I completely replaced it with my own port called SuperSonic - which targets native (used in this Sonic Pi release), WASM and embedded.
I see that you are trying to circumvent the GPL, with somewhat dubious arguments. I'm pretty sure that running scsynth in an AudioWorklet creates a combined program and not an aggregate. (I'm not the only one who has raised this concern.)
Since scsynth is the foundation of Sonic Pi, why not respect the intention of its author?
I’m also definitely not wanting to circumnavigate the GPL! I have wholeheartedly embraced it as whilst I would argue it isnt scsynth it is most definitely a derivative work with a lot of shared code. There’s also a lot that is different/new.
Instead I’m only attempting to uphold the same network boundary that has existed since v3 of SuperCollider. When used over a network using an open and documented protocol that doesn’t tend to be considered a derivative work. This is observed in other software is such as databases.
Oh and in Sonic Pi’s case I am not running anything in an audioworklet. SuperSonic is built and shipped in its native form as a totally separate process. No js or browsers involved.
Sorry for any confusion.
> I’m also definitely not wanting to circumnavigate the GPL!
You are going to great lengths to make sure that SuperSonic (and thus scsynth) can be used by non-GPL code. You are explicitly advertising in the README:
> Your application code interacts only with the MIT-licensed client APIs and is not intended to be a derivative work of the GPL components.
https://github.com/samaaron/supersonic#license
Or in the LICENSE file:
> SuperSonic is deliberately designed with a strict execution boundary between the GPL-licensed audio engine and application-level code.
https://github.com/samaaron/supersonic/blob/2652a28eb6cb51a4...
What's the point of this if not circumventing the GPL?
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Running scsynth (or a derived application) as a separate process and communicating via sockets should be fine, at least from a legal standpoint. This is what Sonic Pi resp. the native SuperSonic clients do.
The SuperSonic JS client, however, lives in the same process as the scsynth WASM module. The fact that the two modules communicate via OSC messages is not really relevant. They clearly form a single combined program and therefore must comply with the GPL.
I'm pretty sure the same applies to the Erlang module. According to the LICENSE file, the scsynth engine is implemented as a shared library that the client calls into. This would be a textbook case of a combined program.
I would ask you to change the licenses accordingly.
Sure because it’s my understanding that using a clearly documented protocol that doesn’t share internal data structures does not constitute a derivative work. I’m not trying to change anything rather make the boundary clear.
>They clearly form a single combined program and therefore must comply with the GPL.
I don’t think that this is necessarily the case - if the shape of the architectural boundary is the same as the networked OSC case then I think it’s very reasonable to argue that its aggregation and not derivative. I don’t believe the gpl actually states anything about process boundaries or linking mechanisms. Rather it’s generally the advice that a compiled work is derivative as it likely does share internal data structures etc.
I also don’t quite know what licenses you’re asking me to change. The parts of SuperSonic that derive from scsynth are clearly licensed gpl. The parts that are my copyright are clearly licensed MIT.
I’m really not trying to circumnavigate anything. I’m just trying to assert that calling gpl software over a clearly documented and formal boundary that does not share internal data structures doesn’t trigger the gpl - regardless of linking or process specifics. The issue is about copyright not implementation details.
Sonic Pi uses the native version which includes substantial improvements specifically for the use case for Sonic Pi (schools and beginner ergonomics) vs pro audio workflows.
Also I definitely intend to keep things compatible where feasible and have already done this since November 2025.
> By contrast, pipes, sockets and command-line arguments are communication mechanisms normally used between two separate programs. So when they are used for communication, the modules normally are separate programs. But if the semantics of the communication are intimate enough, exchanging complex internal data structures, that too could be a basis to consider the two parts as combined into a larger program.
I definitely don’t want to create any issues and it would be great to get some clarity here.