Mixer

The Mixer provides a console-style view of all tracks and channels with faders, pan controls, effects chains, and routing. Open it with ⇧M or from View > Mixer.

Mixer Module Properties

Property	Type	Default	Description
`visible`	bool	`false`	Whether the Mixer panel is shown

-- Toggle mixer visibility
pl.cmd("mixer:toggle-visible")

-- Check if mixer is visible
local visible = plinken.get("mixer", "visible")

Channel Types

The mixer has several channel types, each serving a different role in the signal chain:

Track Channels

Every timeline track appears as a channel strip in the mixer. Track channel state is stored directly on the Track struct.

Property	Type	Default	Range	Description
`volume`	f64	`1.0`	0.0–2.0	Output level (1.0 = unity gain)
`pan`	f64	`0.0`	−1.0–+1.0	Stereo position
`mute`	bool	`false`	—	Silence the track output
`solo`	bool	`false`	—	Isolate for monitoring
`is_mono`	bool	`false`	—	Mono channel mode
`instrument`	PluginRef?	`None`	—	Instrument plugin (MIDI tracks)
`effects`	PluginRef[]	`[]`	—	Effect plugin chain

FX Return Channels (8)

Eight FX return channels for parallel effects processing. Tracks send audio to FX channels via aux sends, and FX returns are mixed into the master output.

Output Channels (4)

Four stereo output channels for multi-output routing. Tracks can be routed to different outputs via output_routing.

Master Channel

The master channel controls the final stereo output level. All track and FX return channels are summed into the master before reaching the audio output.

Non-Track Channel Properties

FX return, output, and master channels share the same state structure:

Property	Type	Default	Description
`volume`	f64	`1.0`	Channel output level (0.0–2.0)
`pan`	f64	`0.0`	Stereo position (−1.0 to +1.0)
`mute`	bool	`false`	Mute the channel
`solo`	bool	`false`	Solo the channel
`effects`	PluginRef[]	`[]`	Effect plugin chain

Mixer Commands

Panel Control

Command	Shortcut	Description
`mixer:toggle-visible`	⇧M	Show or hide the Mixer panel

Channel Commands

Command	Description
`mixer:set-channel-volume`	Set volume for FX/output/master channel
`mixer:set-channel-pan`	Set pan for FX/output/master channel
`mixer:toggle-channel-mute`	Toggle mute for FX/output/master channel
`mixer:toggle-channel-solo`	Toggle solo for FX/output/master channel

Effect Commands

Command	Description
`mixer:add-effect`	Add effect plugin to FX/output/master channel
`mixer:remove-effect`	Remove effect from FX/output/master channel
`mixer:reorder-effect`	Reorder effect in channel’s plugin chain

Track Commands (for track channels)

Command	Shortcut	Description
`track:set-volume`	—	Set track volume
`track:set-pan`	—	Set track pan
`track:toggle-mute`	—	Toggle track mute
`track:toggle-solo`	—	Toggle track solo
`track:toggle-mono`	—	Toggle mono/stereo
`track:toggle-record`	—	Toggle record arm
`track:select-prev`	↑	Select previous track
`track:select-next`	↓	Select next track
`track:add-effect`	—	Add effect to track
`track:remove-effect`	—	Remove effect from track
`track:reorder-effect`	—	Reorder effect in chain

Lua Examples

Adjusting Track Levels

-- Set track 1 volume to 80%
pl.cmd("track:set-volume", { track_id = 1, volume = 0.8 })

-- Pan track 2 hard left
pl.cmd("track:set-pan", { track_id = 2, pan = -1.0 })

-- Mute track 3
pl.cmd("track:toggle-mute", { track_id = 3 })

-- Solo track 4
pl.cmd("track:toggle-solo", { track_id = 4 })

Mixer Channel Controls

-- Set FX return 1 volume
pl.cmd("mixer:set-channel-volume", {
  channel_type = "fx",
  index = 0,
  volume = 0.7
})

-- Set master channel pan
pl.cmd("mixer:set-channel-pan", {
  channel_type = "master",
  index = 0,
  pan = 0.0
})

-- Mute output channel 2
pl.cmd("mixer:toggle-channel-mute", {
  channel_type = "output",
  index = 1
})

-- Solo FX return 3
pl.cmd("mixer:toggle-channel-solo", {
  channel_type = "fx",
  index = 2
})

Managing Effects

-- Add an effect to track 1
pl.cmd("track:add-effect", {
  track_id = 1,
  plugin_id = "com.fabfilter.Pro-Q-3",
  format = "AU"
})

-- Add an effect to FX return channel 1
pl.cmd("mixer:add-effect", {
  channel_type = "fx",
  index = 0,
  plugin_id = "com.valhalla.ValhallaRoom",
  format = "AU"
})

-- Add an effect to the master channel
pl.cmd("mixer:add-effect", {
  channel_type = "master",
  index = 0,
  plugin_id = "com.fabfilter.Pro-L-2",
  format = "AU"
})

-- Remove an effect by index
pl.cmd("mixer:remove-effect", {
  channel_type = "fx",
  index = 0,
  effect_index = 0
})

-- Reorder an effect in the chain
pl.cmd("mixer:reorder-effect", {
  channel_type = "master",
  index = 0,
  from = 0,
  to = 2
})

Sends & Routing

Group Sends

Tracks can send audio to bus tracks at adjustable levels. Each send has a level and a pre/post fader toggle.

Command	Description
`track:add-send`	Add a group send to a track
`track:remove-send`	Remove a group send
`track:set-send-level`	Set send level

-- Add a send from track 1 to bus
pl.cmd("track:add-send", {
  track_id = 1,
  target = "bus-1",
  level = 0.5
})

-- Adjust send level
pl.cmd("track:set-send-level", {
  track_id = 1,
  send_index = 0,
  level = 0.7
})

Aux Sends (FX Sends 1–8)

Each track has 8 fixed aux send slots for routing to the FX return channels. Each aux send has:

Level — Send amount (0.0–1.0)
Pre/Post — Whether the send is pre-fader or post-fader (controlled by a bitmask)

-- Set aux send 1 level on track 1
pl.cmd("track:set-aux-send", {
  track_id = 1,
  send_index = 0,
  level = 0.4
})

Output Routing

Tracks can be routed to different output channels:

Routing Value	Description
`"stereo-out"`	Default stereo output
`"bus-1"` .. `"bus-16"`	Bus tracks
`"device-1-2"`	Hardware output pair 1-2
`"device-3-4"`	Hardware output pair 3-4

-- Route track to bus 1
pl.cmd("track:set-output-routing", {
  track_id = 1,
  routing = "bus-1"
})

Plugin State

The mixer captures live plugin state for all channel effects before saving. Plugin state is serialized as base64-encoded data in the PluginRef.state field, supporting AU and CLAP plugins.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Command	Description
⇧M	`mixer:toggle-visible`	Toggle Mixer panel
↑	`track:select-prev`	Select previous track
↓	`track:select-next`	Select next track

Complete Command Reference

Command	Description
`mixer:toggle-visible`	Show/hide Mixer panel
`mixer:set-channel-volume`	Set FX/output/master volume
`mixer:set-channel-pan`	Set FX/output/master pan
`mixer:toggle-channel-mute`	Toggle FX/output/master mute
`mixer:toggle-channel-solo`	Toggle FX/output/master solo
`mixer:add-effect`	Add effect to FX/output/master
`mixer:remove-effect`	Remove effect from FX/output/master
`mixer:reorder-effect`	Reorder effect in FX/output/master chain
`track:set-volume`	Set track volume
`track:set-pan`	Set track pan
`track:toggle-mute`	Toggle track mute
`track:toggle-solo`	Toggle track solo
`track:toggle-mono`	Toggle track mono/stereo
`track:add-effect`	Add effect to track chain
`track:remove-effect`	Remove effect from track chain
`track:reorder-effect`	Reorder effect in track chain
`track:add-send`	Add group send
`track:remove-send`	Remove group send
`track:set-send-level`	Set group send level
`track:set-aux-send`	Set FX aux send level
`track:set-output-routing`	Set track output routing