Native macOS menu-bar app that controls the RGB X-logo and the volume-knob LED ring of the Creative Sound BlasterX G6 USB sound card. Creative ships no macOS software for this device — this app fills the gap, talking to the G6's vendor-specific HID interface directly.
| Platform | macOS 14+ (Apple Silicon) |
| Build | Swift Package Manager (no Xcode required) |
| Privileges | None — userspace HID, no kext, no DriverKit, no signing |
| Hardware tested | G6 firmware bcdDevice 0x2014 (VID 0x041E / PID 0x3256) |
- X-logo full RGB color, brightness, four effects (Static / Breathing / Pulse / Color Cycle)
- Live preview that mirrors the exact frame stream sent to the device
- Volume-knob ring LED on/off (newly reverse-engineered protocol; published April 2026)
- Master on/off toggle (preserves color and effect)
- Hex / preset / RGB-slider color editing
- Auto-launch at login (
SMAppService) - Auto-resend after USB reconnect and system wake-from-sleep
- Persists all settings between launches
The repository ships a single build.sh script that handles everything. No Xcode needed — just the Command Line Tools (xcode-select --install).
git clone git@github.com:reminirestore-arch/G6Lighting.git
cd G6Lighting
./build.sh install # build + copy to /ApplicationsAfter install the app is available everywhere a normal Mac app is:
- Spotlight: ⌘-Space, type "G6"
- Launchpad
- Finder → Applications
- Terminal:
open -a G6Lighting
The app lives in the menu bar (lightbulb icon, top-right). It deliberately has no Dock icon (LSUIElement = true). To exit: click the lightbulb → Quit (⌘Q).
To start automatically at login, open the menu and toggle Launch at login — the app registers itself via SMAppService and you can review/revoke the permission in System Settings → General → Login Items.
| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
./build.sh (or build) |
Compile and assemble G6Lighting.app in the project directory only. |
./build.sh install |
Build, then copy to /Applications and clear the quarantine attribute. |
./build.sh uninstall |
Remove /Applications/G6Lighting.app. (Disable login-item separately in System Settings.) |
./build.sh dmg |
Build, then package G6Lighting.dmg for sharing. |
./build.sh clean |
Delete .build/, the local .app, and any .dmg. |
./build.sh help |
Show the same list. |
The script ad-hoc signs the bundle (codesign --sign -) which is enough for the local machine. install also strips the com.apple.quarantine xattr so the first launch doesn't trigger a Gatekeeper prompt.
If you share the .dmg with someone else, the recipient will need to run this once before launching:
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/G6Lighting.appFor frictionless distribution to many users, sign with a Developer ID Application certificate ($99/yr Apple Developer account) and notarize via notarytool. See Apple's signing docs — the ad-hoc codesign line in build.sh is the swap point.
Layered, with each layer depending only on layers below it:
App — @main entry point + composition root
└─ G6LightingApp.swift
├─ AppEnvironment (DI for the whole app)
├─ ContentView (composition of UI sections)
└─ LightingViewModel
│
State — observable presentation state, persistence
├─ SettingsStore (backed by KeyValueStore protocol)
├─ LightingViewModel (effect runner + system-monitor wiring)
└─ EffectPlayer (single source of truth for "current frame")
│
Domain — pure, side-effect-free models and algorithms (no AppKit/IOKit)
├─ Models (RGBColor, LightingFrame, LightingMode)
└─ Effects (LightingEffect protocol + Static/Breathing/Pulse/Cycle)
│
Hardware — wire protocol + HID transport (mockable)
├─ G6Protocol (byte-exact packet builders)
├─ HIDTransport (protocol)
├─ IOKitHIDTransport (real macOS implementation)
├─ MockHIDTransport (in-memory recorder for tests)
└─ G6Device (high-level API: setColor, setRingLed, disableLogo)
│
System — OS integration
├─ DeviceMonitor (USB connect/disconnect via IOHIDManager)
├─ WakeMonitor (NSWorkspace.didWakeNotification)
└─ AutoLaunch (SMAppService)
Source layout follows the layers — each lives in Sources/G6LightingCore/<Layer>/.
swift run G6LightingTestRunner --testing-library swift-testing46 tests across 7 suites cover:
- Wire-protocol byte exactness (every packet field, BGR order, RGB-frame composition)
- Effects as pure functions (peak frames at chosen times, period correctness)
- Settings persistence with an in-memory
KeyValueStore - ViewModel integration: startup, on/off, ring-LED, error surfacing, color resend
Why a custom runner: standard swift test on Command Line Tools-only setups (no Xcode) builds a Mach-O bundle that cannot be executed directly, so swift-testing's entry point is never invoked. The dedicated G6LightingTestRunner executable target wraps Testing.__swiftPMEntryPoint() and produces real output.
All commands go to HID interface 4 (vendor usage page 0xFF00) as 64-byte HID OUTPUT reports via IOHIDDeviceSetReport. Interface 4 has no OUT endpoint, so writes are routed through the SET_REPORT control transfer transparently.
| bytes | |
|---|---|
| init | 5A 3A 02 06 01 … |
| mode | 5A 3A 06 04 . 03 01 . 01 … |
| color | 5A 3A 09 0A . 03 01 01 {bri} {B} {G} {R} … |
| bytes | |
|---|---|
| DATA | 5A 39 03 00 0E {00=on, 01=off} … |
| COMMIT | 5A 39 01 01 … |
The volume-knob LED is bicolor (white/red) in hardware, not RGB — only on/off is exposable. White = playback volume, red = sidetone.
nils-skowasch/soundblaster-x-g6-cli— Linux CLI that documented the HID framing- Issue #4 by Kaan88 (April 2026) — first public capture of the ring-LED toggle packets
- OpenRGB MR !451 — independent reverse of the X-logo color path
G6 Lighting is intentionally a small, focused app — only RGB and ring LED. It will stay that way.
If you want full G6 management (lighting + audio DSP: output toggle, SBX effects, mic boost, etc.):
- A larger companion app G6 Control is planned for macOS — separate repo, will coexist with this one. Both will be installable side-by-side and use disjoint G6 HID command families. See issue #1 and
docs/G6Control-roadmap.md. Not started yet. - On Linux / Windows today:
jackbrumley/rusty-g6— feature-complete audio GUI, MIT, identical wire protocol.
Pick whichever fits your use case — neither is a replacement for the other.
PRs welcome — see CONTRIBUTING.md. For bugs and feature requests, please use the issue tracker.
MIT — do whatever you want, just keep the copyright notice.
Not affiliated with or endorsed by Creative Technology Ltd. The Sound Blaster name and product names are trademarks of Creative Technology Ltd.