Something not working, or just want to ask?
Email jellydazzle@jelia.nyc — a real person reads it.
Requirements
| Mac | Apple Silicon (M1 or later). The rendering core is hand-written ARM64 assembly, so JellyDazzle does not run on Intel Macs. |
|---|---|
| macOS | 12.0 or later for the App Store build; the direct download runs on 11.0 and up. System-wide audio capture needs macOS 14.2+, and falls back to the microphone below that. |
| Permission | Microphone, so the visuals can react to sound. The app runs without it — the patterns simply stop responding. |
Controls
| C | New colours. The palette jumps to a scheme far from what is on screen. |
|---|---|
| S | New shapes. Every routine currently drawing retires and the stack refills. |
| A · ? · ⌘? | Help card — version, links, what is playing. Also under Help in the menu bar. |
| M | Audio meter |
| F | Full screen |
| Esc | Quit |
Common questions
It looks frozen when I first open it.
Give it up to a minute. On first launch JellyDazzle measures every routine in the library and
probes the audio devices before it draws. On some Macs that takes 30–60 seconds. It is
working, not hung, and the measurements are cached so every later launch is immediate.
The visuals are not reacting to my music.
Check System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and confirm
JellyDazzle is allowed. On macOS 14.2+ it listens to the Mac’s own output, so it follows
anything playing. On older systems it uses the microphone, so it hears the room instead.
Why does a visualiser want the microphone?
So it can move with the music. The audio is analysed in memory to drive each frame and then
discarded — never recorded, never stored, never sent anywhere. The app has no network
capability at all. See the privacy policy.
Does it run on an Intel Mac?
No. Apple Silicon only.
macOS says it cannot verify the app.
That applied to older downloads. The current release is signed as
Developer ID Application: LIBCSYSTEMS LLC and notarised by Apple, so it opens with no
warning. If you still see one, you have an old copy — get the current build from
the releases page.
Reporting a problem
Email jellydazzle@jelia.nyc with, if you can:
- Your macOS version and Mac model
- The JellyDazzle version (press A — it is on the card)
- What you expected, and what happened instead
- A screenshot or short recording if it is visual