python-rtmidi 0.3.1a (experimental)

A Python wrapper for the RtMidi C++ library written with Cython.

Usage example

Here's a quick example of how to use python-rtmidi to open the first available MIDI output port and send a middle C note on MIDI channel 10:

import time
import rtmidi

midiout = rtmidi.MidiOut()
available_ports = midiout.get_ports()

if available_ports:
    midiout.open_port(0)
else:
    midiout.open_virtual_port("My virtual output")

note_on = [0x99, 60, 112] # channel 10, middle C, velocity 112
note_off = [0x89, 60, 0]
midiout.send_message(note_on)
time.sleep(0.5)
midiout.send_message(note_off)

del midiout

More usage examples can be found in the tests directory of the source distribution. API documentation is available by looking at the docstrings in the Cython source code or using tools like pydoc or IPython and by reading the RtMidi documentation.

Installer (Windows only)

An installer with a pre-compiled version for Windows with Windows MultiMedia API support is available through PyPI for some Python versions. Download it from python-rtmidi's PyPI page and start the installer by double-clicking.

From PyPI

If you have all the dependencies, you should be able to install the package with pip or easy_install:

$ pip install python-rtmidi

or, if you prefer setuptools:

$ easy_install python-rtmidi

This will download the source distribution, compile the extension and install it in your active Python installation. Unless you want to change the Cython source file _rtmidi.pyx, there is no need to have Cython installed.

python-rtmidi also works well with virtualenv and virtualenvwrapper. If you have both installed, creating an isolated environment for testing and using python-rtmidi is as easy as:

$ mkvirtualenv rtmidi
(rtmidi)$ pip install python-rtmidi

From the Source Distribution

Of course, you can also download the source distribution package as a Zip archive or tarball, extract it and install using the common distutils commands, e.g.:

$ wget http://chrisarndt.de/projects/python-rtmidi/download/python-rtmidi-0.3.1a.tar.gz
$ tar xzf python-rtmidi-0.3.1a.tar.gz
$ cd python-rtmidi-0.3.1a
$ python setup.py install

From Subversion

Lastly, you can check out the python-rtmidi source code from the Subversion repository and then install it from your working copy. Since the repository does not include the C++ module source code pre-compiled from the Cython source, you'll also need to install Cython from its Git repository. Using virtualenv/virtualenvwrapper is strongly recommended in this scenario:

$ mkvirtualenv rtmidi
(rtmidi)$ cdvirtualenv
(rtmidi)$ git clone https://github.com/cython/cython.git
(rtmidi)$ svn co svn://svn.chrisarndt.de/projects/python-rtmidi/trunk python-rtmidi
(rtmidi)$ cd cython
(rtmidi)$ python setup.py install
(rtmidi)$ cd ../python-rtmidi
(rtmidi)$ python setup.py install

Linux

For the C++ compiler and the pthread library install the build-essential package on debian-based systems.

Then you'll need Python development headers and libraries. On Linux, install the python-dev package. If you use the official installers from python.org you should already have these.

To get ALSA support, you must install development files for the libasound library (debian package: libasound-dev). For JACK support, install the libjack development files (libjack-dev or libjack-jackd2-dev).

OS X

Install the latest Xcode or g++ from MacPorts or homebrew (untested). CoreMIDI support comes with installing Xcode. For JACK support, install JACK for OS X with the full installer.

Windows

On Windows you'll need Visual Studio 2008 (Express). Visual Studio 2010 (Express) or later editions will not work with current official Python distributions. After you have installed Visual Studio, you probably need to edit the WINLIB_DIR and WININC_DIR variables at the top of the setup.py file to point to the location of WinMM.lib and the Microsoft SDK headers.

Compiling python-rtmidi with Windows Kernel Streaming support currently does not work due to syntax errors in RtMidi.cpp. This is currently being investigated. You can exclude Windows Kernel Streaming Support by providing the --no-winks option to the setup.py invocation.

Compiling with MinGW also does not work out-of-the-box yet. If you have any useful hints, please let the author know.