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Companion App (Mac / iPad)

The Track8 companion app runs the same firmware as the hardware natively on iPad and on Apple-silicon Macs. The device image is a fully working control surface — tap the encoders and buttons to operate it — and the screen in the middle is the real Track8 UI, rendered live. External audio inputs and multitrack recording remain hardware-only features.

Two touch buttons live in the corners of the window, outside the device:

CornerButtonWhat it does
bottom-leftⓘInfo overlay: labels every encoder and button with what it does on the current screen (hold SHIFT to see the shifted actions)
bottom-right🎨Theme editor (below)

Only one of the two can be open at a time.

Theme editor

(since v1.2.2)

The theme editor lets you build a color theme while watching the real UI change, instead of guessing from static previews. It uses the same theme.json format as the hardware (and the web theme editor), so anything you make here can go straight onto your Track8.

  1. Tap 🎨 in the bottom-right corner. Panels appear above and below the device listing every themeable color by name, grouped into General, Encoders, Audio tracks, MIDI tracks, Markers and FX curves. The editor starts from the theme currently selected under Utility → THEME (DEFAULT included).
  2. Tap a color swatch to open the system color picker. Every change is applied to the rendered screen immediately — keep operating the device (switch to the MIDI overview, open Track FX, mute a track, …) to see exactly which elements the color affects. Opacity is part of the color.
  3. Type a name into the text field and tap SAVE. The theme is written to the app’s theme.json and becomes the selected theme, so it also shows up under Utility → THEME. Saving under an existing name asks before replacing it. REVERT throws away unsaved changes and reloads the selected theme.
  4. EXPORT opens the share sheet with the app’s theme.json (all your themes, plus any you imported). Save it to Files, AirDrop it, or mail it, then copy it over the bin/theme.json on your Track8 — it is a drop-in replacement.
  5. IMPORT picks a theme.json from Files and merges its themes into the app’s list (same-named themes are replaced). Use it to bring themes from the web editor or from your Track8 into the app.

Closing the editor (🎨 again, or opening the info overlay) discards unsaved changes after asking for confirmation and restores the selected theme.