Getting Started

OCTAVE runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Pick the install method that fits.

Download

⬇ Download for Your Platform All downloads & release notes →

Platform	File	Notes
Windows	octave-x.x.x-setup.exe	NSIS installer. SmartScreen may warn on first launch — click More info → Run anyway.
macOS	octave-x.x.x.dmg	Right-click the app and choose Open the first time so Gatekeeper accepts the unsigned bundle.
Linux	octave-x.x.x.AppImage	chmod +x octave-*.AppImage && ./octave-*.AppImage

All releases live on the GitHub Releases page.

Build from source

If you'd rather compile locally:

git clone https://github.com/opria123/octave.git
cd octave
npm install
npm run dev          # hot-reloading dev build
npm run build:win    # or build:mac / build:linux for an installer

You'll need Node.js 18+ and npm. Python is not required for editing — only for the optional Auto-Chart feature.

First launch

1. Launch OCTAVE.
2. The first time you start it, you'll see the Setup Modal — pick your output directory for new projects (or skip and set it later in Settings).
3. Click File → Open Folder (or drag a folder onto the window).
4. Choose a folder that contains a notes.mid / notes.chart plus audio files (song.ogg, drums.ogg, guitar.ogg, etc.).
5. The folder appears in the Project Explorer on the left. Click any song to load it into the editor.

Don't have a chart yet? Use Auto-Chart to generate one from an audio file or YouTube URL.

Editor layout

Area	Purpose
Toolbar	Playback, save/export, editing tools, snap division, stems mixer, auto-chart
Project Explorer (left)	Song browser with album art thumbnails and dirty-state indicators
MIDI Editor (center)	2D canvas piano roll — one lane per instrument, beat grid, snap quantization
Chart Preview (right)	Three.js 3D highway — exactly what the chart looks like in-game
Property Panel	Note inspector, song metadata, tempo / time signature editor
Bottom Panel	Audio waveform, video sync, lyric editor (depending on selected tab)

See the Editor Layout guide for an annotated walkthrough.

Next steps

• Editing notes in the MIDI Editor
• Using the 3D Chart Preview
• Auto-charting from audio
• All keyboard shortcuts