Nord Modular G2 - Editor

For user documentation see: https://janburp.github.io/NordModularG2-Editor/

Support

This editor is free and built in spare time. If it's useful to you, please consider a donation.

What follows is a brief technical overview and how to set up a local development environment.

Tech Stack

• Editor for the Nord Modular G2 for multiple platforms (macOS, Windows, later Linux)
• Built with Electron, TypeScript, and Vue 3
• A C CLI/Daemon handles all USB communication with the G2 hardware

CLI/Daemon in C

The CLI/Daemon handles all USB communication. All G2 responses go to stdout as JSON; all commands are sent via stdin.

This approach makes it possible to use the CLI/Daemon standalone, or from a different editor.

ElectronJS

The Electron app can run in offline mode (editing files only, no G2 connected) or in online mode communicating with the G2 through the daemon.

Repository Structure

• cli/ — C CLI tool for USB communication with the G2 hardware
• g2-editor/ — Electron desktop app (Vue 3 + TypeScript)
• test-patches/ — Sample .pch2 patch files for testing
• doc/ — Module help files (used by in-app help)
• docs/ — GitHub Pages documentation

Documentation

• GitHub Pages — getting started, alternatives, technical reference
• USB Protocol — USB framing, commands, watch events, daemon architecture
• Patch File Format — PCH2/PRF2 binary format, sections, bit encoding
• CLI Commands — full g2-cli command reference
• Development Setup — build instructions

Prerequisites

• macOS: brew install libusb
• Windows: handled via the release build script (MinGW cross-compile)

Build & Test

Full reference: Development Setup and CLI Commands.

CLI

cd cli
make                    # build
make test               # unit + cli + e2e; without a G2 the hardware suites print NOT RUN and are skipped
make test-unit          # unit tests, no G2
make test-cli           # one-shot CLI tests (no daemon), needs a G2
make test-e2e           # daemon tests, needs a G2
make test-e2e-slow      # bank-transfer daemon tests (get-bank/send-bank, minutes); not part of `make test`
./build/bin/g2-cli --help   # all commands
./g2tmux.sh             # tmux split: daemon output + command shell

Run on their own, the hardware suites exit 1 with "NOT RUN" when no G2 is connected, unless G2_ALLOW_NO_DEVICE=1 is set.

Electron App

cd g2-editor
npm install
cd ../cli && make && cd ../g2-editor   # rebuild CLI first
npm run postinstall     # copies CLI binary into app resources
npm run dev             # development server
npm run build           # production build + package
npm test                # unit + e2e + g2; g2 is skipped when no G2 is found
npm run test:unit       # Vitest unit tests
npm run typecheck       # vue-tsc type check
npm run lint            # ESLint
npm run test:e2e        # Playwright E2E tests, headless, no G2 (builds first)
npm run test:g2         # hardware suite: drives the CLI and the real editor against a connected G2
npm run test:duration -- --hours 1   # hours-long hardware duration test; --help lists options