Sonic Pi
Code-based musical instrument for live coding music; popular for education and live performance.
| Language | Ruby |
|---|---|
| Category | Live coding |
| License | MIT |
| Platforms | macOS Windows Linux |
| Install | Download installer from sonic-pi.net |
| First released | 2012 |
| Maintained | Yes |
| Links | Website · Source |
Strengths
- Beginner-friendly with built-in tutorial and samples
- Real-time live-loop performance
- Cross-platform incl. Raspberry Pi
Limitations
- Ruby-derived DSL is its own ecosystem
- Bundled binaries fall under GPL via dependencies
Best for
Learning to code through music and live-coding performance.
Minimal example
live_loop :beat do
sample :bd_haus
play :c4
sleep 0.5
end