JAMULUS(1) General Commands Manual JAMULUS(1)

Jamulus — real-time collaborative music session

Jamulus [-6 | --enableipv6] [-c | --connect address] [-d | --discononquit] [-e | --directoryserver hostname] [-F | --fastupdate] [-f | --listfilter filter] [-h | -? | --help] [-i | --inifile file] [-j | --nojackconnect] [-L | --licence] [-l | --log file] [-M | --mutestream] [-m | --htmlstatus file] [-n | --nogui] [-o | --serverinfo info] [-P | --delaypan] [-p | --port number] [-Q | --qos value] [-R | --recording directory] [-s | --server] [-T | --multithreading] [-t | --notranslation] [-u | --numchannels] [-v | --version] [-w | --welcomemessage message] [-z | --startminimized] [--centralserver hostname] [--clientname name] [--ctrlmidich MIDISetup] [--directoryfile file] [--mutemyown] [--norecord] [--serverbindip ip] [--serverpublicip ip] [--showallservers] [--showanalyzerconsole]

Jamulus, a low-latency audio client and server, enables musicians to perform real-time “jam” sessions over the internet. It is available across multiple platforms, so participants of any field can communicate without specialist setup requirements. This is not restricted to music, of course; other use (perhaps conferencing?) is also possible.

One participant starts Jamulus in Server mode, ideally on a dedicated server (virtual) machine; all participants start the (graphical) Client which transmits audio to the Server, receiving back a mixed stream. Use of a metronome is recommended. Clients should be connected using ethernet, not wireless, and use proper headphone and microphone connections, not Bluetooth. The Server should run on a low-latency system, ideally not a VM.

Running Jamulus without any extra options launches the full graphical Client.

The options are as follows:

|
enable IPv6 support
| address
(Client mode only) connect to the given Server address (hostname[:port]) at startup
|
(Server mode only) disconnect all Clients on quit
| hostname
(Server mode only) Register the Server with the given Directory by setting the Directory Server Address to use to hostname; see also -o; to be a Directory Server, use “localhost”
|
(Server mode only) use 64 samples frame size mode, which reduces latency if Clients connect with “enable small network buffers” turned on; requires a faster CPU to avoid dropouts and uses more bandwidth to connected Clients
file
(Server mode only) Set the path to a text file containing an authentication string for obtaining access to the JSON-RPC API. This option is required when --jsonrpcport is used.
port
(Server mode only) Enables JSON-RPC API server to control the application, set the TCP port number. This API is and may change. It is only accessible from localhost. Please refer to the JSON-RPC API Documentation.
| filter
(Directory mode only) whitelist which Servers are allowed to register on the server list; filter must consist of semicolon-separated IP addresses
| |
display a short help text and exit immediately
| file
(Client and non-headless Server mode only) override default initialisation file with file
|
(Client mode only) do not automatically connect to JACK
|
(Server mode only) require Clients to accept the agreement shown in the welcome message (use -w to set the text) before they are allowed joining
| file
(Server mode only) enable logging to file
|
(Client mode only) start in muted state
| file
(Server mode only) write Server status and list of connected Clients, in HTML format, to file periodically
|
disable the GUI
| info
(Registered Servers only) set Server location details, formatted as name;city;locale where locale is the numeric value of a QLocale; see https://doc.qt.io/qt-5/qlocale.html#Country-enum for a list
|
(Server mode only) start with delay panning enabled
| number
set the local UDP port to use to number (default: 22124)
| value
set QoS value (iptos byte) to use (default: 128)
| Directory
(Server mode only) enable recording (but see --norecord) storing tracks in Directory
|
start in Server mode
|
(Server mode only) use multithreading to make better use of multi-core CPUs and support more Clients
|
disable translations, use built-in English strings
|
(Server mode only) set maximum number of channels (and, therefore, users); default is 10, maximum is 150
|
display version information and exit immediately
| message
(Server mode only) show message (may contain HTML and inline CSS) to users on connect
|
(Server mode only) start with minimised window
hostname
(Server mode only) deprecated alias for --directoryserver
name
(Client mode only) set window title and JACK client name
MIDISetup
(Client mode only) set MIDI controller channel to listen on, control number offset and consecutive CC numbers (channels); format: channel[;foff*nchans][;poff*nchans][;soff*nchans][;moff*nchans]

The first semicolon-separated element sets the MIDI channel Jamulus listens on for control messages. The other elements specify the items to control by their first literal letter (f = volume fader, p = pan, m = mute, s = solo) directly followed by the offset (CC number) to start from, a literal asterisk, and the amount of consecutive CC numbers to assign. Fader strips in the mixer window are controlled in ascending order from left to right. Jamulus does not provide feedback as to the current state of the Solo and Mute buttons so the controller must track and signal their state locally.

file
(Directory mode only) remember registered Servers even if the Directory is restarted
(headless Client only) mute my channel in my personal mix
(Server mode only) do not automatically start recording even if configured with -R
ip
(Server mode only) configure Legacy IP address to bind to
ip
(Server mode only) configure public legacy IP address when both the Directory Server and the actual Server are situated behind the same NAT, so that Clients can connect
(Client mode only) show all registered Servers in the serverlist regardless whether a ping to the Server is possible or not (debugging command)
(Client mode only) show analyser console to debug network buffer properties (debugging command)

Note that the debugging commands are not intended for general use.

Jamulus knows four modes of operation: Client mode and three kinds of Server (Unregistered, Registered, Directory.) A Unregistered Server is unlisted, Clients can only connect if given the address (IP address and port). A Registered Server will contact a Directory (whose address must be given at Server startup) and show up in that Server's list; Clients can retrieve a list of Registered Servers from the Directory Server. Several Registered Directories are operated by the Jamulus project; there is a Directory for each genre, which is how Registered Jamulus Servers are categorised into genres.

qjackctl(1)

https://jamulus.io/wiki/Software-Manual
online handbook
https://jamulus.io/wiki/FAQ
frequently asked questions
https://jamulus.io/wiki/Running-a-Server
documentation on Server configuration and types
https://jamulus.io/wiki/Server-Linux#running-in-registered-mode
current list of Directory Servers operated by the Jamulus project, controlling the “genre”
https://jamulus.io/wiki/Tips-Tricks-More
verbose --ctrlmidich documentation and other more or less useful information
https://github.com/jamulussoftware/jamulus/blob/master/docs/JSON-RPC.md
JSON-RPC API Documentation (see --jsonrpcport above)

mirabilos ⟨tg@debian.org⟩ wrote this manual page for the Debian project, but it may be used elsewhere as well.

This manual page was derived from the source code and summarises some of the information from the website, but it could be more helpful.

Some of the networking code assumes Legacy IP (IPv4).

December 23, 2021 Debian