User manual

For the version in VERSION (this copy was written for 0.3.0-alpha.272, 2026-11-01). Every picture here is a real screenshot of that build, taken by the app itself.

Nebula is alpha software. It can write, arrange, mix and export real music today — the songs and pictures in this manual were made in it — but it is under active change, and a few things are knowingly missing (see §18).

The chapters

• 1. Install and start
• 2. The window
• 3. The transport
• 4. The Timeline (arrangement)
• 5. The Clip Launcher (Session view)
• 6. Instruments
• 7. Effects
• 8. The mixer
• 9. Automation
• 10. MIDI keyboards
• 11. Recording audio
• 12. Rhythm and harmony helpers
• 13. Projects, saving and recovery
• 14. Exporting
• 14b. Driving Nebula from an AI assistant (MCP)
• 15. Settings
• 16. Keyboard shortcuts
• 17. The Control API (for scripts)
• 18. What is not there yet
• 19. Troubleshooting
• 20. Command-line options (the useful ones)