u8g2_vcv: a drop-in u8g2 OLED display library for VCV Rack plugins

Development
1

Howdy!

I’ve been working on a library called u8g2_vcv that brings the olikraus/u8g2 monochrome display API to VCV Rack. If you’ve ever ported (or wanted to port) an Arduino-based Eurorack module that uses an SSD1306 or similar OLED, this lets you reuse your existing drawing code with minimal changes and get a realistic-looking display widget in your virtual module.

What it does:

  • Implements the full u8g2 API. Pixels, lines, shapes, text, bitmaps, XOR mode, clipping, the works
  • Adds a nice glow effect that responds to VCV Rack’s Light Bloom setting
  • Supports display rotation (0/90/180/270) and mirror modes
  • Double-buffered with atomic swaps for thread-safe, flicker-free updates from your module’s process() thread

Usage is straightforward. Add the library as a CMake subdirectory, create an U8G2DisplayBuffered widget, and draw with the API you already know:

U8G2DisplayBuffered *widget = createWidget(Vec(10, 10));
addChild(widget);
// In your process() function:
U8G2Display *oled = widget->getDisplay();
oled->clearBuffer();
oled->setFont(u8g2_font_6x10_tr);
oled->drawStr(0, 10, “Hello VCV!”);
oled->drawFrame(0, 0, 128, 64);
oled->sendBuffer();

I’ve also put together an example plugin that cycles through a series of drawing demos (shapes, text, bitmaps, blend modes) to show what the library can do.

Happy to hear any feedback or answer questions. If you end up using it in a module, I’d love to see it!

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2

Interesting!

Could you provide some screenshots maybe?

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3

Pictures, or it didn’t happen. :slight_smile:

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This sounds great. I also agree it would be nice to show some screenshots, especially in your GitHub repo. I have a pretty good idea because I’m also an Arduino nerd. It’s fun to put a circuit together and write code for it!

I imagine this library would be especially useful for anyone who is creating a Eurorack hardware module that uses an OLED display, who also wants to make a software version in VCV Rack that matches it visually.

5

Picture, it did happen :face_with_tongue:

Screenshot
Screenshot700×1011 155 KB

There’s also a video embedded in the readme of the U8G2_VCV_Example repo, second link.

That’s the idea with this! I’m working on a module with a physical and virtual implementation simultaneously, which is how this was born. I finally got it to a state where I could extract and publish it :smiley:

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