MIDI to key strokes

This is a simple program that listens to a midi device and sends key strokes to the active window.

DISCLAIMER!!!

Please note that this is not a finished program, just something I hacked together. It works, but I've only tested it on Mac M1, Sonoma 14.1.2. I have no idea if it works on other platforms. Things might change and config files may not be compatible between versions.

Usage

Prerequisites

Install Node.js (v20 or later)
On Mac, the terminal app needs to be granted System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility permissions. The program will check and help you with this if it's not set. The reason it needs this is to be able to send key strokes.

Two ways to run

Either you install it globally or you run it using npx.

Install globally

Run the following command in a terminal to install it globally:

npm install -g github:hcanber/midi2keys

After this you can use midi2keys as a command.

Run using npx

You can also run it using npx, which means that you don't have to install it globally. The downside is that it will be slower to start .

In the instructions below, replace midi2keys with npx github:hcanber/midi2keys.

First time setup

Create a config file (see below). You can start by create a config based on example_config.jsonc and edit it.

midi2keys create-config

npx github:hcanber/midi2keys create-config

Running

Run the program with:

midi2keys

midi2keys monitor

Options

Usage: midi2Keys [options] [--config <filename>]

Perform actions based on received midi messages as defined in config file.
Specify "help" to see full help

Options:
  -c, --config <filename>  The config file to use. If not specified, will use midikeys_config.jsonc.
  -d, --debug              Enable debug logging, including logging of received midi messages
  -i, --input <name>       The name of the midi input to use. Use list-inputs to list available
                           inputs. Will override preferredInput in config file.
  -m, --monitor            Enable logging of received midi messages
  -h, --help               Displays this help

Usage: midi2Keys [command]
Commands:
  create-config [filename]  Creates a config file based on example config. Use this as a starting point
  list-inputs               List available midi inputs
  monitor [options]         Logs received midi messages
  help [command]            display help for command

Config File

See example_config.jsonc for an example config file. The format is JSONC, which means that it's JSON that allows comments.

Local development

Clone the code to a folder
Install dependencies: Open the folder in a terminal and execute:
```
yarn install
```

HCanber/midi2keys