v8.1.0-SNAPSHOT preview

🚧 This is pre-release code for people who want to help test what is going into the next release.

Although for packaged products you may hesitate about using “unreleased” code, for an experimental project like Beat Link Trigger, this is probably your best bet. Releases are only frozen when things are slow, and fixes are never back-ported to older releases.

Tip

You can jump directly to the branch of the online user guide that matches this preview version.

Really, the main disadvantage of using the preview release is that you need to remember to come back here and get an updated copy every so often, to keep up as new things are added. You can compare your build date in the About box with what you find here.

Ideally you should also join the conversation on Zulip so you will be alerted to fun new things as soon as they are ready to test, and it is easy to give feedback and help set the next goals.

But if you are still not comfortable testing code while it is under active development, look at the latest release. (Be sure to check how old it is before committing to that route, though!)

v8.0.0

If you came here from the link in the first DJ TechTools article, please look at my instructions for more information about how to install and use Beat Link Trigger!

What to Download

• If you already have a compatible Java runtime installed (Java 21 or later), you can just download the executable cross-platform Jar file, and should be able to run it by double-clicking.
• If you are on a Mac and don’t want to have to worry about installing and managing a separate Java environment, you can download the MacOS disk image (.dmg) file, which contains a signed, notarized Mac application with the necessary Java runtime built right in.
• If you are on 64-bit Windows and don’t want to have to separately install Java you can download the Win64 MSI installer (.msi file), which installs a Windows application with the Java runtime built in.
• If you want to test what is going into the next release, look at the pre-release SNAPSHOT release (if any) at the top of the full Releases list.

What’s in the Release

✨This is a major release with many significant new features and fixes, reflecting over a year of work on the part of several contributors. Please see the Change Log for all the details.

v7.4.1

If you came here from the link in the first DJ TechTools article, please look at my instructions for more information about how to install and use Beat Link Trigger!

What to Download

• If you already have a compatible Java runtime installed (Java 11 or later), you can just download the executable cross-platform Jar file, and should be able to run it by double-clicking.
• If you are on a Mac and don’t want to have to worry about installing and managing a separate Java environment, you can download the MacOS disk image (.dmg) file, which contains a signed, notarized Mac application with the necessary Java runtime built right in.
• If you are on 64-bit Windows and don’t want to have to separately install Java you can download the Win64 MSI installer (.msi file), which installs a Windows application with the Java runtime built in.
• If you want to test what is going into the next release, look at the pre-release SNAPSHOT release (if any) at the top of the full Releases list.

What’s in the Release

Fixed

• The ability to access trigger globals specifically from show expressions was not properly addressed in 7.4.0. They will now work there too.

Added

• An integration example showing how to extend the Channels On-Air feature of the DJM-V10 mixer beyond CDJs.

Changed

• Added separate builds for macOS, Intel and Apple Silicon, since GitHub changed their default macOS runners to build for Apple Silicon, and that yields applications that can not run at all on Intel macs, even though they run more efficiently on Apple Silicon macs.

v7.4.0

If you came here from the link in the first DJ TechTools article, please look at my instructions for more information about how to install and use Beat Link Trigger!

What to Download

Warning

Because of limitations in the Java packaging tool as discussed in the project community here, it is not currently possible to build universal macOS applications. The continuous integration pipeline used to build BLT was upgraded recently and is now building on Arm, so the macOS download will not work on Intel machines. If you are on an Intel Mac please try using the macOS Intel disk image offered by the 7.4.1 preview release which I expect will soon replace 7.4.0.

• If you already have a compatible Java runtime installed (Java 11 or later), you can just download the executable cross-platform Jar file, and should be able to run it by double-clicking.
• If you are on an Arm Mac and don’t want to have to worry about installing and managing a separate Java environment, you can download the MacOS disk image (.dmg) file, which contains a signed, notarized Mac application with the necessary Java runtime built right in.
• If you are on 64-bit Windows and don’t want to have to separately install Java you can download the Win64 MSI installer (.msi file), which installs a Windows application with the Java runtime built in.
• If you want to test what is going into the next release, look at the pre-release SNAPSHOT release (if any) at the top of the full Releases list.

What’s in the Release

Fixed

• The ability to access trigger globals from trigger expressions had been broken for some time, probably since the show interface was added.
• The phrase trigger Started Expression now has basic information about the player causing the trigger to start much more of the time, but no longer assumes this is due to a CdjStatus packet, because it is usually driven by a Beat packet. (This does mean there are fewer convenience variables available to the expression.)
• When exceptions occurred in phrase trigger expressions, the source of the expression was supposed to be logged, but it was not.
• It turns out there is a long-standing bug in Java under Windows that can sometimes return null values in the list of network addresses associated with an interface. The embedded Beat Link library now has defensive code to protect itself against this and avoid crashing when the VirtualCdj is trying to find the right network interface to use to talk to the DJ link network.
• Eliminated a source of exceptions that could lead to stack traces when Carabiner is being un-synchronized because BLT is going
  offline.

Added

• A new integration example showing how to provide some of the Player Status interface on a TouchOSC control surface.

v7.3.0

If you came here from the link in the first DJ TechTools article, please look at my instructions for more information about how to install and use Beat Link Trigger!

What to Download

Warning

If you are using an Apple Silicon mac, be aware that macOS 14.4.0 suffers from a major Java-killing issue. This is fixed in macOS 14.4.1.

• If you already have a compatible Java runtime installed (Java 11 or later), you can just download the executable beat-link-trigger-7.3.0.jar file, and should be able to run it by double-clicking.
• If you are on a Mac and don’t want to have to worry about installing and managing a separate Java environment, you can download the MacOS disk image (.dmg) file, which contains a signed, notarized Mac application with the necessary Java runtime built right in.
• If you are on 64-bit Windows and don’t want to have to separately install Java you can download the Win64 MSI installer (.msi file), which installs a Windows application with the Java runtime built in.
• If you want to test what is going into the next release, look at the pre-release SNAPSHOT release (if any) at the top of the full Releases list.

What’s in the Release

✨Release 7.3 finally includes full support for working with CDJ-3000s, including benefiting from their precise position packets, displaying dynamic (DJ-created) loops, and avoiding complaints from the players even when there are five or six of them on the network. There are also several other cool new features for all player types, and some important fixes. Please see the Change Log for all the details.

v7.2.1

If you came here from the link in the first DJ TechTools article, please look at my instructions for more information about how to install and use Beat Link Trigger!

What to Download

• If you already have a compatible Java runtime installed (Java 11 or later), you can just download the executable beat-link-trigger-7.2.1.jar file, and should be able to run it by double-clicking.
• If you are on a Mac and don’t want to have to worry about installing and managing a separate Java environment, you can download the MacOS disk image (.dmg) file, which contains a signed, notarized Mac application with the necessary Java runtime built right in.
• If you are on 64-bit Windows and don’t want to have to separately install Java you can download the Win64 MSI installer (.msi file), which installs a Windows application with the Java runtime built in.
• If you want to test what is going into the next release, look at the pre-release SNAPSHOT release (if any) at the top of the full Releases list.

What’s in the Release

🔧 This is a quick follow-on to the 7.2.0 release to fix an issue that prevented new users of Beat Link Trigger from opening windows like Player Status and the Carabiner Connection.

✨Release 7.2.0 includes a great many fixes, and some notable additions like the new shallow playback simulator and other simulation shortcuts, cue library improvements, and fixes related to phrase triggers thanks to feedback from people who are finally using them. Please see the Change Log for all the details.

v7.2.0

⚠️ Please don’t use this release, especially if you are new to Beat Link Trigger. It has an issue that will prevent you from opening important windows for the first time, including Player Status and the Carabiner Connection. Use v7.2.1 or later instead.

v7.1.0

If you came here from the link in the first DJ TechTools article, please look at my instructions for more information about how to install and use Beat Link Trigger!

What to Download

• If you already have a compatible Java runtime installed (Java 8 or later on the Mac and Linux, Java 9 or later on Windows), you can just download the executable beat-link-trigger-7.1.0.jar file, and should be able to run it by double-clicking.
• If you are on a Mac and don’t want to have to worry about installing and managing a separate Java environment, you can download the MacOS disk image (.dmg) file, which contains a signed, notarized Mac application with the necessary Java runtime built right in.
• If you are on 64-bit Windows and don’t want to have to separately install Java you can download the Win64 MSI installer (.msi file), which installs a Windows application with the Java runtime built in.
• If you want to test what is going into the next release, look at the pre-release SNAPSHOT release (if any) at the top of the full Releases list.

What’s in the Release

✨A great many fixes, and some notable additions like the new Expression Report, Simulate buttons within expression editors, and other improvements to simulation which will be built into a major new feature in the next release. Please see the Change Log for all the details.

v7.0.1

If you came here from the link in the first DJ TechTools article, please look at my instructions for more information about how to install and use Beat Link Trigger!

What to Download

• If you already have a compatible Java runtime installed (Java 8 or later on the Mac and Linux, Java 9 or later on Windows), you can just download the executable beat-link-trigger-7.0.0.jar file, and should be able to run it by double-clicking.
• If you are on a Mac and don’t want to have to worry about installing and managing a separate Java environment, you can download the MacOS disk image (.dmg) file, which contains a signed, notarized Mac application with the necessary Java runtime built right in.
• If you are on 64-bit Windows and don’t want to have to separately install Java you can download the Win64 MSI installer (.msi file), which installs a Windows application with the Java runtime built in.
• If you want to test what is going into the next release, look at the pre-release SNAPSHOT release (if any) at the top of the full Releases list.

What’s in the Release

✨ Major new features compared to 0.6.x, fixes and enhancements! Highlights include initial support for the new CDJ-3000s and up to six players, the ability to build cues around rekordbox phrase analysis, the ability to link cues to library cues so they can be updated as a group, playlist writer improvements, MIDI fixes and other reliability improvements.

Please see the Change Log for details.

v7.0.0

If you came here from the link in the first DJ TechTools article, please look at my instructions for more information about how to install and use Beat Link Trigger!

What to Download

• If you already have a compatible Java runtime installed (Java 8 or later on the Mac and Linux, Java 9 or later on Windows), you can just download the executable beat-link-trigger-7.0.0.jar file, and should be able to run it by double-clicking.
• If you are on a Mac and don’t want to have to worry about installing and managing a separate Java environment, you can download the MacOS disk image (.dmg) file, which contains a signed, notarized Mac application with the necessary Java runtime built right in.
• If you are on 64-bit Windows and don’t want to have to separately install Java you can download the Win64 MSI installer (.msi file), which installs a Windows application with the Java runtime built in.
• If you want to test what is going into the next release, look at the pre-release SNAPSHOT release (if any) at the top of the full Releases list.

What’s in the Release

✨ Major new features, fixes and enhancements! Highlights include initial support for the new CDJ-3000s and up to six players, the ability to build cues around rekordbox phrase analysis, the ability to link cues to library cues so they can be updated as a group, playlist writer improvements, MIDI fixes and other reliability improvements.

Please see the Change Log for details.