Toaster Support
Questions, bugs or ideas for Toaster? Email hello@insula.company and we'll get back to you.
What is Toaster?
Toaster listens to music and writes it out, live, as Strudel code over visuals: it finds the beat, the drums, the bass line, the chords and the key, and keeps rewriting the code as the song moves. It is a live reconstruction for show, not an exact transcription. It runs on Mac, iPhone and Apple TV, and is free, with no ads and no accounts.
Which permissions does it ask for, and why?
Mac: System audio recording, to hear what your Mac plays. Microphone, only if you pick a mic, a line-in or your iPhone as the source. Camera, only when you turn the camera on (C), for the picture behind the code.
iPhone: Microphone, to hear the room. Camera, only when you turn it on. Add to Photos, to save the videos you record; Toaster cannot see your photo library.
Apple TV: an iPhone or iPad you pick becomes its microphone or camera.
Everything is processed on your device and nothing is uploaded. You can change these permissions in System Settings › Privacy & Security on the Mac, or in Settings › Apps › Toaster on iPhone.
How do I pick what it listens to?
Mac: press S, click source in the header, or choose Toaster › Audio Source…, then pick system audio, the demo beat, a file, an input, your iPhone’s mic or the radio.
iPhone: tap source in the header: the iPhone’s mic, the demo beat, a file or the radio.
Apple TV: click the remote, or press Back, to open the picker, then pick a station, your iPhone’s mic or the demo beat.
R moves to the next station. Toaster remembers your pick for the next time it opens.
How do I see all the keys?
Press ? on a keyboard, or tap ? in the header on iPhone. The help lists every key and what it does. Click a key in the help, then press another, to change it.
Where do my recordings go?
Mac: videos (M) and drop clips (J) go to Movies › Toaster; songs exported as MIDI and Strudel code (X) go to Music › Toaster.
iPhone: videos and drop clips go to Photos, or to Files › On My iPhone › Toaster if Toaster may not add to Photos; exported songs go to Files › On My iPhone › Toaster.
Apple TV does not record. Nothing is saved unless you record or export it.
Who made Toaster?
Toaster for Mac, iPhone and Apple TV is a native port, by Insula Technology, of Toaster, the open-source app by Colin, used under its MIT License. Its listening engine, the code it writes and its looks come from the original.