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cables-gl/cables_electron

Standalone Electron desktop app that packages the cables.gl visual node editor for Mac, Windows and Linux.

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What is it?

Cables Standalone is a desktop build of the cables.gl editor, a browser-based visual programming environment for creating real-time graphics and interactive patches. It uses Electron so the editor and its operators run as a native application on macOS, Windows and Linux, with the goal of keeping feature parity with the web version.

Because the desktop app runs outside the browser sandbox, it has fewer security restrictions than the web editor. The project's settings deliberately enable Node integration and disable web security, so it can run external code from patches and operators. The maintainers note that users should only open patches and operators from sources they trust.

The app supports launch options such as opening the editor fullscreen or maximizing the renderer on start. Builds are distributed as a DMG for Mac, a portable executable for Windows and an AppImage for Linux. The repository is marked as under heavy development and may contain breaking changes.

Key features

  • 01Runs the cables.gl editor as a desktop app on macOS, Windows and Linux.
  • 02Ships with Electron-based packaging for Mac DMG, Windows portable executable and Linux AppImage.
  • 03Supports command-line options for fullscreen and maximized renderer on start.
  • 04Allows local configuration overrides through a cables.json file.
  • 05Disables browser sandbox restrictions so patches can run external code.

Use cases

  • Creating real-time graphics and interactive visuals offline in a desktop environment.
  • Running cables patches locally with full access to system resources.
  • Developing or testing cables operators with a local build of the editor.

Quick start

  1. 1

    Download the standalone app from the cables.gl standalone page

  2. 2

    Mac: open the .dmg and drag the app to Applications

  3. 3

    Linux: make the AppImage executable

    chmod +x ...AppImage
  4. 4

    Set up a local development environment using the cables_dev repository

Things to know

  • Under heavy development, so things may break.
  • Ubuntu 24.04 and newer may need workarounds such as the --no-sandbox option.
  • Windows builds are unsigned and trigger a security dialog on first run.
  • Electron settings disable many standard security protections, so only open patches from trusted sources.

In collections

Desktop GUI apps & toolkits

Topics

#electron#visual-programming#creative-coding#webgl#desktop-app#graphics#javascript

FAQ

What is cables_electron?
Standalone Electron desktop app that packages the cables.gl visual node editor for Mac, Windows and Linux. Cables Standalone is a desktop build of the cables.gl editor, a browser-based visual programming environment for creating real-time graphics and interactive patches. It uses Electron so the editor and its operators run as a native application on macOS, Windows and Linux, with the goal of keeping feature parity with the web version.
Is cables_electron free to use? What license does it have?
cables_electron is open source under the MIT license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is cables_electron still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to cables_electron was on Nov 6, 2026.
What can I use cables_electron for?
Creating real-time graphics and interactive visuals offline in a desktop environment. Running cables patches locally with full access to system resources. Developing or testing cables operators with a local build of the editor.
How do I install cables_electron?
Download the standalone app from the cables.gl standalone page Mac: open the .dmg and drag the app to Applications Linux: make the AppImage executable: chmod +x ...AppImage Set up a local development environment using the cables_dev repository
Where can I get cables_electron?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/cables-gl/cables_electron

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