LightBeat

Music Visualizer for Philips Hue compatible lights. Synchronizes your lights to the beat.

Download

All other platforms (.zip) Requires Java: A JDK 21+ is required. The included launch_lightbeat.sh script can download this for you.
For manual installs, download here. On macOS, see instructions.
Windows Installer (.msi) Recommended on Windows.
macOS Installer (.dmg) For ARM-based Macs (M1/M2/etc). A manual security exception is required post-install. Follow the OS instructions.
Linux Installer (.deb) Recommended for Debian, Ubuntu, and derivative distributions.

Dynamic Beat Detection

Synchronizes lights in real-time by analyzing the punch of each beat against the song's average loudness. This intensity directly controls brightness and triggers effects, creating a truly dynamic and responsive feel.

Dynamic Intensity

The visualization follows the music's natural energy, not just its beat. Lights glow softly during quiet passages and flare up with vibrant brightness on powerful drops, making the atmosphere feel perfectly in sync with the song's flow.

Tune Colors & Intensity

Configure the core visual elements to match your preference. Set the brightness range to control the dynamic contrast, adjust fade speeds for sharp or smooth transitions, and select from your own color sets or presets to define the mood.

Intuitive & Fine-Tuned Control

An easy-to-use interface gives you full control with live feedback. Adjust brightness, colors, fade speeds, and strobing effects on the fly. Your settings are saved for next time and lights are restored afterward.

Works with Any Audio Source

By capturing audio directly from your system output, LightBeat is compatible with any application. Its engine is optimized for music out-of-the-box, but the controls are flexible enough to be tuned for the dynamic range of games, movies, and more.

Free, Open & Cross-Platform

LightBeat is 100% free and open source. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux with provided installers, built on a Java 21 foundation for complete Desktop compatibility. The full source code is available on GitHub.

All Features

Dynamic Intensity & Effects

  • Sets the brightness depending on the relative intensity of the music, allowing for relaxed or intense visualizations.
  • Creates a dynamic music visualization where the engine selects effects based on relative loudness.
  • Brightness fades on the beat, with configurable fade time and difference in brightness during the fade.
  • Both brightness and color strobing effects can be fully disabled.

Color Customization

  • Randomize the colors that will be used or select them manually to set your mood.
  • Comes with editable and removable color presets and the ability to define your own color sets.
  • Color picker allows you to select a color from anywhere on your desktop.

Audio Detection & Synchronization

  • Low-latency audio support for Windows (WASAPI), macOS (CoreAudio), and Linux (PulseAudio).
  • Captures system audio directly on Windows and Linux, eliminating the need for a microphone.
  • Optional low pass filter to only read bass frequencies if your genre/audio is too noisy otherwise.

Fine-Tuned Control

  • Configure the minimum time between beats to reduce the number of light updates for a smoother experience.
  • Set the amount of lights that are updated per beat, or increase the probability of updates.
  • Select which specific lights to use in the visualization.
  • Most settings can be adjusted with live feedback while the visualizer is active.

Platform Support & Usability

  • Platform independent, runs on any Java compatible operating system.
  • Installers provided for Windows, macOS (ARM) and Linux (Debian based).
  • The launch script for the cross-platform .zip handles a portable JDK installation for you.
  • Easy to use interface that saves your last settings.
  • Recovers your lights' initial states after stopping.

More

  • Fully open source under GPLv3.
  • Notifies you when an update is available.

Get in touch

You can either join the Discord or mail directly to lightbeat@wunderlich.pw.
Feel free to use the issue tracker on GitHub to report any bugs you come across or tell us about your ideas.

Please read through the questions below, yours may have already been answered.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

LightBeat is completely free and open source, there is no adware bundled with it and no ads are served.
If you are having a good day and enjoy LightBeat I would appreciate a small donation.
Send me a tip

A star on GitHub would be very welcome, too!

Do I need to have Java installed?

The installers for Windows (.msi), macOS (.dmg), and Linux (.deb) already include a bundled Java runtime and do not require a separate installation.

For the .zip file, a Java Development Kit (JDK) version 21 or newer is required. The included launch script (launch_lightbeat.sh) automates this for you. Simply run the script, and if a suitable JDK isn't found, it will offer to download and set one up for you in a portable manner automatically.

How many lights should I have?

You should have at least two lights in your configuration and it works great with three lights. There is no hard limit for how many lights can be used, besides what your bridge can hold.

What are the system requirements?

The hardware requirements are quite low, LightBeat should basically run on a toaster as long as your OS (or your toaster) supports Java. It does however require a Philips Hue Bridge (or a device that supports it's API) to connect to. As long as your lights are compatible with said bridge you should be able to use LightBeat with them. Non colored lights are supported but probably not very fun to use.

If you don't own a Philips Hue Bridge you could set up an emulator and connect whatever light system you want to it. You can use diyHue, Home Assistant and openHAB. They all allow you to connect all sorts of non-Hue systems under one joined system but are generally not easy to setup. Also keep in mind that LightBeat wasn't tested with them and the quality of the visualization will differ depending on which light systems you hook up. OpenHAB in particular had some quirks in it's Hue API implementation and high latency, but your mileage may vary (tested on OpenHAB v3.2.0).

Does it work with Spotify/YouTube/etc.?

Technically it can listen to anything and you do not need to play your music loudly over a speaker. On Windows and Linux, it can directly read your system's audio output. For other platforms, or if you have a complex setup, you can use a virtual audio cable. See the audio setup guide for instructions.

How do I use the .zip file on macOS?

Due to macOS security features, script files downloaded from the internet are not immediately runnable. You need to manually mark the launch script as "executable" one time.

Follow these steps:

  1. First, double-click the .zip file to extract its contents.
  2. Open the Terminal app. You can find it in Applications → Utilities, or by searching for it with Spotlight.
  3. In the Terminal window, type the following command exactly, including the space at the end, but do not press Enter yet:
    chmod +x 
  4. Now, drag and drop the launch_lightbeat.sh file from your Finder window directly onto the Terminal window. The full path to the file will appear after the command.
  5. Press the Enter key. The script is now executable.

You can now close the Terminal. From now on, you can simply double-click the launch_lightbeat.sh file to start the application. If the file opens in a text editor, right-click it, select "Open With", and choose Terminal.app.

I'm having latency issues, how can I improve my setup?

It is difficult to troubleshoot without knowing your exact setup. Firstly, there is always going to be a small latency between the sound and the light update, however this should not be percetible under normal circumstances.

Other causes for latency may be:

  1. Bad connection in your local network
    If you are connected via WiFi ensure that your connection is stable. WiFi may cause issues especially in crowded neighborhoods or if your router is overloaded.
  2. Using too many lights
    Disable any lights you don't need in LightBeat to reduce the latency. If you want to use more than four lights you may have to increase the minimum time between beats. The default is 200 milliseconds, try to increase the value to reduce congestion. Four lights or less should usually not cause LightBeat to send too many commands at 200ms, but this is genre dependent.
  3. Too much distance between lights
    Hue bulbs communicate via the ZigBee standard. If they are too far apart the network will slow down. Try disabling more remotely located lights.
  4. Running outdated firmware
    Use your Philips Hue app and check for firmware updates for your bridge and lights. Newer versions may contain performance optimizations.
  5. Using a V1.0 hue bridge
    If you are still using the circular hue bridge (not the square with rounded corners) you may want to consider upgrading, as the new bridge also comes with performance improvements.

What does setting X do?

Hover over the slider/checkbox/setting to get a description for your option. For sliders you will also see it's current and default value.

Some of my lights stay off for extended periods of time, is this intended?

When the Strobe or Glow effects are active lights get turned on/off depending on the intensity of the music. These effects usually don't last for too long and your lights shouldn't stay turned off for extended periods of time. Users have reported incompatibilities with the "Glow" effect and third-party lights, try disabling the Glow effect if this is a problem for you.