We just released our new free and open source UI tool, StripKit

[VybeCodeDSP]

Hey guys,

We're new to KVR Audio as a team and we've created/released a new open source C#/avalonia software package called StripKit that is free and open source. The download is available from either https://stripkit.pro or if you want the source code and alter it, from our GitHub page @ https://github.com/Vybecode-LTD/stripkit

Have fun!

[VybeCodeDSP]

We just released v1.0.0 of our StripKit app, some additions:

v0.8.0 (2026-06-05)

• Skin tab (new 4th tab) — bind several exported strips to several parameters in one skin.json: add controls from a strip (auto-detected) or blank, edit each (id/type/param/asset/frames/size/bounds/value range), set skin name/author/design-resolution/window background, export.

• Layer-aware knob — step 1 (base + pointer) — composite a knob from a static body + a separate pointer that rotates, so the body stays crisp; explicit Base/Pointer slots with an independent pointer pivot.

• Batch-tab meter settings — the Batch template now exposes the full meter panel + a "source is a backdrop" toggle (lit on-art vs procedural LEDs over a housing).
  Importer resampling — re-time an existing strip to a new frame count (nearest-frame, no ghosting), not just re-stack orientation.

v1.0.0 (2026-06-06)

• Layer-aware — step 2 (auto-pointer extraction)— one click splits a flat knob into base + pointer via the radial-symmetry residual, with a confidence score.

• Layer-aware — step 3 (layered PSD / SVG import) — drop a layered knob from Photoshop (.psd) or Illustrator/Inkscape/Figma (.svg); each layer is mapped automatically with a name-guessed Static/Rotate behaviour you can override.

• Interactive Getting Started tutorial — a re-openable, per-tab guided overlay (Create/Import/Batch/Skin) that auto-opens on first run, with a one-click bundled sample knob and contextual tooltips on the key controls.

Free and open source to download and/or modify at the locations in the OP. If anyone has some features they'd like us to add, feel free to contact us and we'll do our best to accommodate.

[VybeCodeDSP]

Just released version 1.1.0 today which includes the ability to generate assets (knobs, sliders, faders, etc) using OpenAI, Google Gemini and Anthropic Claude models to create the filmstrips with. If anyone encounters bugs or has a feature request, please feel free to contact us at info@vybeco.de

Have fun!

[Shane Sanders]

That's very kind of you to use an MIT license.

[VybeCodeDSP]

That's very kind of you to use an MIT license.

Part of the operating principles we developed when first setting up the company was that we wanted to put as much good, free software out as we do paid for software. I loved making StripKit and when I started designing VST/i software that was one of my biggest gripes lol so I figured I couldn't be the only one haha

Courtney

[audiojunkie]

Aren't developers moving away from sprite sheets and bitmaps and moving more to vectorized GUIs?

[VybeCodeDSP]

Aren't developers moving away from sprite sheets and bitmaps and moving more to vectorized GUIs?

Honestly I feel like the VST/i scene is kind of divided on that, but I hope that's the way it goes because I personally like vector graphics far more. We're actually working on a huge vector graphics toolkit right now as well, it's just taking a considerable amount of time to do lol

Courtney

[Architeuthis]

..

[audiojunkie]

Aren't developers moving away from sprite sheets and bitmaps and moving more to vectorized GUIs?

aren't developers moving away from vectorized GUIs for webgl 3d modelled interfaces with lighting?

"People aren't abandoning vector UIs—they're just discovering that slapping dynamic lighting on every interface doesn't magically make it a better one."

[Architeuthis]

..

[mystran]

Aren't developers moving away from sprite sheets and bitmaps and moving more to vectorized GUIs?

aren't developers moving away from vectorized GUIs for webgl 3d modelled interfaces with lighting?

Problem with this is that if you want the lighting (and anti-aliasing) to look nice, it's stupidly expensive even for high-end GPUs. If you want a responsive, good looking 3D GUI, you're still better off doing offline path-tracing into spritesheets.

[Architeuthis]

..

[VybeCodeDSP]

Hey guys, a lot has landed since 1.3.0 (which was the AI art-generation tab + meters/toggles), and I got some inspiration from the feedback/comments in this thread - here's the rundown.

★ The headline: an offline-3D → filmstrip pipeline (the new "Assemble" tab)

The biggest addition. If you've ever wanted a rendered knob — real lighting, depth of field, anti-aliasing you can't get from a flat 2D rotate — you can now path-trace it once in Blender / KeyShot / Octane / C4D and let StripKit pack the frame sequence into a plugin-ready strip:

• Drop in a folder of rendered frames → StripKit natural-sorts them (frame_2 before frame_10), reconciles odd sizes, optionally re-centres each frame on its content (fixes a 3D object that drifts between renders), and stacks them into one filmstrip with the full Create-tab export set.

• Render recipe export — before you render, StripKit hands you a Blender bpy script (or an engine-agnostic frame,value,angle CSV/JSON) that bakes a keyframe on every frame at exactly the angles StripKit's runtime expects. Offline render and runtime can't drift apart.

• Render QC — a "Check frames" pre-flight flags the classic path-tracer mistakes: object drift, a missing transparent background, blank frames, premultiplied edges — with one-click fixes (incl. an un-premultiply-alpha pass to kill dark edge halos).

• HDR ingest — reads .exr / .hdr / 16-bit .tif straight out of your renderer (tone-mapped for you; OpenEXR bundled).

• "Render fewer, ship more" — a crossfade re-time turns ~32 expensive frames into a smooth 64/128.

• Emission / glow pass — feed a second emission AOV and StripKit additively composites it, so a lit LED or screen reads like real emitted light instead of baked-flat.

★ A full UI rebrand ("Depth")

The whole app moved to a machined-grey, ember-accent, precision-instrument look — recessed monospace numeric wells, raised "keycap" buttons — consistent across every tab and dialog.

★ Twelve quality-of-life upgrades

• React / web-component export — a .jsx sprite component driven by a 0..1 value prop, for WebView plugin GUIs.

• Sprite-grid layout — pack frames into an R×C atlas instead of one long strip, for loaders that want a 2D sheet.

• Parameter-law frame mapping — a linear / skew / logarithmic curve so the visual sweep tracks a log-frequency or dB-style parameter instead of a straight divisor.

• Save/load render presets — snapshot your whole render setup (type, frames, sweep, layout, styling, export options) and reload it in one click.

• Arbitrary @2x / @3x / @4x HiDPI export (was fixed at @2x).

• Meter peak-marker, Batch-tab loader-code export, "Show in folder" after export, Ctrl+O / Ctrl+E shortcuts, window-size + last-tab persistence, and cleaner HDR imports.

★ Security & reliability hardening

A pre-release audit fixed a handful of real issues — an SVG-import SSRF, a color shift in the un-pre-multiply cleanup, button/toggle state-frame ordering, plus a uniform playback transport across every tab.

★ Latest patch (1.5.1)

HDR frame sequences (.exr / .hdr / 16-bit .tif) now load on drag-drop and via "Add files…", not only "Choose folder…". Plus the in-app Getting Started walkthroughs were expanded to cover every tab's real feature set.

★ Get it / find out more

• Download (free, Windows x64, VirusTotal-scanned installer): https://stripkit.pro

• Source (MIT): https://github.com/Vybecode-LTD/stripkit

• Full per-tab docs: the Tutorials section on the site covers every setting.

• Full in-app guide system: the app has a complete guide system for each section

It's free and I build it in the open, so feedback and bug reports are hugely welcome — especially from anyone putting the new Assemble/path-tracing flow through real renders, or generating control art with the AI tab. If you ship a plugin using a StripKit strip, I'd love to see it.

Courtney