Overview
Apfelstrudel wraps the strudel live-coding music environment with an embedded AI agent chat panel. You write and perform generative music patterns in Strudel's mini-language while an agent watches your code and answers questions, suggests variations, or helps you understand what a pattern does — all in real time without breaking your flow.
Motivation
I feel guilty aboiut neglecting my music hobby and thought this would be a neat way to use my limited free time to cover two or three of my interests. It ended up being an off-beat (ha!) precursor to piclaw instead.
How it works
A Bun-based server hosts the Strudel editor and exposes a WebSocket channel to the AI backend. The agent receives the current code buffer as context on each message so it can reason about what's running. Changes the agent suggests can be applied directly to the editor with a single click. Audio runs entirely in the browser via the Web Audio API.
Features
Strudel live coding
Full Strudel pattern language in the browser — cycles, mininotation, sample triggering, and MIDI output.
Agent-assisted composition
Chat with an AI agent that sees your current pattern and can suggest rhythms, harmonies, or explain what each function does.
One-click apply
Agent code suggestions appear as clickable diffs — apply them to the editor without copy-pasting.
Web Audio output
All synthesis runs in the browser with zero latency configuration — connect to MIDI or use the built-in synths.
Extensible backends
Swap out the AI backend by pointing the WebSocket URL at any OpenAI-compatible endpoint.
Architecture
Posts
2026-04-26
Notes for April 20-26