Getting Started
The CueForge learning path: from first launch to running a show.
Welcome to CueForge. This page orients you: what the beta is, how the pieces fit together, and which manual pages to read in which order.
You are using the CueForge 0.99.1 beta. Core workflows — building a cue list, running Show Mode, external control via OSC/MIDI/HTTP — are verified in the real application. Some features are still being validated; this manual labels them honestly with Warning and Note callouts, and the Current Limitations page lists them in one place.
The learning path
- Installation — confirm your Mac meets the requirements and launch CueForge.
- Quick Start — a 15-minute, hands-on walkthrough from zero to a running cue. Do this first.
- Core Concepts — projects, cue lists, cue types, groups, and the difference between Edit Mode and Show Mode.
- Cue Types — what each of the 12 cue types does and when to use it.
- Show Mode — running the live show: GO, STOP, PANIC, Show Lock.
The workflow in one paragraph
Every show follows the same arc. You start in the Start Workspace, create a new project, and work in Edit Mode — the authoring surface where nothing you do can fire live output. You add cues, assign media, group them into scenes, and rehearse with the audition transport. When the cue list is ready, Preflight checks it for problems; errors block you, warnings you acknowledge. Then you enter Show Mode, where the operator runs the show with GO (Space), STOP (S), and PANIC (Escape). You save with Cmd+S and quit through a guard dialog that never lets you lose work silently.
Advanced tool windows
Beyond the main window, CueForge offers dedicated tool windows, all opened from the Window menu. Re-selecting a menu item brings the existing window to the front instead of opening a duplicate:
- Window → Outputs — output mapping, display bindings, and commissioning patterns. See Outputs.
- Window → Show Graph — read-only view of show structure and live engine state. See Show Graph and Timeline.
- Window → Timeline — a timecode ruler that follows engine show time.
- Window → Control Mapping — author external-control mappings and triage incoming triggers. See Control Mapping.
- Window → Open Prep Authoring Window — a detached Audio Deep Editor for detailed audio work. See The Audio Deep Editor.
Where to go deeper
- Audio designers: Audio Cues, The Audio Deep Editor, Markers and Cue Points.
- Output and playback: Outputs, Control Mapping.
- Project safety: Projects, Saving and Recovery, Undo, Draft Edits and Dirty State.