Recipes

Common jobs, start to finish: patch a rig, build a stack, chase a target.

Step-by-step workflows for common LMX tasks. Each recipe uses CLI commands; GUI equivalents are noted where they differ.

Prefer clicking? Every recipe below can be carried out from the GUI. Each topic’s help page has an “In the GUI” section with screenshots of the real controls and the command each one is equivalent to - see Fixtures and patching, Groups, Palettes, Presets, Cues, Faders and pages, Effects (SFX), Targets and aiming and Output and master controls.

1. Patch a rig

Goal: Add fixtures to the patch so they appear in the programmer and output DMX.

ADD FIXTURE 1 TYPE "Chauvet Professional Rogue R1X Spot" AT 1/1
ADD FIXTURE 2 TYPE "Chauvet Professional Rogue R1X Spot" AT 1/25
ADD FIXTURE 3 TYPE SPOT_8CH AT 2/1

AT <universe>/<address> sets the DMX start address.
Use LIST FIXTURES to review the patch; PATCH REPORT shows the full address table and overlap warnings.
Use CLONE 1 4 AT NEXT to duplicate fixture 1 as fixture 4 at the next free address.
Use UPDATE FIXTURE 1 POS 0 6 4 ORI 0 -90 0 to set position/orientation for the visualiser and target solver.

Expected output: LIST FIXTURES shows each fixture with its universe, address, footprint, and model.

2. Build a cue stack

Goal: Create a sequence of looks and play them back with GO.

FIXTURE 1 + 2 + 3
INTENSITY 80
RED 100 ; GREEN 0 ; BLUE 0
STORE CUE 1 "Red look" FADE 2.0

CLEAR PROGRAMMER
FIXTURE 1 + 2 + 3
INTENSITY 80
RED 0 ; GREEN 0 ; BLUE 100
STORE CUE 2 "Blue look" FADE 2.0

CLEAR PROGRAMMER
FIXTURE 1 + 2 + 3
INTENSITY 0
STORE CUE 3 "Blackout" FADE 1.0

GO advances to the next cue; GO PREV steps back.
SHOW CUELIST 1 lists the stack with fade times.
SHOW CUE 1 RESOLVED shows what a cue outputs including tracked values.
Add BLOCK to STORE CUE to prevent values tracking forward from earlier cues.

Expected output: GO fades from black to red (2 s), then blue (2 s), then back to black (1 s). SHOW CUELIST 1 lists all three cues.

3. Apply an SFX template

Goal: Add a live-running sine wave effect to selected fixtures.

ADD SFX 1 PAN SIZE 120 SPEED 0.5 WAVEFORM SINE NAME "Pan wave"
FIXTURE 1 + 2 + 3
APPLY SFX 1

ADD SFX only creates the template; APPLY SFX runs it on the current selection. To adjust without stopping:

UPDATE SFX 1 PAN SPEED 1.0

To load the effect on a fader for level control:

LOAD SFX 1 SELECTED AT FADER 5 AMOUNT 100
FADER 5 80

To remove the effect from the programmer:

UNAPPLY SFX 1

LIST SFX shows all active templates and their parameters.
SHOW SFX 1 shows the full parameter set.
APPLY SFX 1 AMOUNT 50 applies at half amplitude.

Expected output: Fixtures 1–3 pan continuously in a sine wave at 0.5 Hz with a peak-to-peak swing of 120% of the pan range (SIZE is a percentage of the parameter’s range, 0–200, not degrees). LIST SFX shows template 1 applied to the selection.

4. Calibrate fixtures and aim at targets

Goal: Point moving heads at stage positions using the XYZ solver.

Step 1 - Set fixture poses:

UPDATE FIXTURE 1 POS 5.0 8.0 5.0 ORI 0 0 0
UPDATE FIXTURE 2 POS 7.0 8.0 5.0 ORI 0 0 0

Step 2 - Create targets:

CREATE TARGET NAME "Centre stage" POS 6 4 0
CREATE TARGET NAME "Stage left" POS 9 4 0
CREATE TARGET NAME "Stage right" POS 3 4 0

Step 3 - Aim fixtures:

AIM FIXTURE 1 2 AT TARGET "Centre stage"

This writes the solved pan/tilt values into the programmer. Store them:

STORE CUE 1 "Centre stage look" FADE 1.5
CLEAR PROGRAMMER
AIM FIXTURE 1 2 AT TARGET "Stage left"
STORE CUE 2 "Stage left look" FADE 1.5

Step 4 - Inspect residual:

INSPECT FIXTURE 1

The target line shows residual=X.XX° - how far the live pan/tilt position is from the solver’s solution. A residual below 2° means the fixture is on-target.

Step 5 - Calibrate using CALIBRATE:

Open the calibrate window to refine fixture pose from physical beam observations:

CALIBRATE

CALIBRATE requires the GUI and four calibration targets (created with CREATE TARGET ... CALIBRATE <1-4>) - see Targets and aiming for the full calibration workflow.

Expected output: AIM FIXTURE 1 AT TARGET "Centre stage" prints Aimed 1/1 fixture(s) at target <id> 'Centre stage'. INSPECT FIXTURE 1 shows the target name and a residual near zero.

5. Diagnose output

Goal: Verify DMX is reaching the network and identify problems.

Check live output health:

SHOW OUTPUT

This prints one section per protocol (Art-Net, sACN, USB DMX) with its status, broadcast/target address, FPS, time since last send, and error count.

Dump raw DMX for a universe:

DUMPDMX 1

Prints the current raw DMX slot values held for universe 1.

Check the merge for a specific fixture:

INSPECT FIXTURE 1

Shows the live programmer and executor values for each capability, the merge precedence, and the resolved DMX value.

WHY FIXTURE 1 CAP intensity

Shows exactly which source is winning the intensity merge for fixture 1.

Check protocol configuration:

SHOW CONFIG

Lists all configured output protocols, their IP/port settings, universe mappings, and whether they are enabled.

Expected output: SHOW OUTPUT prints a section per protocol, e.g. Art-Net Output with FPS: 44.0, Last send: 0.0s ago, Errors: 0. DUMPDMX 1 prints the current universe 1 byte values.