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The Baryon GUI (top-right corner) lets you shape the visualizer in real time. Hover over any control in the panel to see its tooltip. This document provides the full reference for every user-facing control, organized by folder. For a practical walkthrough, start with First session guide. For the conceptual model behind these settings, see Understanding the engine. Desktop OSC, OSCQuery, and MIDI control-input setup lives in Parameter Automation; outbound modal-structure data lives in OSC Structure Export.

Common Tasks

TaskControls to use
Manually rotate the cymatic volumeSet Rotation Mode to Manual, then adjust Manual Rotation in Motion.
Keep the scene stationarySet Rotation Mode to Off.
Let audio drive scene movementSet Rotation Mode to Audio, then tune Motion Scale.
Change viewpointUse the floating camera controls or orbit drag while the camera is unlocked.
Prevent accidental camera movementEnable Lock Camera.
Capture a stillFrame the scene, lock the camera, set rotation intentionally, then use browser or OS capture tools.
Baryon does not currently expose keyboard shortcuts for manual cymatic rotation. The only currently documented keyboard shortcut is fullscreen where the host exposes it.

Audio Input Profiles

The mic profile selector next to the mic button exposes two analysis presets:
ProfileDescription
VoiceSpeech and singing. Tracks a lead vocal pitch and uses harmonics as texture.
AmbientCrowds, rooms, parties, and mixed music. Represents multiple simultaneous sources instead of one driver.
The mic path auto-calibrates when the microphone starts and whenever you switch profiles.

Mic Settings

Controls for live-input analysis and browser microphone processing.
LabelDescription
Live Input ModeChoose how unknown live devices should be analyzed. Auto uses heuristics, Line Feed uses the file-style path, and Acoustic Mic uses the mic-specific path.
Mic IntentChoose how acoustic mic input should be interpreted. Ambient is forgiving for rooms and instruments; Vocal emphasizes singing and lead pitch.
Echo CancelSuppress speaker bleed and room echo from mic input. Useful with speakers, but it may color the audio spectrum.
Noise SuppressFilter out steady background noise before analysis. Useful in noisy rooms, but it can soften quieter harmonics.
Auto GainAutomatically normalize mic volume. Convenient for speech, but it flattens dynamics for visualization.

Performance

Controls for render cadence, adaptive quality, and the performance HUD.
LabelDescription
ProfileAuto adapts raymarch steps toward 60 FPS, Custom uses Target FPS, and Max Quality leaves raymarch steps ungoverned.
Target FPSPerformer cadence and adaptive raymarch target used when Profile is Custom.
HUDShows FPS and render resolution on screen.

Output

Controls for the published output mode and opaque output fill.
LabelDescription
ModeTransparent composites over other content. Opaque renders solid output.
Output ColorBackground fill color used in Opaque output mode.

Shape

Controls for the raymarched modal volume.
LabelDescription
BoundaryChoose whether the modal family behaves like a reflective boundary (Neumann) or a fixed node.
Node ThresholdHow sharp the bright ring structures appear — lower values create crisper, more defined rings.
DensityHow thick and bright the overall volume body appears — raise for a bolder, denser orb.
AbsorptionDepth contrast inside the orb — raise for crisper internal layers and less haze.
OpacityHow solid the orb appears — raise for a stronger presence, especially when compositing over video.
StepsRendering quality versus speed — higher values look smoother but may reduce frame rate on slower GPUs.

Color

Controls for the orb color and Spectral Light transfer.
LabelDescription
Color ModeStatic uses the chosen colors. Spectral colors promoted cymatic modes from the audio spectrum.
VolumeMain volume color of the orb interior.
ContourColor of the sharpest ring edges and contour highlights.
Color MixStrength of Spectral Light coloring when Color Mode is Spectral.
SheenAdds a holographic sheen to the orb’s surface edges.
Sheen ColorHow far the sheen color shifts toward cool blue-green tones.
Sheen EdgeHow tightly the sheen stays to the very edge — higher values confine it to a thinner rim.

Motion

Controls for scene movement and audio reactivity.
LabelDescription
Rotation ModeAudio rotates the orb with music, Manual uses Manual Rotation, and Off keeps it still.
Manual RotationSpin speed in Manual rotation mode — negative values reverse direction.
Motion ScaleScales the auto-calibrated rotation in Audio mode. It has no effect in Manual rotation mode.
ReactivityHow strongly the visuals respond to the audio — raise for more dramatic reactions.

Bloom

Controls for bloom and fine-grained bloom shaping.
LabelDescription
BloomToggle the bloom or halo effect around bright parts of the orb.
Bloom StrengthHow bright the bloom halo is.
Bloom RadiusHow far the bloom spreads from bright areas.
Bloom ThresholdMinimum brightness before a region contributes to bloom — raise to limit it to the brightest highlights.
Bloom ResponseMakes the bloom smaller and more stable by trimming how easily bloom reacts during crowded frames.
Rim BloomPushes more brightness toward the outer rim before bloom is applied.
Rim CompressionTames sharp edge spikes before they reach the bloom pass.

Idle-state overlay controls.
LabelDescription
Logo IntensityBrightness of the idle logo shown when no audio is playing.
Logo SizeSize of the idle logo overlay shown when no audio is playing.

Diagnostics

Diagnostic controls help isolate render, audio, and analysis behavior. Debug-only controls require devtools (DEVTOOLS_ENABLED).
LabelDescription
TRAAToggle temporal anti-aliasing for diagnostics when isolating render latency, shimmer, or post-process cost.
Capture Debug DataRecord per-frame debug data for the active analysis and renderer.
Freeze PatternHold the current modal pattern in place instead of updating it from live audio.
Force WebGL2Restart the renderer on the WebGL2 fallback path for compatibility testing. This remounts the canvas.
Low-load PlaybackReduce render overhead during playback diagnostics so you can inspect behavior on slower systems or heavier songs.
Cavity GeometryChoose which cavity geometry to request for diagnostics. Spherical requests still fall back to the rectangular basis today.
Inject ToneReplace live audio with a synthetic test tone so you can inspect a known, repeatable input.
Tone HzFrequency of the injected test tone in Hz. Low values inspect renderable patterns; high values exercise bandwidth-limit diagnostics.
Tone SignalChoose whether the injected test signal is a pure sine or an explicit harmonic series.
Tone AmpAmplitude of the injected test tone — lower values produce subtler pattern excitation.
Log FramesWrite a debug snapshot to the browser console every N frames. Use 1 for every frame.

Presets

The Presets folder lets you save and recall named snapshots of all current control values.
ActionDescription
Name fieldType a name for the preset you want to save.
SaveSave the current controls under the typed name. Overwrites any existing preset with the same name.
Load dropdownSelect a saved preset to restore its values. Modifying any control after loading clears the selection indicator.
Reset to defaultsRestore all controls to their factory defaults.
Delete SelectedDelete the preset currently shown in the Load dropdown (controls are left unchanged).
Settings are also auto-saved to localStorage as you adjust controls (debounced 500 ms), so your last session’s values are restored on next load.