ssl-console-client 0.1.0

Reverse-engineered Python client for controlling SSL mixing consoles (Matrix, Duality, AWS) over Ethernet

SSL Console Control

A reverse-engineered Python client for controlling SSL mixing consoles over Ethernet.

What is this

SSL's large-format analog consoles (Matrix, Duality, AWS 900, AWS 924/948) have digital control capabilities -- flying faders, DAW integration, insert routing, and session recall. SSL's official control software (MatrixRemote) is a Java application that hasn't been maintained for modern macOS.

This project is a from-scratch Python replacement, reverse-engineered from the SSL MatrixRemote protocol and live packet captures. It speaks the console's native UDP protocol and auto-detects which console model is connected, exposing available features through a terminal UI, interactive REPL, and scriptable CLI.

Features

• Real-time TUI dashboard with SSL-inspired dark theme, tabbed layout, and command palette
• Channel strip monitoring -- names, DAW layer assignments, insert routing, automation modes
• 60+ CLI commands covering channels, routing, profiles, projects, Total Recall, XPatch, softkeys
• Session templates -- save, load, diff, and apply full console state snapshots
• Connection health monitoring with auto-reconnect and heartbeat tracking
• Interactive REPL and one-shot CLI mode for scripting
• 274 unit tests with full handler coverage
• Minimal dependencies -- Python stdlib + Textual for the TUI

Quick Start

pip install ssl-console-client

# Launch the REPL
ssl-console

# Launch the TUI
ssl-console tui

# One-shot commands
ssl-console channels
ssl-console --ip 10.0.0.50 layers
ssl-console -v status

Or install from source:

git clone https://github.com/koltyj/SSL.git
cd SSL
pip install -e ".[dev]"

The console's default IP is 192.168.1.2 on UDP port 50081. Pass --ip to override.

Terminal UI

The TUI provides a full-screen dashboard built on Textual with four tabs:

• Channels -- live channel strip display with names, DAW layer info, and flash highlights on state changes
• Routing -- insert matrix and XPatch configuration
• Templates -- session template management (save/load/diff)
• Settings -- console configuration, profiles, automation modes

Key bindings:

Key	Action
1-4	Switch tabs
/	Open command palette
q	Quit

A status bar shows connection health (green/yellow/red dot), active project, and last loaded template. A disconnect overlay appears automatically when the console goes offline.

CLI Commands

Connection

Command	Description
connect	Connect to the console and sync state
disconnect	Disconnect
status	Show console info, firmware, heartbeat age
health	Detailed connection health report

Channels & Profiles

Command	Description
channels	List all channel names
rename <ch> <name>	Rename a channel (6 char max)
profiles	List available DAW profiles
layers	Show DAW layer protocol assignments
setprofile <layer> <name>	Assign a profile to a DAW layer
transportlock <0-4>	Set transport lock to a specific layer

Routing & Inserts

Command	Description
matrix	Show insert matrix assignments
assign <ch> <slot> <dev>	Assign a device to an insert slot
stereo <ch> <on/off>	Toggle stereo linking
chains	Show insert chains
devices	List available insert devices
matrix_presets	List routing presets

XPatch

Command	Description
xpatch_setup	Show XPatch configuration
xpatch_routes	Display current XPatch routing
xpatch_route <ch> <src>	Set an XPatch route
xpatch_presets	List XPatch presets

Projects & Total Recall

Command	Description
projects	List projects and titles on the console
new_project <name>	Create a new project
select_title <proj> <title>	Load a project title
tr_snapshots	List Total Recall snapshots
tr_take	Take a TR snapshot
tr_select <idx>	Recall a TR snapshot

Softkeys

Command	Description
softkey_keymap	Show current keymap
softkey_edit <key>	Edit a softkey assignment
softkey_midi <key> ...	Assign MIDI output to a softkey
softkey_usb <key> ...	Assign USB HID output to a softkey

Session Templates

Command	Description
template save <name>	Save current console state
template load <name>	Restore a saved template
template diff <name>	Compare live state to a template
template list	List saved templates
split <mode>	Split board between two DAW layers

Automation & Control

Command	Description
automode <mode>	Set automation mode (read/write/touch/latch)
motors <on/off>	Enable/disable flying faders
mdac <on/off>	Enable/disable MDAC mode
restart	Restart the console firmware

Architecture

Single-socket UDP client with a threaded receive loop and dispatch table.

cli.py (cmd.Cmd REPL + argparse one-shot)
  ├── tui.py (Textual TUI application)
  └── client.py (SSLMatrixClient)
        ├── protocol.py (TxMessage/RxMessage wire format, 197 MessageCodes)
        ├── models.py (ConsoleState dataclass tree)
        └── handlers/ (10 handler modules, ~105 dispatch entries)
              ├── connection.py   — GET_DESK discovery, heartbeat
              ├── channels.py     — Channel names, scribble strips
              ├── profiles.py     — DAW layers (HUI/MCU/CC), transport lock
              ├── delta.py        — Automation mode, motors, MDAC, restart
              ├── routing.py      — Insert matrix V2, chains, presets
              ├── projects.py     — Project/title CRUD, directory listing
              ├── total_recall.py — TR snapshots
              ├── chan_presets.py  — Channel name presets
              ├── xpatch.py       — XPatch routing, presets, chains, MIDI
              └── softkeys.py     — Programmable keys, keymap editor

Each handler module contains builders (Python to console) and handlers (console to Python). The client's dispatch table maps MessageCode enums to handler functions. The wire format uses a 16-byte big-endian header followed by a variable-length payload — shared across all SSL console models and reverse-engineered from the SSL MatrixRemote protocol.

Supported Consoles

The client auto-detects the console model on connection and enables the appropriate feature set.

Console	Channels	Insert Matrix	XPatch	DAW Layers	Delta
SSL Matrix	32	Yes	Yes (16ch)	Yes (4)	Yes
SSL Duality	96	--	--	--	--
SSL AWS 900	48	--	--	--	--
SSL AWS 924/948	48	--	--	--	--

All consoles share: channel names, projects, Total Recall, channel name presets, UDP on port 50081.

Matrix tested with firmware V3.0/5. Other consoles and firmware versions may work but are untested — reports welcome.

Development

# Run all tests
python3 -m pytest tests/ -v

# Run a specific test file
python3 -m pytest tests/test_protocol.py -v

# Lint and format
ruff check ssl-matrix-client/ tests/
ruff format ssl-matrix-client/ tests/

# Pre-commit hooks (ruff, trailing whitespace, EOF fixer, debug statements)
pre-commit run --all-files

Tests use an import shim in tests/conftest.py to handle the hyphenated package directory. Tool configuration lives in pyproject.toml.

License

MIT