particled 0.9.0

A Black on White Sound-Interactive Particle Visualiser

Particled

Audio-reactive particle visualizer with multiple visualization styles and modes.

Status

• Runtime and packaging are release-hardened for PyPI/Homebrew workflows.
• CI includes Linux and macOS checks for lint, tests, type checks, and build validation.
• Publish workflows are in place; remaining release steps are maintainer submission actions.

Overview

Particled is a real-time particle visualization system that responds to microphone input, featuring:

• Torus Knot: Complex mathematical knot patterns with 3D geometry
• Particle Cloud - Gravitas Mode: Physics-based gravity-centered expansion with audio reactivity
• Particle Cloud - Impact Mode: Whole-cloud breathing animation with gentle drift
• Penrose Triangle: Impossible triangle geometry with audio-reactive particle flow

flowchart LR
	Mic[Microphone Input] --> Meter[Audio Meter + Features]
	Meter --> Main[Main Render Loop]
	Main --> Impact[Particle Cloud: Impact]
	Main --> Gravitas[Particle Cloud: Gravitas]
	Main --> Torus[Torus Knot]
	Main --> Penrose[Penrose Triangle]
	Main --> Overlay[ImGui Params Overlay]
	Overlay --> Presets[Preset Save / Load]
	Impact --> Frame[GPU Frame]
	Gravitas --> Frame
	Torus --> Frame
	Penrose --> Frame

	classDef audio fill:#0f766e,color:#ffffff,stroke:#0b5f58,stroke-width:2px;
	classDef core fill:#1d4ed8,color:#ffffff,stroke:#1e40af,stroke-width:2px;
	classDef vis fill:#9333ea,color:#ffffff,stroke:#7e22ce,stroke-width:2px;
	classDef ui fill:#ea580c,color:#ffffff,stroke:#c2410c,stroke-width:2px;
	classDef out fill:#16a34a,color:#ffffff,stroke:#15803d,stroke-width:2px;

	class Mic,Meter audio;
	class Main core;
	class Impact,Gravitas,Torus,Penrose vis;
	class Overlay,Presets ui;
	class Frame out;

Features

• Real-time audio reactivity via microphone input
• Multiple visualization styles and sub-modes
• Interactive CLI configuration
• Runtime parameters panel with live tuning
• Per-band particle count and size mapping (8 configurable bands)
• Preset save/load from the parameters panel
• Resizable window with fullscreen support
• Configurable particle physics and return mechanics
• Frequency-based particle mapping (Gravitas mode)
• Adjustable motion trails and visual effects

Installation

Requires Python 3.13+ and Poetry.

System dependencies

PortAudio (required by sounddevice for microphone input):

# Ubuntu / Debian
sudo apt install -y libportaudio2 portaudio19-dev

# macOS
brew install portaudio

SDL2 (only needed if building pygame-ce from source — pre-built wheels are available for most platforms):

# Ubuntu / Debian
sudo apt install -y libsdl2-dev libsdl2-image-dev libsdl2-mixer-dev libsdl2-ttf-dev

Install

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/crafted-glitches/particled.git
cd particled

# Install dependencies
poetry install

Optional: install as a package command

python -m pip install -e .
particled --version

Quick Start

# Run with interactive configuration
poetry run particled --selective

# Or run with defaults
poetry run particled

# Version check (non-interactive)
poetry run particled --version

The application will prompt you to:

1. Select visualization style (Torus Knot or Particle Cloud)
2. Select mode (for Particle Cloud: Gravitas or Impact)
3. Optionally configure parameters interactively

Controls:

• ESC - Exit the application
• TAB - Toggle parameters panel
• G - Toggle audio graph
• Window is resizable by default

macOS Runtime Notes

macOS-specific runtime permissions and external-display caveats are documented in .0folder.bak/publishing/macos-runtime-notes.md.

Visualization Modes

Torus Knot

Complex mathematical patterns based on torus knot geometry with audio-driven distortion and rotation.

Particle Cloud - Gravitas (Default)

Physics-based particle system where audio pushes particles radially outward from center:

• Audio threshold to prevent ambient noise jitter
• Three return mechanics: Exponential (default), Spring, or Linear
• Frequency-band particle mapping (bass/mid/treble)
• Drift and rotation when idle

Particle Cloud - Impact

Gentle whole-cloud breathing animation with:

• Soft expansion and contraction
• Drift motion for organic feel
• Audio-reactive size and motion

Documentation

See particled/README.md for comprehensive documentation including:

• Package structure and module details
• Complete parameter reference
• Configuration examples
• API usage guide

Publishing and release docs:

• .0folder.bak/publishing/pypi-readiness.md
• .0folder.bak/publishing/homebrew-readiness.md
• RELEASING.md
• CHANGELOG.md

Configuration

All parameters can be configured either:

• Interactively via CLI prompts at startup
• Programmatically via the Config dataclass

Example programmatic configuration:

from particled import Config, ParticleCloudGravitas

cfg = Config()
cfg.num_particles = 8000
cfg.audio_noise_threshold = 0.05
cfg.gravitas_push_strength = 2.5
cfg.gravitas_return_mechanic = "spring"

field = ParticleCloudGravitas(cfg)

Development

# Install development dependencies
poetry install --with dev

# Run linter
poetry run ruff check .

# Run CI lint gate used in workflow
poetry run ruff check . --select E9,F63,F7,F82

# Run tests
poetry run pytest

# Build distributable artifacts and verify metadata
poetry run python -m build
poetry run twine check dist/*

# Type checks (CI target)
poetry run mypy particled/config.py particled/visuals/param_panels.py particled/visuals/particle_cloud/base.py particled/visuals/particle_cloud/impact.py

# Install pre-commit hooks
poetry run pre-commit install

License

MIT. See LICENSE.

Release Process

Release policy and checklist are documented in RELEASING.md, and version history is tracked in CHANGELOG.md.

Submission-only release steps:

1. Update version and changelog.
2. Push tag vX.Y.Z.
3. Publish release (triggers PyPI workflow).
4. Update Homebrew formula URL/SHA for the released artifact.

flowchart TD
	Start[Prepare Release] --> Bump[Bump Version + Update Changelog]
	Bump --> Tag[Create and Push Tag]
	Tag --> GH[GitHub Release Published]
	GH --> PyPI[Trusted Publishing to PyPI]
	PyPI --> Verify[Verify pip install + package metadata]
	Verify --> Brew[Update Homebrew Formula URL + SHA]
	Brew --> Done[Release Complete]

	classDef prep fill:#334155,color:#ffffff,stroke:#1e293b,stroke-width:2px;
	classDef ship fill:#047857,color:#ffffff,stroke:#065f46,stroke-width:2px;
	classDef dist fill:#7c3aed,color:#ffffff,stroke:#6d28d9,stroke-width:2px;
	classDef done fill:#166534,color:#ffffff,stroke:#14532d,stroke-width:2px;

	class Start,Bump,Tag,GH prep;
	class PyPI,Verify,Brew ship;
	class Done done;

Credits

Built with:

• Pygame - Graphics and window management
• NumPy - Numerical computations
• sounddevice - Audio input
• InquirerPy - Interactive CLI