This is a little project that came out of a real-world problem during a show:
we were working with a performer who didn’t have a stage manager to run their sound cues.
They were on their own. That got us thinking — what if they could run their own cues from the stage?
Not with a laptop, not with a phone, but with a dedicated piece of hardware that’s simple, and designed just for this.
So, this is that idea — or at least, the first version of it.
It’s a standalone OSC controller that talks to QLab over Wi-Fi. It has a rotary knob, an LCD screen, and a few buttons. You scroll through cues, trigger them, or run the whole show without needing a screen or mouse or anything else.
At the moment, this is just a prototype. It works — you can set it up, connect it to Wi-Fi, enter your QLab IP, and start sending OSC messages. But I’m still developing the code, refining the interface, and planning a physical enclosure (probably starting with a cardboard mock-up, then moving to a 3D-printed or fabricated case).
I’d love feedback! If this seems useful to you, or you’d like to try one in a show, reach out. I might build a few units to share with folks.
- Rotary encoder with push-button input
- 16x2 I2C LCD screen for menus and text entry
- Menu-driven UI with support for:
- Connecting to Wi-Fi
- Setting the QLab IP and port
- Creating and editing cues
- Custom third-button actions (panic, go, stop all, etc.)
- Switching between English and Spanish
- OTA firmware updates via GitHub
- Preferences and cues saved to flash (so you don’t lose them when powered off)
- ESP32 board
- Rotary encoder (with push button)
- 3 momentary buttons (Fire, Back, Third Button)
- 16x2 LCD screen with I2C backpack (address
0x27) - Breadboard or perfboard to prototype
- Jumper wires, maybe some resistors
- A QLab machine on the same network
I recommend using PlatformIO for building and uploading. It handles dependencies automatically and works great with ESP32.
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Clone this repo:
git clone https://github.com/yourname/osc-controller.git cd osc-controller -
Build and upload the firmware:
pio run --target upload
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Power it up. You’ll be guided through connecting to Wi-Fi and entering your QLab IP and port.
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Add your cues using the knob. From there, you can run your show directly from the device.
This software is free for personal and non-commercial use.
If you’re thinking of using it commercially or want to integrate it into something you're selling, reach out — I’m open to collaboration or licensing discussions.