NAMNESIS Live UI

July 22, 2026 · View on GitHub

/live is the dedicated touch-first performance interface for NAMNESIS.

It is deliberately separate from the full desktop editor:

  • /ui is the complete configuration and editing interface.
  • /live is a fixed, no-scroll performance surface.
  • Both consume the same cache-first HTTP API and SSE event stream.
  • Stompbox remains the authoritative owner of DSP state.

Reference hardware

The reference installation uses:

  • 1920 × 440 ultrawide IPS display
  • HDMI video
  • USB HID multitouch
  • Firefox ESR in kiosk mode
  • Xorg and Openbox
  • UI processes assigned to non-DSP CPU cores

Other displays and touch devices can be configured with:

NAMNESIS_PANEL
NAMNESIS_PANEL_MODE
NAMNESIS_TOUCH_NAME
NAMNESIS_GATEWAY_URL
NAMNESIS_FIREFOX_PROFILE
NAMNESIS_KIOSK_DIR
NAMNESIS_UI_CPUS

Live interface capabilities

The interface exposes:

  • current preset number and name
  • NAM model selection
  • cabinet IR selection
  • Save and Save As
  • twelve fixed effect positions
  • effect bypass state
  • context-sensitive numeric parameter editing
  • JACK, XRUN, MIDI and audio-interface status
  • input and master values
  • touch-only operation with a hidden pointer

The fixed effect order is:

BOOST
DRIVE
DELAY
REVERB
COMP
GATE
LEVEL
FUZZ
PHASE
CHORUS
TREMOLO
VIBRATO

Touch the pedal body or effect name to open its parameter editor.

Touch the hexagonal indicator to toggle the effect:

  • filled hexagon: enabled
  • outlined hexagon: bypassed
  • dim slot: effect unavailable

Architecture

The browser never communicates directly with JACK or Stompbox.

Touchscreen
    ↓
Firefox /live
    ↓ HTTP + SSE
namnesis-ui-gateway
    ↓ serialized TCP
Stompbox
    ↓
JACK / DSP

This preserves the separation between:

  • real-time DSP
  • control and visualization

Required Debian packages

sudo apt-get install --no-install-recommends \
  xserver-xorg-core \
  xserver-xorg-input-libinput \
  xinit \
  x11-xserver-utils \
  xinput \
  openbox \
  firefox-esr \
  curl \
  dbus-x11

Public deployment templates

Reusable examples are provided under:

config/
deploy/kiosk/
systemd/

The examples are intentionally generic. Adapt usernames, paths, display outputs, touchscreen names and CPU assignments to the target system.

Suggested installation layout

/opt/namnesis/namnesis-ui-gateway
/opt/namnesis/kiosk
/etc/namnesis-ui-gateway.env
/usr/local/bin/namnesis-ui-gateway

Typical kiosk files:

deploy/kiosk/start-live-ui.sh
deploy/kiosk/xinitrc
deploy/kiosk/bash-profile.snippet
deploy/kiosk/getty-autologin.conf.example
deploy/kiosk/firefox-user.js
deploy/kiosk/blank-cursor.xbm
deploy/kiosk/blank-cursor-mask.xbm

Boot sequence

The reference boot flow is:

JACK and Stompbox
→ namnesis-ui-gateway
→ tty1 automatic login
→ Xorg and Openbox
→ gateway readiness check
→ Firefox ESR /live

The kiosk launcher waits for /api/state before starting Firefox, preventing the interface from opening against an incomplete gateway bootstrap.

CPU affinity

The gateway and graphical kiosk can be kept away from CPU cores assigned to real-time audio.

The included examples use the following arrangement on the six-core reference system:

Cores 0–3: gateway, Xorg, Openbox and Firefox
Cores 4–5: JACK and Stompbox

The relevant deployment files are:

  • systemd/20-cpu-affinity.conf.example — constrains the gateway with systemd's CPUAffinity setting.
  • deploy/kiosk/bash-profile.snippet — starts the Xorg kiosk through taskset, using NAMNESIS_UI_CPUS, which defaults to 0-3.

These CPU ranges are examples for the reference machine and should be adapted to the target hardware and audio configuration.

For broader platform guidance, see HARDWARE.md.

Touch mapping

The launcher maps the configured USB touchscreen to the configured display:

xinput map-to-output "$TOUCH_ID" "$PANEL"

Obtain the relevant names with:

xrandr
xinput list

Cursor suppression

The live interface hides the pointer through CSS, while the kiosk also sets a transparent X11 root cursor. This prevents the pointer from appearing or remaining at the last touched coordinate.

Emergency kiosk disable

From SSH:

touch /tmp/namnesis-kiosk-disable
pkill -u "$USER" firefox-esr
pkill -u "$USER" Xorg

Re-enable it with:

rm -f /tmp/namnesis-kiosk-disable
sudo systemctl restart getty@tty1.service

Operational principle

The live screen is a control surface, not part of the audio engine.

A browser crash, touchscreen disconnection or graphical-session restart must not stop JACK, Stompbox or the current audio program.