Command Syntax

phix uses a consistent, readable command syntax inspired by professional lighting consoles. All commands follow the same basic pattern and can be entered in the command line at the bottom of the screen or in headless REPL mode.

Basic syntax

<Action> <Object> <ID> [parameters]

Part	Examples
Action	Store, Delete, Label, List, Go, Release
Object	Fixture, Group, Preset, Effect, Sequence, Executor
ID	1, 1.1, 1 Thru 10, "My Group"
Parameters	fade 2.5, "Name", -o, 1 1

Common patterns

Pattern	Example
Select objects	Fixture 1 Thru 10
Store an object	Store Group 1 "Front Wash"
Delete an object	Delete Preset 3.1
Rename an object	Label Group 1 "New Name"
List objects	List Groups

ID notation

Simple IDs

fixture 1group 5

Range (Thru)

fixture 1 thru 10

Union (+)

fixture 1 + 3 + 7

Exclusion (-)

fixture 1 thru 10 - 5

Preset dot-notation

Presets use <category>.<slot> format:

preset 3.1      -- color category, slot 1preset color.1  -- same, by name

Category names and their numeric equivalents:

Number	Name	Attributes
1	dimmer	Intensity
2	position	Pan, tilt
3	color	RGB, CMY, color wheel
4	gobo	Gobo wheels
5	beam	Zoom, iris, shutter
6	shapers	Framing, frost
7	focus	Focus
8	control	Control attributes
9	all	All attributes

Effect pool.slot notation

effect 1.1    -- pool 1, slot 1

Flags

Store commands accept flags:

Flag	Meaning
-o	Overwrite (replace existing)
-m	Merge (add to existing)
-r	Remove (remove from existing)
-g	Global preset scope
-u	Universal preset scope
-s	Selective preset scope

Getting help

help     -- list all available commands?        -- same as help

Most commands also return usage info if called incorrectly:

store preset-- returns: Usage: Store Preset <category>.<slot> [name] [-o|-m|-r] [-g|-u|-s]

Undo and redo

phix tracks a full command history. Undo and redo work for most editing operations:

undo    -- undo the last actionredo    -- redo the last undone actionhistory -- show recent command history