The Universal Creative Programming Language

Synthesis bridges the gap between creative vision and technical implementation, making professional-quality creative coding accessible to artists while providing the depth needed for complex projects.

// Real-time audio visualizer in just a few lines
import Audio.{mic_input, analyze_fft}
import Graphics.{clear, plasma, flash}

loop {
    audio = Audio.mic_input()
    frequencies = Audio.analyze_fft(audio, 8)
    
    Graphics.clear(Graphics.black)
    Graphics.plasma(speed: frequencies[0] * 2.0, palette: Graphics.neon)
    
    if frequencies[0] > 0.7 {
        Graphics.flash(Graphics.white, 0.3)
    }
}

• Audio-First: Real-time audio processing, MIDI I/O, synthesis, effects
• Visual: GPU-accelerated graphics, shaders, particles, classic demo effects
• Interactive: Immediate-mode GUI, hardware controllers, sensors
• Universal: Compile to WebAssembly, native binaries, or web apps
• Performance: Real-time optimized with creative domain-specific optimizations

curl -fsSL https://synthesis-lang.org/install | bash

# Create a simple visualizer
echo 'import Graphics.plasma; loop { Graphics.plasma() }' > hello.syn

# Compile to WebAssembly
synthc hello.syn

# Run it
synthesis hello.wasm

# Audio visualizer
synthc examples/audio_visualizer.syn && synthesis audio_visualizer.wasm

# Interactive graphics
synthc examples/math_demo.syn && synthesis math_demo.wasm

Everything flows as streams that can be connected and composed:

audio = Audio.mic_input()
  |> Audio.apply_reverb(room_size: 0.8)
  |> Audio.analyze_fft(bands: 16)
  |> Graphics.spectrum_visualizer()

• Percentage-based coordinates: Graphics.circle(50%, 50%, 25%)
• Automatic type conversions: 0.5 becomes 50% when used as coordinate
• Intuitive color handling: Graphics.red, #FF0000, rgb(255, 0, 0)
• Time-based animations: sin(time() * 2.0)

• Audio processing at 48kHz with <1ms latency
• 60fps graphics on reasonable hardware
• Predictable memory usage
• Real-time garbage collection

• MIDI controller integration
• Hardware sensor support (Arduino, OSC)
• Timeline and sequencing tools
• Web export for sharing creations

my-synthesis-project/
├── main.syn              # Your main program
├── package.syn           # Dependencies and metadata
├── assets/              # Audio samples, images, shaders
└── build/               # Compiled outputs

git clone https://github.com/synthesis-lang/synthesis.git
cd synthesis
./build.synt build
./install.synt --dev

• --target wasm - WebAssembly (default)
• --target native-linux - Linux x86_64
• --target native-windows - Windows x86_64
• --target native-macos - macOS Universal

• -O none - No optimizations (fastest compile)
• -O basic - Standard optimizations (default)
• -O aggressive - Maximum performance
• -O creative - Creative coding specific optimizations

import Audio.{mic_input, apply_reverb, synthesize_sine}

audio = Audio.mic_input()
reverb = Audio.apply_reverb(audio, room_size: 0.8, decay: 0.6)
sine = Audio.synthesize_sine(440.0, amplitude: 0.3)
Audio.output(reverb + sine)

import Graphics.{clear, circle, mouse_position}
import Math.{sin, time}

loop {
    Graphics.clear(Graphics.black)
    
    mouse = Graphics.mouse_position()
    radius = sin(time() * 3.0) * 50.0 + 100.0
    
    Graphics.circle(
        x: mouse.x,
        y: mouse.y, 
        radius: radius,
        color: Graphics.hsv(time() * 60.0, 100%, 80%)
    )
}

import Hardware.{midi_input}
import Audio.{synthesize_sine}

loop {
    midi = Hardware.midi_input()
    
    if midi.note_on {
        frequency = midi.note_to_frequency(midi.note)
        Audio.synthesize_sine(frequency, amplitude: midi.velocity / 127.0)
    }
}

• Documentation: synthesis-lang.org/docs
• Tutorials: synthesis-lang.org/tutorials
• Gallery: synthesis-lang.org/gallery
• Community: synthesis-lang.org/community

We welcome contributions! See our Contributing Guide for details.

• Audio processing algorithms
• Graphics effects and shaders
• Web platform integration
• Mobile/embedded targets
• Documentation and tutorials
• Testing and benchmarks

Synthesis is dual-licensed under MIT and Apache 2.0. Use whichever works best for your project.

Built with ❤️ for artists, musicians, and creative nerds.

Synthesis aims to be the bridge between creative vision and technical implementation, making professional-quality creative coding accessible to artists while providing the depth needed for complex projects.