Samples 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 drag-and-drop and bundled banks. For the full URI scheme reference (github:, http:, file:, blob:, idb:, asset:, bundled:), see URI Schemes.

samples

Sample-bank loader - Compile-time directive that fetches a bank URL before playback begins.

Param	Type	Default	Description
uri	string	-	Bank URI (string literal)

The directive emits no audio-time instruction. It adds a UriRequest{kind=SampleBank} entry that the host (web app, CLI) drains before swapping bytecode. Multiple samples() calls accumulate in source order; identical URIs are deduplicated.

// Load the TidalCycles Dirt-Samples bank
samples("github:tidalcycles/Dirt-Samples")

// Now sample names from that bank are available in patterns
pat("bd sd cp ~") |> out(%, %)

bank

A bank is a directory of named samples. The default 808 kit ships with names like bd, sd, hh, oh, cp. External banks add more; Dirt-Samples adds hundreds (ho, bell, casio, etc.).

Use .bank("Name") on a sample pattern to route events to a specific bank instead of the default kit:

samples("github:tidalcycles/Dirt-Samples")

pat("ho:0 ho:2 ho:4 ho:6").bank("Dirt-Samples") |> out(%, %)

github

Use github:user/repo to fetch a sample bank from a GitHub repo. The host clones the repo’s audio assets the first time the URI is referenced and caches them.

samples("github:tidalcycles/Dirt-Samples")

http

Use https://... (or http://...) for samples hosted on any web server. CORS rules apply; the server must allow cross-origin reads.

samples("https://example.com/my-bank.zip")

url

Any registered URI scheme (github:, https:, file:, blob:, idb:, asset:, bundled:) is accepted. The resolver dispatches to the right backend automatically.

file

file:// resolves to a local path. Used most often by the CLI; the web app’s sandbox restricts direct filesystem access in favor of drag-drop into IndexedDB.

drag-drop

In the web IDE, dragging a folder onto the editor stores its contents in IndexedDB and registers them under a idb: URI. Reference them with the same samples() syntax.

samples("idb:my-kit")
pat("kick snare hat").bank("my-kit") |> out(%, %)

asset

asset: is for samples bundled into a packaged build (CLI binary, ESP32 image). The resolver reads from the bundled-asset registry baked at build time.

Related: samplers, soundfonts, URI Schemes