Cagire/docs/getting-started/staging.md

Stage / Commit

In Cagire, changes to playback happen in two steps. First you stage: you mark what you want to happen. Then you commit: you apply all staged changes at once. Nothing changes until you commit. It is simpler than it sounds.

Say you want patterns 04 and 05 to start playing together. You stage both (p on each), then commit (c). Both start at the same time. Want to stop them later? Stage them again, commit again. That's it.

This two-step process exists for good reasons:

• Multiple changes at once: queue several patterns to start/stop, commit them together.
• Clean timing: all changes land on beat or bar boundaries, never mid-step.
• Safe preparation: set up the next section while the current one keeps playing.

Push changes, then apply

Staging is an essential feature to understand to be effective when doing live performances:

1. Open the Patterns view (F2 or Ctrl+Up from sequencer)
2. Navigate to a pattern you wish to change/play
3. Press p to stage it. The pending change is going to be displayed:
   • + (staged to play)
   • - (staged to stop)
   • m (staged to mute)
   • s (staged to solo)
   • etc.
4. Repeat for other patterns you want to change
5. Press c to commit all changes
6. Or press Esc to cancel

You can also stage mute/solo changes:

• Press m to stage a mute toggle
• Press x to stage a solo toggle
• Press Shift+m to clear all mutes
• Press Shift+x to clear all solos

A pattern might not start immediately depending on the sync mode you have chosen. It might wait for the next beat/bar boundary.

Status Indicators

Indicator	Meaning
>	Currently playing
+	Staged to play
-	Staged to stop
M	Muted
S	Soloed

A pattern can show combined indicators, e.g. > (playing) and - (staged to stop), or >M (playing and muted).

Quantization

Committed changes don't execute immediately. They wait for a quantization boundary:

Setting	Behavior
Immediate	Next sequencer tick
Beat	Next beat
1 Bar	Next bar (default)
2/4/8 Bars	Next 2, 4, or 8-bar boundary

Edit quantization in pattern properties (press e on a pattern).

Sync Mode

When a pattern starts, its playback position depends on sync mode:

• Reset: Always start at step 0
• Phase-Lock: Start at the current beat-aligned position (stays in sync with other patterns)