🚀 Getting Started

From opening VJam to getting visuals reacting to your music — the whole thing takes under 5 minutes ✨

1. 🎬 Launch

Open VJam in your browser 👉 https://vjam.art
You'll see a dark start screen — click the screen (on PC, Space works too 👆) to start!

💡 Why the click? Browsers won't play sound until the user interacts (so audio doesn't blast unexpectedly). That first click turns sound on.

Now the visuals (presets) start moving 🎶

VJam main screen after launch with the bottom minibar — The main screen after launch. Use the bottom minibar to open VJ, Rec, Audio, Help, and other controls.

2. 🎤 Allow the microphone

VJam is an instrument that reacts to incoming sound. No fiddly setup — when it asks for mic permission, just allow it 🎤

That's it: the mic picks up the sound around you — music, voices, claps — and the visuals start reacting in real time. To check it's coming through, go somewhere quiet and talk toward the screen; saying "aaah" or "check" is the quickest test 🗣️

💡 Want to play your own track (an audio file) or try it somewhere silent (demo)? Those input methods — and how to fix "it's not reacting!" — are all in the 🔊 Audio input chapter 🎧

3. 🎨 Switch the visuals

Once it's running, you can do a lot with just these — no panels needed 👇

What you want	PC ⌨️	Mobile 📱
Next preset	`→`	swipe right 👉
Stack a preset	click the screen	tap 👆
Clear all (Kill)	`←`	swipe left 👈
Change blend	`↑`	swipe up ☝️
Change filter	`↓`	swipe down 👇

The key thing: each tap stacks another preset as a layer 🍰 They blend together and build up depth. If it gets messy, Kill (←) wipes it clean so you can start over.

4. 🎛️ Open the Cockpit (mixer)

When you want to mix more seriously, open the Cockpit 👇

How to open 👉 PC = Space / Mobile = pinch 🤏 or the [VJ] button at the bottom
It has Deck A / B + a crossfader, so you can mix and switch two visuals like a DJ 🎚️
You can also drop in images, collage elements, video, text, and track info, and control parameters with sound from here ✨

The full VJam Cockpit — Deck A on the left, Deck B on the right, crossfader below — The full Cockpit. Deck A on the left, Deck B on the right; the crossfader is the slider in the middle. The top buttons open images / video / text, ⚙ settings, and more.

→ More in the "Deck A / B & crossfade" chapter.

🙌 Next steps

The [?] button (H key) 👉 a quick reference for all controls
The How-to chapters 👉 recording, images/video, saving scenes — based on what you want to do
The Concepts chapter 👉 Why two engines? What are "feel" visuals?

The full list of keys & gestures is in the Reference chapter. This one is just your first 5 minutes.

Next: 🛠️ Audio input →