keithsw1111
Senior elf
2026.06 — April 16, 2026
Enhancements
- dkulp — Media-compatibility warning on sequence load now offers "Convert Videos Now" — transcodes flagged files to .mov next to the originals (rawvideo/rgb24 if the source is uncompressed, hevc_videotoolbox otherwise) and rewrites the matching video-effect filenames in the sequence.
- AGFazio — Add 'Yes to All' / 'No to All' options when merging base show directory changes
- derwin12 — Add alternate audio tracks support incl waveform, VU Meter and value curve access. (#3820)
- derwin12 — Allow selecting audio from a sequence package (zip/piz/xsqz) in Sequence Settings (#5630)
- derwin12 — Add sequencer prop filter to quickly jump to a prop by name (#5066)
- derwin12 — Add "Small" option to Model Handle Size preference (#3583)
- derwin12 — Add Render Styles to Select Effects Window (#4848)
- dkulp — Add "Lossless RGB Video, *.mov" model export format — uncompressed RGB24 in a mov container, bit-exact and decoded natively by AVFoundation, replaces the deprecated uncompressed AVI export for pixel-perfect video capture. Compatibility warning now points users at this as the lossless replacement for uncompressed AVI.
- dkulp — Warn the user when picking the deprecated "Uncompressed Video, *.avi" format from the model export dialog, suggesting the new lossless RGB MOV instead.
- dkulp — Add "Don't show again for this version" checkbox to the AVFoundation media compatibility warning shown on sequence load
- dkulp — Format GitHub release notes as markdown (sectioned headings, bullet list per author) instead of dumping the raw README text
- dkulp — Wave effect "Number of Waves" slider is now a proper float cycles slider (0.5 .. 10.0) instead of a confusing integer degrees slider (180 .. 3600). Existing sequences are migrated automatically on first load.
Bug Fixes
- dkulp — Fix HinksPix Pro V1/V2 sometimes reporting start channel 1 after auto-size, causing model overlaps. SetChannelSize now preserves the controller's base start channel across its internal output rebuild.
- dkulp — Suppress startup "Setting show directory to X" info dialog when the -s argument matches the already-saved show directory.
- dkulp — Help → Key Bindings now opens a resizable, scrollable dialog instead of a wxMessageBox so the bottom of the list is reachable on short displays (#5855).
- dkulp — Fix several pre-existing effect default mismatches exposed during the JSON migration: Fan/Galaxy/Shockwave Blend_Edges now honor their JSON "true" default for newly-created effects, Shape StartSize matches JSON (1 instead of 5), Faces FaceDefinition fallback is now consistently "Default" across CheckEffectSettings and Render, Metal Spirals now matches CPU Spirals default for Rotation/Thickness.
- dkulp — Fix Apple Intelligence service disappearing entirely on macOS prior to 26: weak-link FoundationModels and ImagePlayground frameworks so the binary loads on older macOS, gate Color Palette to macOS 26+ (FoundationModels) and Image Generation to macOS 15.4+ (ImagePlayground.ImageCreator)
- derwin12 — Model preview reset after changing model (#5758)
- derwin12 — Fix Twinkle Steps value curve capped at 100 instead of 400 (#4347)
- AGFazio — Fix submodels in a group showing at wrong indent level in sequencer element list
- derwin12 — Fix downloaded/imported models always getting start channel 1 (#6075)
- derwin12 — Fix false "newer version" warning when importing effects from same version (#6113)
- derwin12 — Fix Solid/Blended Circle pixel style appearing wrong size in model and effect panels (#4031, #4654, #4087)
- derwin12 — Fix unintended setting of ShadowModelFor (#5634)
- dkulp — Fix macOS 11/12 launch crash "Symbol not found..." due to using some stuff (like std::format) from newer C++ that is not available before macOS 13.3. This is likely temporary and expect minimal version to bump to at least 13.3 at some point in the near future. (#6080)
- derwin12 — Fix Wave effect speed from a value curve (#3346)
- derwin12 — Improve Shape effect emoji rendering on Windows and Direction (#5636)
- derwin12 — Fix 3D Spiral gradient flip when Rotation value curve crosses zero (#4807)
- AGFazio — Fix Square and Smooth Circle model appearances not scaling with zoom in the layout view (#5849)
- dkulp — Fix Pinwheel Rotation default mismatch between renderer and panel
- derwin12 — Fix crash after using Join in the SubModels dialog. (#6064)
- dkulp — Fix Guitar BaseWaveFactor/StringWaveFactor losing user values after JSON panel migration. Old E_SLIDER_*WaveFactor int values are migrated forward to E_TEXTCTRL_*WaveFactor floats.
- dkulp — Fix Circles effect Collide checkbox removal causing silent behavior change in old sequences. Sequences with Collide=1 are now migrated to Bounce=1 to preserve their non-wrapping render.
- dkulp — Fix Shockwave effect rendering as invisible on macOS for new effects (Metal backend was using stale defaults of 0 for Start/End Radius/Width).
- dkulp — Fix Pinwheel Rotation default mismatch between renderer and panel
Changes
- scott — Replace wxConfig with a custom JSON settings manager (AppData/xLights/settings.json). Settings are automatically migrated from the legacy system on first run.
- dkulp — Pinwheel effect now defaults to the New Render Method; existing sequences are migrated to preserve the Old Render Method so their look is unchanged.
- dkulp/derwin12 — Twinkle effect now defaults to the New Render Method; existing sequences are migrated to preserve the Old Render Method so their look is unchanged.
- dkulp — Effect panels are now built from JSON metadata files in resources/effectmetadata/ instead of wxSmith-generated C++ code. All 54 "standard" effect panels migrated (Moving Head's 2345-line visual designer remains wxSmith-based).
- dkulp — Effect default / min / max / divisor values are now read from the JSON metadata at startup instead of from #define constants in each effect. The JSON is the source of truth — adjusting a slider's default or range in resources/effectmetadata/ now actually changes the effect's render behavior. ~45 effects migrated.
xLights is available for download from https://github.com/xLightsSequencer/xLights/releases/ for Windows/Linux and from the App Store for Mac.
Issue tracker: https://github.com/xLightsSequencer/xLights/issues
Video tutorials: https://videos.xlights.org
xLights user manual: https://manual.xlights.org/xlights/
If you have encountered a specific issue, developers ask that you submit details to the xLights GitHub repository.
For requests for general help among peers, consider starting a new forum thread: https://auschristmaslighting.com/forums/xlights-xschedule.61/post-thread