Hyperion – A reactive, MCP, open-source DMX orchestrator.

The Why

The lighting control industry is currently dominated by expensive, proprietary ecosystems that often enforce artificial limitations through hardware dongles and closed-source software. Many existing solutions are built upon legacy architectural patterns—monolithic C++ codebases that have been ported forward for decades without rethinking the underlying data flow.

Hyperion was developed to apply modern backend engineering principles to DMX512, shifting away from "black box" controllers towards a transparent, reactive engine that prioritises data integrity and architectural freedom.

The Problem: Proprietary Lock-in & Legacy Loops

• Hardware Entrapment: Most entry-level controllers are non-functional without specific, vendor-locked interfaces, creating a "pay-to-play" barrier for creators. If the vendor discontinues the proprietary software, your physical device is electric trash.
• Architectural Opacity: Proprietary software and the lack of APIs prevents you to use your DMX devices outside the scope of lighting consoles without expensive inefficient tweaks.
• Limited amount of customisation: Once you buy a lightning console or software, you have a very outdated complicated UI which requires a lot of effort to learn. Customising the UI or behaviour of the console to your workflow is only possible to some extend.
• Super expensive hardware: Mid-level lightning controllers cost around 700-2000€. High-End controllers can cost well above 65.000€ (excluding shipping, ofc :D ). Cheaper options below 700€ exists but they come with massive drawbacks and limitations which make them less attractive to use at a party or small event.

The Solution: A Reactive Orchestrator

Hyperion was born to prove that building a lighting software does not require expensive tech.

✨ Features

• Modern Interface: Touch-first web UI built with Svelte & Vite.
• Distributed Architecture: Run the backend on your laptop and the DMX output on a Raspberry Pi over the network.
• Hardware Agnostic: Supports ArtNet, sACN, USB-DMX (Enttec/uDMX), and direct GPIO (Raspberry Pi).
• API First: Full control via REST API and WebSockets (FastAPI).

🚀 Architecture

Hyperion consists of two main components:

1. Core (Brain): Manages the database, API, and lighting logic.
2. Node (Runner): A lightweight service that receives frame data and outputs DMX signals.

🛠️ Installation (Development)

Prerequisites

• Python 3.14+
• Node.js & npm
• uv or standard pip

Backend Setup

cd backend
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # or .\.venv\Scripts\activate on Windows
pip install .

Frontend Setup

cd frontend
npm install
npm run dev

📄 License

Hyperion is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 3 or (at your option) any later version.

See LICENSE for more details.

FAQ

1 Why Python 3.14?

Why not? Running $\pi$ on a Pi is just fun.

💬 Community & Support

• Found a bug? Open an Issue.
• Have a feature request? Start a Discussion.
• Security vulnerability? See SECURITY.md.