Builtins
Oscillators, filters, delays, effects: the DSP primitives you combine into patches.
Oscillators
Oscillators are the primary sound sources in synthesis. The osc() function is the unified interface for all oscillator types.
ReadFilters
Filters shape the frequency content of signals by attenuating or boosting certain frequencies.
ReadEnvelopes
Envelopes shape the amplitude or other parameters of a sound over time. They respond to gates (sustained signals) or triggers (momentary pulses).
ReadSequencing & Timing
Timing and sequencing functions create rhythmic patterns, triggers, and automation curves synchronized to the global clock.
ReadDelays
Delay effects create copies of a signal offset in time for echoes, rhythmic effects, and spatial depth.
ReadReverbs
Reverbs simulate acoustic spaces by generating many delayed, filtered reflections. Each algorithm has its own character.
ReadModulation Effects
Modulation effects use time-varying delays to add movement and spatial width to sounds.
ReadDistortion
Distortion effects add harmonic content by clipping, saturating, or otherwise mangling signals.
ReadDynamics
Dynamics processors control the volume envelope of signals, reducing dynamic range or removing unwanted quiet sections.
ReadMath Functions
Mathematical operations for signal processing and control logic.
ReadState Cells
State cells let you persist a single floating-point value across audio blocks from inside a closure. They are the building block for writing your own statefu…
ReadUtility
Utility functions for common audio tasks like output, MIDI conversion, and signal processing helpers.
ReadEdge Primitives
Edge primitives detect transitions in trigger / control signals and accumulate counts. All four variants share one backing opcode (EDGE_OP) for cache localit…
ReadStereo
Stereo signal operations. Akkado tracks channel count (Mono vs Stereo) on every
ReadVisualizations
Inline visualizations render directly in the editor. Each visualization is a pass-through node in the signal chain: audio flows through unchanged.
ReadAudio Input
The in() builtin exposes external audio as a signal source (microphone, tab/system audio, or an uploaded file) so any Cedar effect can process it. The host p…
ReadFM Synthesis
Frequency modulation (FM) synthesizes complex timbres by modulating the frequency of one oscillator (the carrier) with the output of another (the modulator).…
ReadSamplers
Samplers play recorded audio. The common path is a sample pattern like s"bd sd hh sd", which triggers events from the loaded sample bank. nkido ships with a…
ReadSoundFonts
SoundFonts (.sf2 / .sf3) are bundled instrument banks, usually General MIDI piano, strings, brass, drums. The soundfont() builtin plays a pattern through a c…
ReadSamples Loading
How user-supplied audio reaches the sampler at runtime. The samples() directive declares a bank URI to fetch before the program runs; the IDE also accepts dr…
ReadPolyphony
Voice allocation for patterns. poly() runs an instrument function per voice and sums the outputs. mono() and legato() are single-voice variants with differen…
ReadTimelines
Breakpoint automation envelopes synced to the clock. Use timeline() to define smooth parameter curves with arbitrary shapes: slower than an lfo() and more ex…
ReadOscilloscope
A time-domain visualizer that draws the signal as a waveform with trigger stabilization. It sits in the signal chain as a pass-through, so audio flows throug…
ReadWaveform
A time-domain envelope visualizer that draws the min/max amplitude of the signal over time. It sits in the chain as a pass-through, so audio flows through un…
ReadSpectrum Analyzer
A frequency-domain visualizer that runs an FFT on the signal. It sits in the chain as a pass-through, so audio flows through unchanged.
ReadWaterfall
A scrolling spectrogram visualizer: time on one axis, frequency on the other, color for amplitude. It sits in the chain as a pass-through, so audio flows thr…
ReadPiano Roll
A pattern-event visualizer that draws notes as rectangles on a pitch-time grid. It sits in the signal chain as a pass-through.
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