Multiverse Patcher

Venue patch management for ETC Eos with multi-universe DMX routing

Multiverse Patcher solves a specific problem for lighting designers: ETC’s educational and touring Eos licences are limited to 2 universes (1024 channels), but real venues have fixtures spread across many more universes. This tool maps your 1024 Eos channels to any venue address across any number of universes, then routes the DMX automatically.

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What it does

• Imports your Eos patch CSV directly (channels, addresses, labels, fixture types)
• Maps channels to venue DMX addresses across unlimited universes
• Searches the full QLC+ fixture library (4,938+ personalities) for correct channel counts
• Shows Eos and venue universe maps with live address visualisation
• Saves patch files in .mvp format
• Works with the companion Python DMX Router for automatic sACN re-addressing

What it does not do

• It does not program lighting cues – Eos handles all programming
• It does not require internet access – runs entirely on your local rig network

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Requirements

Item	Details
ETC Eos / ETCnomad	Any licence level
Mac running macOS	M1 or later recommended, Python 3 required
QLC+ installed	For fixture library generation (one time)
Chrome or Safari	For the web interface
sACN-capable network	Standard ETC 2.x.x.x or similar

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Installation

1. Multiverse Patcher

Copy venue_patch.html to ~/Documents/ and start the HTTP server:

python3 -m http.server 8090 --directory ~/Documents/

Open Chrome: http://127.0.0.1:8090/venue_patch.html

Or install as a permanent service:

cp com.multiverse.patcher.plist ~/Library/LaunchAgents/
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.multiverse.patcher.plist

2. Fixture Library (one time)

Generate the fixture library from your QLC+ installation. Paste this directly into Terminal:

python3 << ENDSCRIPT
import os, json, re
QLC_PATH = '/Applications/QLC+.app/Contents/Resources/Fixtures'
OUT_PATH  = os.path.expanduser('~/Documents/fixtures.json')
def parse_qxf(path):
    try:
        with open(path, 'r', encoding='utf-8', errors='ignore') as f:
            data = f.read()
        mfr   = re.search(r'<Manufacturer>([^<]+)</Manufacturer>', data)
        model = re.search(r'<Model>([^<]+)</Model>', data)
        if not mfr or not model:
            return []
        mfr = mfr.group(1).strip()
        model = model.group(1).strip()
        results = []
        for mo in re.finditer(r'<Mode\s+Name="([^"]*)"[^>]*>(.*?)</Mode>', data, re.DOTALL):
            ch = len(re.findall(r'<Channel\s', mo.group(2)))
            if ch > 0:
                results.append({'m':mfr,'n':model,'mode':mo.group(1),'p':ch,'s':(mfr+' '+model+' '+mo.group(1)).lower()})
        return results
    except:
        return []
fixtures = []
for rd, dirs, files in os.walk(QLC_PATH):
    for f in files:
        if f.endswith('.qxf'):
            fixtures.extend(parse_qxf(os.path.join(rd, f)))
json.dump(fixtures, open(OUT_PATH,'w'), separators=(',',':'))
print('Done:', len(fixtures), 'personalities')
ENDSCRIPT

3. DMX Router

cp com.eos.dmxrouter.plist ~/Library/LaunchAgents/
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.eos.dmxrouter.plist

Router UI: http://127.0.0.1:8091

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Venue Workflow

1. Export from Eos: File -> Export -> CSV -> Patch only
2. Import: PATCH -> Import Eos CSV in Multiverse Patcher
3. Enter venue addresses: Type U/Addr format (e.g. 5/25) in Venue Addr column
4. Select fixtures: Use the search field to find QLC+ personalities – sets channel count automatically
5. Save: PATCH -> Save As -> save as current_patch.mvp in Documents
6. Done: DMX Router reloads automatically within 2 seconds

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Signal Chain

APC mini mk2 (USB)
    | MIDI
APC Bridge (Python, port 9002)
    | OSC
ETCnomad (Windows, 2.0.0.1)
    | sACN universes 1 & 2
Python DMX Router (Mac, 2.0.0.2, port 8091)
    | sACN venue universes (3, 5, 6, 10, ...)
Venue DMX nodes -> Fixtures

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File Format (.mvp)

Patch files are plain JSON:

{
  "CH": {
    "1": {
      "label": "SL spot",
      "eosAddr": "1/107",
      "fixMfr": "ETC",
      "fixName": "ColorSource PAR",
      "fixMode": "8ch",
      "fixParams": 6
    }
  },
  "VP": {
    "1": {"venueAddr": "5/25"}
  },
  "_v": 1,
  "_tool": "Multiverse Patcher"
}

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Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
Router shows 0 mappings	Save patch as current_patch.mvp in ~/Documents/
No fixture search results	Run the fixture library generator script
Input fps = 0	Check Eos sACN output is enabled on correct network interface
Output fps = 0	Check venue universe numbers match your patch
Labels not importing	Eos CSV must include LABEL column – re-export from Eos
Wrong IP at venue	Update Local IP in Router UI, click Apply + Restart

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Repository Contents

File	Description
venue_patch.html	Multiverse Patcher web app (single file)
dmx_router.py	Python DMX Router
com.multiverse.patcher.plist	Launch agent for HTTP file server
com.eos.dmxrouter.plist	Launch agent for DMX Router
com.eos.timesync.plist	Launch agent for Windows time sync
gettime.py	Windows time sync server

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License

MIT License – free to use, modify and distribute.

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Built for use with ETC ETCnomad educational licence and Akai APC mini mk2