a second track’s clip to an existing layout.