McLaren Labs
rtpmidi User Guide

Connect to another computer

The Left Panel labeled "Directory" shows the list of computers on your network advertising apple-midi services. A computer announces its availability on the network using Zero-Conf networking (also known as "Bonjour" and "Avahi"). A green circle ● indicates a remote MIDI connection that is available.

To launch a connection, first click on the computer name you want to connect to. Then click on the [Connect] Button on the bottom-left to set up a networking session between your computer and the selected remote.

Once selected, the remote host name will appear in the Right Panel under the list of "Participants." As the networking session negotiation proceeds, the circle next to the computer name will change. A green circle ● indicates a Participant that is fully connected.

Direct Connect by Hostname or IP-Address

It is also possible to directly connect to a remote computer by its Hostname or IP-Address. This can come in handy when connecting to a device that supports RTP-MIDI but does not advertise its services using Bonjour. One such example is an Arduino running Arduino-AppleMIDI-Library.

To use this feature, enter the Hostname (or IP-Address) and Port separated by a colon (":") in the [Call] entry, and then press the <Return> key. In the example below, the host's IP-Address is 10.0.0.44 and the RTP-MIDI port it is listening on is 5006.

Disconnect a participant

To disconnect a participant, first select the participant from the Right Panel, then click the [Disconnect] button.

Set your bonjour name

The "Bonjour Name" is the name advertised on your network to nearby computers. If you do not give a "Bonjour Name", your computer will not be announced to other computers. To fill in this value, enter the name of your computer in the Bonjour Name field and press your <Return> key.

Monitor Latency

The Latency Panel indicates (in milliseconds) of each arriving note. Lower and more uniform latency is to be preferred, and you will usually get better results using Ethernet instead of Wi-Fi.

Select a MIDI Input

You can select a MIDI source connected to your computer (such as a USB MIDI Keyboard) directly from rtpmidi. The MIDI information from that keyboard will be sent to every participant. The pop-up menu will display a list of known MIDI sources. Choose your keyboard from the list. The example below shows how to select an Akai MPK-Mini2 keyboard as a MIDI From source.

Select a MIDI Output

You can select a MIDI desination for MIDI information received from the participants. The pop-up menu will display a list of known MIDI destinations. The example below show how to select the Pi-Organ-Synth Linux Synthesizer as a destination for MIDI notes received over the network

See your Network Addresses

New in Version 0.6.0 for the addition of IPV6. Right click on the app screen and select "Network Addresses."

A window will pop-up showing you the list of the currently assigned network addresses of your computer. This can come in handy when you want to direct connect. Copy/Paste the network address to where you need it.

Use without GUI

Run in command-line mode without the GUI. Read more in this blog article: https://mclarenlabs.com/blog/2018/09/05/using-rtpmidi-from-the-command-line/