How to connect DMX lights to a Mac
A Mac has no DMX port. Here are the three ways to get a DMX signal out of one, what each costs, and how to check it works before a room full of people is watching.
HitLight blog
Guides and explainers on running a DMX rig: getting a signal out of a Mac, building fixture profiles, running cues from a footswitch, and what an automatic lighting system should refuse to do.
What to do when your fixture isn't in the library
Patching is where most people give up on lighting software. If the profile for your light does not exist, nothing else about the app matters. Here is how to find it, draft it, and prove it works.
Why we won't let an AI fire your hazer
In June 2026 the largest lighting subreddit banned self-promotion, citing a massive influx of vibe coded apps. That is a reasonable position. This is our answer to it — four things you can check.
From unboxing to your first light show in one evening
You bought lights and they are still doing whatever they came out of the box doing. Here is the order that gets you from an unopened box to a rig that answers to you, in one evening.
Running your lights from a footswitch while you play
You cannot walk to a laptop between songs, and you cannot look at one during them. A pedal under your foot that advances a cue list solves both, and binding it takes about a minute.
Fast lighting scenes for bars and venues
Start with a useful scene, make it easy to repeat, and leave the deeper programming surface ready for whoever wants to refine the show.
Do you need a second DMX universe?
One universe is 512 channels, and a modest rig eats them faster than most people expect. Here is the arithmetic, worked through, and what actually changes when you add a second.
Strobes, haze and lasers: a safety policy for automated lighting
Automatic lighting should be boring about the dangerous channels. Here is the full exclusion list, the reasoning behind each class, and the part the software cannot do for you.
Try it on your own rig
Patch your fixtures, describe the look you want, and watch it on the 3D stage before you connect anything.
HitLight is in beta. Every account includes Venue / Install at no cost during the beta, with no credit card required. After beta, Hobby / Student stays free for non-commercial use. Pro costs USD 19 per month or USD 149 per year. Venue / Install costs USD 999 per site per year. Requires macOS 14 or later for hardware output.