Interface overview, every cue type explained, timing system, and keyboard shortcuts.
OQL has four main areas — cue list, inspector, active cues, and the info bar.
All the cues in sequence. Click to select, Space / GO to fire the next one. Drag rows to reorder. Right-click for the context menu.
All parameters for the selected cue. Changes take effect immediately. For Audio cues this also shows the waveform with trim and fade handles.
Live view of everything currently playing. Each card shows a progress bar and elapsed time. Click the stop button on a card to stop just that cue.
Always shows the number and name of the next cue about to fire. During a show this is your at-a-glance reference without having to look at the list.
From blank page to running your show in four steps.
File → New opens a blank show. Save it straight away with Ctrl+S — OQL workspaces are .oqlab files (plain JSON, human-readable). Use File → Recent Files to reopen a show quickly.
Right-click anywhere in the cue list and choose Add cue, or use the keyboard shortcuts below. Cues are inserted after the current selection.
Click a cue to select it. The Inspector on the right shows all its parameters. For Audio cues, drag the waveform trim handles to set start/end points, and drag the fade regions to set fade durations. Every change is instantly undoable with Ctrl+Z.
Press Space or click GO to fire the selected cue and advance the playhead. To test a single cue without advancing, click the ▶ Play button in the Inspector. Press Escape to stop everything instantly. Toggle Show Mode in the toolbar to hide the interface and show only a clean cue-info overlay.
Every cue shares Number, Name, Notes, Pre-wait, Post-wait, Auto-continue and Auto-follow fields. The parameters below are type-specific.
Plays an audio file through the system output. Supports MP3, WAV, FLAC, AAC, OGG. Includes a waveform editor with trim handles, fade envelope, and per-cue VST2/LV2 plugin chain.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| File | Path to the audio file. Click … to browse. |
| Volume | Playback level in dB (default 0 dB) |
| Loop count | Extra repeats after the first play (0 = once) |
| Channel | Stereo / Left only / Right only |
| Fade in / out | Linear fade duration at start or end (seconds) |
| Trim start / end | Skip the first / last N seconds of the file |
| Volume automation | Click in the waveform to add envelope points; drag to adjust level over time |
| Effects chain | Click Effects… to add VST2 or LV2 plugins |
Plays a video file on a dedicated fullscreen output window — ideal for projection mapping, backdrops, or title sequences. The output window stays on top and is borderless during playback.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| File | Path to the video file |
| Volume | Audio level of the video's soundtrack (dB) |
| Loop count | Extra repeats after the first play |
Displays formatted text on a dedicated output window. Perfect for supertitles, lyrics, subtitles, or presentation slides. Full typography control including font, size, color, and alignment.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Text | The content to display |
| Font / Size | Typography settings |
| Bold / Italic | Style toggles |
| Text colour | Foreground colour |
| Background | Window background colour |
| Alignment | Left / Centre / Right |
Passes live audio from a microphone or any input device straight to the output. The cue stays active until explicitly stopped — useful for live announcements or presenters.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Input device | Select from detected audio input devices (or Default) |
| Volume | Gain applied to the live signal (dB) |
Immediately stops a target cue (audio, video, mic, or any other active cue). The target resets to idle.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Target | The cue to stop, selected from a dropdown of all cues in the list |
Pauses a playing cue at its current position. Use a Play Cue to resume from exactly where it stopped.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Target | The cue to pause |
Resumes a paused cue from its current position, or restarts a stopped one from the beginning.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Target | The cue to resume or restart |
Smoothly interpolates the volume of a target Audio or Video cue to a new level over a specified duration. Can optionally stop the target when the fade reaches its destination.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Target | The Audio or Video cue whose volume to change |
| Target volume | Destination level in dB |
| Duration | How long the fade takes (seconds) |
| Stop at end | If checked, stops the target cue when the fade completes |
Changes the playback rate of an Audio or Video cue dynamically. Pitchless time-stretching via SoundTouch keeps the audio natural at moderate rate changes.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Target | The cue to speed up or slow down |
| Rate | Multiplier: 1.0 = normal, 2.0 = double speed, 0.5 = half speed |
Applies a VST2 / LV2 plugin chain to a target Audio cue's live audio stream. The original chain is restored automatically when the effect ends or is reset.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Target | The Audio cue to process |
| Duration | How long the effect stays active (s). 0 = permanent until stopped. |
| Effects chain | Click Effects… to build the plugin chain (VST2 or LV2) |
Immediately restores a target Audio cue's plugin chain to the state it had before the last Effect Cue was applied.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Target | The Audio cue whose chain to restore |
A collapsible container that holds other cues. Collapsing a group replaces its members with a single row in the cue list. Firing a group fires all its members according to their own timing settings — simultaneous by default.
A visual-only section marker with no playback behaviour. Use labels to divide your cue list into named sections — "Act 1", "Scene 3", "Intermission". Labels are never fired and are skipped by the GO button.
Every cue has four timing fields that control how and when cues chain together automatically.
Seconds to wait after the cue is triggered before it actually starts. Useful for building in deliberate pauses without adding extra Label cues.
Seconds to wait after this cue finishes before the Auto-follow chain fires. Lets you add a beat of silence between chained cues.
Immediately fires the next cue as soon as this cue starts. Use it to launch parallel playback — e.g. a video and an audio cue running simultaneously.
Immediately fires the next cue as soon as this cue ends. Use it to chain sequential actions — e.g. Audio → Fade out → Stop — without pressing GO each time.
All the shortcuts you need to run a show without touching the mouse.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Space | GO — fire the next cue and advance the playhead |
| Escape | Stop all active cues immediately |
| Ctrl+Z | Undo |
| Ctrl+Shift+Z | Redo |
| Ctrl+S | Save workspace |
| Ctrl+Shift+S | Save as… |
| Delete | Delete selected cue(s) |
| Ctrl+D | Duplicate selected cue |
| F2 | Rename selected cue inline |
| Ctrl+G | Group selected cues |
| Ctrl+Shift+A | Add Audio Cue |
| Ctrl+Shift+V | Add Video Cue |
| Ctrl+Shift+T | Add Text Cue |
| Ctrl+Shift+M | Add Mic Cue |
| Ctrl+Shift+G | Add Group Cue |
| Ctrl+Shift+L | Add Label Cue |