Something not working, or just want to ask?
Email jellydazzle@jelia.nyc — a real person reads it.
Requirements
| Mac | Apple Silicon (M1 or later). Its 24 engine modes are 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. |
| iPhone & iPad | iOS / iPadOS 15 or later. Same engine as the Mac — the ARM64 core runs natively on every iPhone and iPad that supports iOS 15. |
| Battery | On iPhone and iPad JellyDazzle runs in Lite on battery, in Low Power Mode, or when the device is warm (a softer picture at 30 frames a second), and switches to Full when it is charging. It changes over on its own, mid-show. |
| Permission | Microphone, so the visuals can react to sound. The app runs without it — the patterns simply stop responding. |
Controls — Mac
| C · S · M · ? | The buttons in the bottom-right corner — new colours, new shapes, the beat meter, help (quit with Esc or ⌘Q). They brighten when you move the mouse and fade while you watch. |
|---|---|
| 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 |
Controls — iPhone & iPad
| C · S · ? | The buttons in the bottom-right corner: new colours, new shapes, help. Touch the screen and they brighten; leave it and they fade to a faint outline. |
|---|---|
| Tap | New colours |
| Two fingers | New shapes |
| Press and hold | Help card — version, links, what is playing |
| Three fingers | Performance readout — Lite or Full, frame rate, layers, battery |
| Swipe up | Leave the app, like any other |
Common questions
What is the “First run” card?
The first time JellyDazzle opens it measures every pattern in the library, which takes a couple of
minutes. The show plays while it works. On iPhone and iPad, tap and the card is gone (“Tap &
be gone!”); on a Mac, press Space. It keeps measuring in the background and never needs to again.
Will my music stop when I open JellyDazzle on my iPhone?
No. JellyDazzle only listens; Spotify, Apple Music or anything else keeps playing at full volume.
iOS does not let one app hear another directly, so on iPhone and iPad it listens through the
microphone — it hears the speaker, or the room.
Why does it look softer on battery?
That is Lite mode, which saves battery: fewer pixels and 30 frames a second instead of 60. Plug in
and it becomes full JellyDazzle within a couple of seconds. Low Power Mode keeps it in Lite even on
the charger.
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 or iOS version and your Mac, iPhone or iPad model
- The JellyDazzle version (press A on a Mac, or tap ? on iPhone and iPad — it is on the card)
- What you expected, and what happened instead
- A screenshot or short recording if it is visual