Create a Custom Fixture
Add a fixture definition by hand when the library does not have yours.
If your fixture is missing from the library, you can add it yourself. A fixture creator is planned, but until it's available the definitions are simple JSON files you can edit directly.
Where definitions are located
The fixture library sits in the app's installation folder under Kernel/fixtureLibrary, organized by manufacturer:
fixtureLibrary/
manufacturers.json
<manufacturer>/
<fixture>.jsonAdd your fixture as a .json file in its manufacturer's folder. If the manufacturer does not exist yet, create the folder and add an entry for it in manufacturers.json.
Definitions are cached while the app runs, so restart nextDMX after adding or changing a file.
The format
nextDMX currently uses the Open Fixture Library format. That is worth knowing for two reasons:
- Your fixture may already exist there. Download its JSON and drop it in.
- The format is documented and widely used.
A definition describes the fixture's name, its physical properties, its channels with their capabilities and one or more modes listing the channel order.
This is a task current AI models handle well. Give one a fixture's DMX chart from its manual, point it at the Open Fixture Library schema and ask for a definition. Check the channel order and the capability ranges afterwards, then patch it and verify each channel does what it should.
If you need help, the nextDMX Discord is a good place to ask. The community can help you get a working definition and we can add it to the library for everyone.
Sharing it
Definitions are bundled into project exports. Export project carries the fixture definitions the project uses, and importing on another machine adds them to the machine's fixture list, so a custom fixture does not have to be installed by hand on every computer.
That also means a show file stays intact even if the library changes later.
Where to go next
- Patch Fixtures to put your fixture on stage.
- DMX Primer explains channels and modes.