Start Here

Vivid is a signed macOS app, published through GitHub Releases. Install is step zero of the first tutorial - you can't do the tutorial without the app, and the tutorial is the front door.

1. Download Vivid

Grab the latest signed macOS build from the releases page, open the .dmg, and drag Vivid into /Applications. The build is code-signed and notarized, so it opens without a Gatekeeper detour.

2. Install the beginner instrument (Surge XT)

The first tutorial needs exactly one free plugin: Surge XT, an open-source synth. Install it and Vivid will find it automatically. See Free Plugins for the download link and the install path Vivid expects. Nothing else is required to start.

3. Build your first project

Launch Vivid, then run the First MCP-native project builder - a short uv run build.py script that drives the running app over MCP to author the project for you. In about ten minutes you'll have:

• a Surge XT track with a short MIDI clip,
• a project-local shader wired into the visual graph, and
• audio-to-visual mappings so the picture moves with the sound -

all saved as one portable project you can reload, inspect over MCP, and fork.

4. Keep going

• All tutorials - the beginner path, plus creative-coding on shaders and C++ operators.
• Gallery - nine finished projects, each a saved project you can regenerate.

Every tutorial project doubles as a regression case: if the product can't support a step, that's a bug to fix, not a paragraph to soften.

Photosensitivity note

Vivid renders audio-reactive visuals that can flash, strobe, or move rapidly - especially on loud or percussive material. If you or anyone viewing your work is sensitive to flashing lights, turn on View ▸ Reduce Motion (flash limit): it temporally smooths the output so rapid full-frame flashing is damped. You can also keep the output window small, lower reactive intensity, or avoid fast-flashing looks.