dkulp
Full time elf
xLights 2026.04 is released and available from the MacOS App Store and from the official build/download location on GitHub: https://github.com/xLightsSequencer/xLights/releases/tag/2026.04
This is a GIANT release. We haven't had a release with this many commits and changes in it since we went from xLights 3 to xLights 4. While most of the changes are "under the covers" removing technical dept and cleaning things up, there are some user visible changes as well. I'm sure an xLights Gem will come soon.
The most important thing to note: this does change the xlights_rgbeffects.xml file. Once you go to 2026.04, you will not be able to go back without restoring your older rgbeffects file. Do a backup!
2026.04 April 2, 2026
-enh (dkulp) Add animated preview thumbnails to effect panels (Pictures, Shader, Video) and media manager. Animated GIFs/WebP cycle through all frames, videos show first 1 second, SVGs show static preview.
-change (dkulp) Drop support for importing sequences saved with xLights versions prior to 2020. A warning dialog is shown when opening such sequences, suggesting they first be opened and saved with a 2025 version of xLights.
-change (gil/dkulp) Major internal refactor: models are now stored as native objects instead of raw XML nodes. New serialization visitor pattern replaces direct XML manipulation for rgbeffects.xml. This improves maintainability and enables future features like proper undo/redo for model changes.
-change (dkulp) Switch XML parsing from wxXml to pugixml for better performance and reduced wxWidgets dependency
-change (scott) Switch logging framework from log4cpp to spdlog
-change (dkulp) Update to new wxWidgets tag, fixes emoji rendering on Windows
-change (dkulp) Remove support for xLights v3 files
-change (gil/dkulp) Remove unused WholeHouseModel and PaletteMgmtDialog
-change (dkulp) Extensive removal of wxWidgets types from core code (wxString, wxColour, etc.) in favor of std::string, xlColor, and std::format
-change (dkulp) Reorganize source: effect UI panels moved to ui/, ValueCurve to render/, render engine code to render/
-change (dkulp) Model XML attributes renamed from generic parm1/2/3 to descriptive field names (old names still accepted for reading)
-enh (dkulp) Metal GPU rendering for Circles, ColorWash, Bars, Spirals, Fan, and Kaleidoscope effects on macOS
-enh (dkulp) Tendril, Shape, and VU Meter effects now use nanosvg rendering instead of wxGraphicsContext
-enh (dkulp) Introduce Claude/Anthropic as an AI service for color palette generation and model mapping
-enh (scott) Add generic OpenAI API client for use with local or remote APIs that support the OpenAI v1 API
-enh (dkulp) Add ability to bulk search for missing images in sequences
-enh (dkulp) Images in show/media folders now stored as relative paths in xsq files for better portability
-enh (dkulp) Move presets out of xlights_rgbeffects.xml and into a dedicated xlights_effectpresets.json
-enh (gil) Add RotateX support for ThreePointScreenLocation models
-enh (gil) Add Individual Start Channels support for CustomModel
-enh (dkulp) Add "Effect Sequence" type to new sequence wizard. Effect sequences use sparse V2 FSEQ files with exact channel ranges, no default timing tracks, and no view selection — designed for reusable effect overlays that won't interfere with other models on controllers.
-bug (derwin12) Fix model video export producing black output
-bug (derwin12) Restore default metronome timing track options
-bug (derwin12) Fix Import from zip not bringing in images
-bug (dkulp) Fix right-click on empty row headings area not showing a popup to open Display Elements
-bug (dkulp) Fix preset import when file has .xml extension
Issue tracker: https://github.com/xLightsSequencer/xLights/issues
Video tutorials: https://videos.xlights.org
xLights user manual: https://manual.xlights.org/xlights/
This is a GIANT release. We haven't had a release with this many commits and changes in it since we went from xLights 3 to xLights 4. While most of the changes are "under the covers" removing technical dept and cleaning things up, there are some user visible changes as well. I'm sure an xLights Gem will come soon.
The most important thing to note: this does change the xlights_rgbeffects.xml file. Once you go to 2026.04, you will not be able to go back without restoring your older rgbeffects file. Do a backup!
2026.04 April 2, 2026
-enh (dkulp) Add animated preview thumbnails to effect panels (Pictures, Shader, Video) and media manager. Animated GIFs/WebP cycle through all frames, videos show first 1 second, SVGs show static preview.
-change (dkulp) Drop support for importing sequences saved with xLights versions prior to 2020. A warning dialog is shown when opening such sequences, suggesting they first be opened and saved with a 2025 version of xLights.
-change (gil/dkulp) Major internal refactor: models are now stored as native objects instead of raw XML nodes. New serialization visitor pattern replaces direct XML manipulation for rgbeffects.xml. This improves maintainability and enables future features like proper undo/redo for model changes.
-change (dkulp) Switch XML parsing from wxXml to pugixml for better performance and reduced wxWidgets dependency
-change (scott) Switch logging framework from log4cpp to spdlog
-change (dkulp) Update to new wxWidgets tag, fixes emoji rendering on Windows
-change (dkulp) Remove support for xLights v3 files
-change (gil/dkulp) Remove unused WholeHouseModel and PaletteMgmtDialog
-change (dkulp) Extensive removal of wxWidgets types from core code (wxString, wxColour, etc.) in favor of std::string, xlColor, and std::format
-change (dkulp) Reorganize source: effect UI panels moved to ui/, ValueCurve to render/, render engine code to render/
-change (dkulp) Model XML attributes renamed from generic parm1/2/3 to descriptive field names (old names still accepted for reading)
-enh (dkulp) Metal GPU rendering for Circles, ColorWash, Bars, Spirals, Fan, and Kaleidoscope effects on macOS
-enh (dkulp) Tendril, Shape, and VU Meter effects now use nanosvg rendering instead of wxGraphicsContext
-enh (dkulp) Introduce Claude/Anthropic as an AI service for color palette generation and model mapping
-enh (scott) Add generic OpenAI API client for use with local or remote APIs that support the OpenAI v1 API
-enh (dkulp) Add ability to bulk search for missing images in sequences
-enh (dkulp) Images in show/media folders now stored as relative paths in xsq files for better portability
-enh (dkulp) Move presets out of xlights_rgbeffects.xml and into a dedicated xlights_effectpresets.json
-enh (gil) Add RotateX support for ThreePointScreenLocation models
-enh (gil) Add Individual Start Channels support for CustomModel
-enh (dkulp) Add "Effect Sequence" type to new sequence wizard. Effect sequences use sparse V2 FSEQ files with exact channel ranges, no default timing tracks, and no view selection — designed for reusable effect overlays that won't interfere with other models on controllers.
-bug (derwin12) Fix model video export producing black output
-bug (derwin12) Restore default metronome timing track options
-bug (derwin12) Fix Import from zip not bringing in images
-bug (dkulp) Fix right-click on empty row headings area not showing a popup to open Display Elements
-bug (dkulp) Fix preset import when file has .xml extension
Issue tracker: https://github.com/xLightsSequencer/xLights/issues
Video tutorials: https://videos.xlights.org
xLights user manual: https://manual.xlights.org/xlights/