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Future — Controllers Tab on iPad

The single biggest desktop subsystem the iPad doesn't surface. Engine is already in src-core/ (wx-free, links into the iPad library); the entire gap is UI.

Source: §2.1 of the 2026-04-23 gap analysis.

What's already in place

  • All 34 output protocols (E1.31, ArtNet, DDP, OPC, ZCPP, KiNet, Twinkly, OpenDMX, uDMX, Renard, LOR / LOROptimised, OpenPixelNet, …) compiled into the iPad lib.
  • All 18 vendor controller handlers (Falcon F4–F96, FPP, WLED, Pixlite16, HinksPix, AlphaPix, Minleon, J1Sys, SanDevices, ESPixelStick, Experience, ILightThat, PowerDMX) compiled in.
  • iPadRenderContext owns an OutputManager. Live output toggle shipped (lightbulb in the sequencer toolbar). Discovery / setup is unreachable from iPad UI today — testers must configure controllers in desktop xLights and copy the show folder over.

Gap (still open)

Phase R-min — Basic discovery + edit + drive lights

# Item Severity Effort
O-2 Show-folder section UI extras — Recent show folders list (L-1b in followups.md) and base-directory toggle (L-10). Path display + change already shipped via FolderConfigView (the folder.badge.gearshape toolbar button on the sequence picker). P2 S
O-3 Controller list — 13 columns (Name/Protocol/Address/Universes/Channels/Vendor/Model/Variant/Active/AutoLayout/AutoSize/Description/Status), drag-reorder, multi-select, sort by 6 fields, status LED P1 M
O-4 Toolbar — Add Ethernet / Serial / Null / Discover / FPP Connect / Save / Delete All P1 M
O-5 Per-controller right-click — Insert Ethernet/Serial/Renard/LOR/DMX/NULL, Activate, Activate xLights Only, Inactivate, Delete, Unlink, Upload Output, Sort submenu (6 modes) P1 M
O-6 Controller property grid — 20–40 props per type (Ethernet vs Serial vs Null differ; full list in gap analysis) P1 L
O-7 Discover sheet — Bonjour (FPP), broadcast (ArtNet, DDP), HTTP scan (Falcon, Pixlite16, Twinkly); 3-way conflict dialogs; DiscoveryAuthDialog credentials P1 L
O-8 ControllerConnectionDialog (legacy add wizard) P2 S
O-9 IPEntryDialog (IP entry helper) P2 S
O-13 Output-to-Lights status / fault notifications when a controller drops P2 M
O-16 LED status column / async ping thread per controller P2 S

Phase R-pro — Heavy controller dialogs (separate)

# Item Severity Effort
O-10 ControllerModelDialog — port-mapping diagram (~4795 lines on desktop), drag-drop layout of models onto pixel/serial/virtual ports; per-port String/DMX/Virtual Matrix; per-port protocol; per-port brightness/gamma/null pixels/colour order/group count; smart-remote A–F (cascade-down-port toggle); auto-layout flag; bank visualisation; Print + XLSX export with smart-remote colour coding; right-click context menus; validation warnings P2 XL
O-11 PixelTestDialog — 12 standard tests (Off, Chase, Chase 1/3..1/5, Alternate, Twinkle 5/10/25/50%, Shimmer, Background); per-RGB tabs; 4 selection trees (Outputs / ModelGroups / Models / Controllers) cascade checkboxes; speed/highlight/background sliders; Save/Load presets; embedded preview; ChannelTracker overlap-merge P2 XL
O-12 RemapDMXChannelsDialog — From/To/Scale/Offset/Invert grid (48 rows); .xdmxmap CSV load/save P2 M
O-14 Visualise button → opens O-10 P2 (= O-10)
O-15 Print Layout button P3 M

Controller upload (separate phase, depends on R-min)

# Item Severity Effort
EX-4 FPPConnectDialog — FPP discovery (Bonjour + UDP); 13-column per-instance config; sequence + media file selection; HTTP REST API uploads P2 XL
EX-5 FPPUploadProgressDialog — per-FPP gauges + cancel P2 S
EX-6 MultiControllerUploadDialog — controller checklist + log + right-click filters; covers Falcon, WLED, PowerDMX, etc. P2 M
EX-7 HinksPixExportDialog — vendor-specific HSEQ format, master+2 slaves, playlists, schedule grid, USB drive export P3 XL

Why deferred

  • The desktop already does this well; users today configure controllers there and copy the show folder to iPad. That workflow is functional even if not native.
  • R-min alone is L-effort across O-2..O-7; R-pro adds two XL dialogs (port-mapping and pixel-test) that would each justify a multi-week sprint.
  • Live output (lightbulb toggle) covers the most common tester ask — "play the sequence to my actual lights" — without any controller-setup UI.

When to come back

  • After H-5 ships and external testers have lived with the current "configure on desktop, play on iPad" flow for a release cycle. If user feedback consistently asks for controller setup on the iPad, R-min is the next big push.
  • R-pro / FPP Connect can wait until R-min is stable and there is a concrete upload-from-iPad use case.