Auto Show public beta

DMX lighting software
for Mac

Describe the look. HitLight programs it for the fixtures you actually own. You keep the GO button.

Auto Show requires macOS 14+ · physical output is optional
✓ Runs on your Mac✓ Works with the DMX adapter you already own
Auto Show public betaNative macOS 14+ Auto Show · status/Stop remotes

How it works

From a sentence
to a lit stage.

There is no black box in the middle. A description resolves to ordinary DMX values on the fixtures you patched — the same numbers you would have dialled in by hand, and the same ones you can still change.

You say it

sunset vibes, slow fade

Plain English, in the assistant. No channel numbers, no patch sheet.

HitLight resolves it

MOVER

1/025032

Dimmer
153
Red
255
Green
95
Blue
122
Pan
153
Tilt
190
Zoom
180
Strobe
0

Strobe stays at 0. Auto Show never drives it.

Your rig does it

The same bytes go out over USB, Art-Net or sACN — and to the 3D preview, so you can build the show before you are anywhere near the venue.

Fast scene creation

You have the lights.
Now build scenes faster.

Professional systems create stunning results. HitLight helps you sketch, save, and adjust a usable first look in minutes.

Start with a generated scene, then refine it by hand or let Auto Show run live.

Guided first-light setup

Patch your fixtures

Choose the exact profiles, modes, addresses, and stage positions. A physical output can be connected later.

Define the vibe

Tell the Assistant the mood, colors, intensity, response, and movement. It saves one reusable Auto Show profile.

Check the microphone & go live

Review the live meter and safe fixture plan, then explicitly press Game On. Silence and 3D-only operation do not block rehearsal.

You stay in control

A real console
you can also talk to.

The assistant is how a show gets built, not a black box that runs it. Everything it makes is an ordinary scene, cue or console widget you can open, edit by hand, and fire yourself.

Cue stack

Drawn in your browser — not a screenshot

House, 2 second fade

Cues fade over the time you give them; Blackout is immediate and sits next to the Auto toggle. The same list runs from a MIDI footswitch, so you can leave the laptop alone.

Matrix scene editor

Steps down, fixtures across. Edit any cell by hand — colour, intensity, position, gobo — or let the assistant fill it in.

Cue lists

Chain scenes and step through them live with GO and BACK, with per-cue waits and auto-advance.

Multi-track timeline

Lay scenes on parallel tracks against a clock and let the show run itself.

Virtual console

Buttons, faders and XY pads you arrange yourself — then hand the laptop to someone who has never used it.

MIDI learn — including a footswitch

Bind a pad, a knob or a foot pedal by pressing it. Put “next cue” under your foot and run the whole set without touching the laptop.

Palettes

Edit a colour or position once and every scene using it updates.

Will my lights work?

Your fixtures are
probably already in here.

Patching is where most people give up on lighting software. If the profile for your light does not exist, nothing else about the app matters — so this is the part we spent the most time on.

Patch a rig

Typical modes — your fixture’s may differ

The fixtures patched into this example rig, with the DMX address block each one occupies.
FixtureModeAddressRemove
LED PAR8-ch1/001008
LED PAR8-ch1/009016
LED PAR8-ch1/017024
LED PAR8-ch1/025032
Moving head wash13-ch1/033045
Moving head wash13-ch1/046058

58 of 512 channels used in universe 1 — room for 56 more LED PARs. What a universe is

The manufacturers you actually own

A searchable library spanning the major fixture makers, with real 3D models and gobos so the stage preview looks like your rig rather than a row of generic cans.

Not in there? Upload the manual

Point HitLight at the PDF that came with the light — or a photo of the DMX chart — and it drafts a working profile in seconds, instead of emailing someone and waiting days.

A draft until you say otherwise

Generated profiles stay marked as drafts. You test the channels on the real fixture and confirm them before they are used in a show — we would rather be slow than confidently wrong about your rig.

Built for a live rig

Your show is running.
We treat it that way.

It won't go dark because the software hung

A native watchdog outside the interface latches DMX to an all-zero frame within two seconds if the app stops responding, and output stays down until you explicitly restore it.

It will never fire pyro or atmospherics on its own

Smoke, haze, fan and flame-ignition channels are stripped from every automatic path in code, not by convention. The assistant cannot arm them either.

Signed, notarised, and updated over a pinned key

Builds are Apple Developer ID signed and notarised. Updates are verified against a public key committed in the repository, so a rotated key cannot silently push you a build.

The assistant reads your real DMX frame

It never invents your fixture's channels. It works from the profile you patched and the values actually on the wire — and generated fixture profiles stay a draft until you test them.

What you need

A native Mac
+ its default microphone

Auto Show requires the native app on macOS 14 or later. Patch at least one eligible fixture; connect physical DMX output only when you are ready to drive real lights.

Default Mac microphone — the only Auto Show audio source in v1
Optional output — supported ENTTEC USB, Art-Net, or sACN
macOS 14+

Prefer a locking connector? HitLight also outputs Art-Net and sACN, so any network DMX node works — no USB adapter required.

Pricing

Join the public beta. Help shape HitLight.

Launch pricing has not been announced. Auto Show remains explicitly labeled Beta, and its supported platform and hardware scope stay intentionally bounded.

Global launch access

Beta

  • Native macOS 14+ Auto Show master
  • Safe mic-reactive color, intensity, and movement
  • 3D-only rehearsal with optional physical output
  • Browser and iOS status/Stop remotes

FAQ

Common questions

What is Auto Show?

Turn it on and HitLight listens to the room through your Mac's microphone, follows the beat and the structure of the track, and runs your rig live — no scenes to program first. It is a starting point, not a replacement for programming: everything it does, you can take over at any moment.

Will Auto Show strobe, or set off my hazer?

It will never fire smoke, haze, fans or flame — those channels are removed from every automatic path in code, so it cannot reach them even by accident. Strobe bursts are capped for photosensitivity. The Blackout button sits next to the Auto toggle and takes effect immediately.

Does HitLight run on Windows?

Not yet — the app that drives your lights is macOS only, and we would rather say so here than after you have signed up. Anyone on any platform can use the browser app to design a rig, build scenes and watch them in 3D; it just cannot output DMX. Windows support is the most requested thing on our list.

Can the browser version control my lights?

No. The browser app authors shows, visualises them in 3D and acts as a remote for a Mac that is connected to the rig — but hardware output (USB, Art-Net and sACN) only happens in the desktop app. Everything you build in the browser is ready to go live the moment you open it on the Mac.

What hardware do I need?

Either a network DMX node speaking Art-Net or sACN, or a USB adapter — HitLight supports ENTTEC Open DMX (~$70) and the DMX USB Pro (~$190). If you already own an interface, it very likely works: we do not sell a dongle and we never charge you per universe. Experienced operators tend to prefer a network node for the locking connector.

Does HitLight work with my existing lights?

Almost certainly. HitLight ships a searchable library covering the major manufacturers, and if yours genuinely is not in it you can upload the manual and get a working profile drafted for you — which you then test channel by channel before using it live.

Is it a subscription?

The beta is free and takes no credit card. Assistant usage is capped while we validate cost. When we do charge, there will be a free tier that stays free, and a one-time option alongside any subscription — we have read enough threads in this industry to know how people feel about software that locks you out a year after you paid for it.

Can multiple people control the lights at once?

Yes. A show owner can invite collaborators, and browser or iOS remotes forward control to the elected Mac hardware master. There are no paid Team plans during beta.

How is this different from grandMA or Daslight?

grandMA and Daslight are powerful tools for professional lighting designers. HitLight focuses on fast scene creation: patch a rig, describe a vibe such as “warm sunset” or “colorful and punchy,” then refine the result or let Auto Show handle the music-reactive work.

Do I need internet to use HitLight?

Internet is required for account sync, collaboration, and AI features. We are testing offline recovery during beta and do not yet promise fully offline operation.

Can I delete my data?

Yes. You can permanently delete individual shows or your account and owned cloud data from Settings.

Still have questions? hello@hitlight.app

Made in Oslo, Norway

Get HitLight for Mac

Join the Auto Show public beta and help shape the future of lighting software.
It's free, and we'd love your feedback.

iPhone & iPad remote

Auto Show requires a native Mac on macOS 14+ · physical output is optional