Awesome OSC

A curated list of Open Sound Control (OSC) resources, tools, libraries, and implementations

OSC is a protocol for communication among computers, sound synthesizers, and other multimedia devices that is optimized for modern networking technology. It enables real-time control and data exchange across networks with high precision.

Contents

• Specifications & Learning
• Controllers
• Debugging & Utilities
• Game Engines & Creative Coding
• Audio & Music Software
• Code Libraries
• IoT, Embedded & Hardware
• Example Projects & Templates

Specifications & Learning

• OpenSoundControl.org - Official site with specification 1.0 and comprehensive documentation
• OSC Specification 1.0 - The official protocol specification
• Wikipedia: Open Sound Control - Overview with OSC vs MIDI comparison, addressing schemes, bundles, and time tags
• OpenSoundControl.org Page List - Comprehensive directory of OSC resources

Controllers

Touch & Desktop Control Surfaces

• TouchOSC - Active / Paid
  The modular touch control surface standard. Actively maintained for iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS with extensive MIDI/OSC capabilities.

• Open Stage Control - Active / Open Source
  Browser-based OSC/MIDI controller. Runs as a local web server and works with any modern touch device. Highly scriptable and customizable.

• OSC Pilot - Active / Paid
  High-performance, GPU-accelerated control surface for Windows/macOS, designed for touring visual artists and live performance.

• OSCAR - Active
  Modern, user-friendly controller app for iOS and Android with pre-built layouts for REAPER and RME TotalMix.

• Lemur - Legacy
  Multitouch OSC/MIDI controller on iOS. Still widely used but maintenance status is limited.

Debugging & Utilities

• Protokol - Active / Free
  Essential debugging tool. Lightweight utility to monitor incoming OSC and MIDI traffic in real-time.

• Packet Sender - Active / Open Source
  Network testing tool for manually sending UDP/TCP packets. Great for testing OSC connectivity.

Game Engines & Creative Coding

Unreal Engine

• Official OSC Plugin - Built-in to UE5 with Blueprint API
• UE-OSC - Community alternative with additional features

Unity

• OSC Jack - Active
  Lightweight, high-performance OSC implementation for Unity (C#). Gold standard for Unity OSC.
• extOSC - Active / Paid
  Robust, full-featured asset widely used in professional installations.

Godot

• GodOSC - Active
  GDScript implementation providing OSC send/receive via nodes for Godot 4.x.
• GodOSC (Asset Library) - Official asset library entry

Other Platforms

• Max/MSP - First-class OSC citizen via built-in objects
• Pure Data - Native OSC support via bundled externals
• Processing - See OpenSoundControl.org implementations
• TouchDesigner - Built-in OSC support for creative coding
• openFrameworks - Multiple OSC addon implementations available

Audio & Music Software

DAWs with Native OSC Support

• REAPER - Active
  Deepest native OSC support of any DAW. Fully customizable .ReaperOSC control surface files.

• Ableton Live - Connection Kit - Active / Free
  Official Max for Live pack with "OSC Send" and "OSC Receive" devices.

• Bitwig Studio - Mossgrabers Scripts - Active
  Community standard for advanced controller scripts, including generic "Open Sound Control" extension.

• Cubase - Native OSC control surface support

• Unify - Built-in OSC control capabilities

Code Libraries

Python

• python-osc - Active
  Modern standard for Python OSC. Supports UDP/TCP with threading/forking server examples. Use this instead of legacy pyOSC.

JavaScript / TypeScript

• osc.js - Active
  Works in both browser (via WebSocket) and Node.js (via UDP/Serial). Highly maintained and feature-complete.
• node-osc - Active
  Simpler alternative specifically for Node.js users.

C / C++

• oscpack - Stable
  Classic C++ library by Ross Bencina. Rock solid and widely used. Rarely updated because it "just works."
• liblo - Stable
  Standard C library. Lightweight and POSIX-compliant.

Other Languages

• Java - Multiple implementations available (see OpenSoundControl.org)
• Rust - Community implementations on crates.io
• Perl - Legacy implementations available

IoT, Embedded & Hardware

Arduino & Microcontrollers

• MicroOsc - Active
  Modern, lightweight OSC library for Arduino, ESP8266, ESP32, and Teensy. Supports UDP and serial transport.

• OSC (CNMAT) - Legacy
  Classic Arduino library. Still functional but MicroOsc is often easier for beginners.

Professional Hardware

• Q-Sys - Professional audio systems with OSC control
• RME TotalMix - Audio interface mixing software with OSC support
• Various professional audio gear with vendor OSC documentation

Home Automation

• OSC integration discussions in Home Assistant community

Example Projects & Templates

• Open Stage Control & Max Tutorial - Examples combining Open Stage Control with Max/MSP
• Interactive installation examples (PRs welcome!)
• Performance rig templates (PRs welcome!)

Maintenance & Contribution Guidelines

• Unmaintained projects are explicitly marked as Legacy or with maintenance status notes
• Every entry should include: platform(s), maintenance status, and primary use-case
• PRs adding currently maintained tools are preferred
• Aim to keep the list relevant for 2025 and beyond

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Read the contribution guidelines first.

License

To the extent possible under law, the contributors have waived all copyright and related rights to this work.