VexFlow is an open-source library for rendering music notation. It is written in TypeScript (compiled to ES6), and outputs scores to HTML Canvas and SVG, right in the browser. It also works in Node.js projects (e.g., a command line script to save a score as a PDF).
If you find VexFlow useful, please consider sponsoring its development: https://github.com/sponsors/0xfe.
As of this writing (March 2022), we are nearing the release of a new major version of VexFlow. The guide below refers to VexFlow 4 (the new version). If you need to work with the previous version, follow the version 3.0.9 tutorial.
The quickest way to add VexFlow to an HTML page is via a <script> tag.
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/vexflow/build/cjs/vexflow.js"></script>
<script>
// YOUR CODE GOES HERE
</script>The URL above will work once VexFlow 4 is released. For now, insert @beta into the URL:
<!-- BETA URL BELOW -->
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/vexflow@beta/build/cjs/vexflow.js"></script>
<script>
// YOUR CODE GOES HERE
</script>If your project uses a bundler, you can install VexFlow from npm:
npm install vexflowThe command above currently installs the previous version (3.0.9). At the moment, add @beta to get VexFlow 4:
npm install vexflow@betaMore details on integrating with VexFlow 4.
EasyScore is VexFlow's high-level API for creating music notation. See a running example here.
const f = new Vex.Flow.Factory({
renderer: { elementId: 'boo', width: 500, height: 200 },
});
const score = f.EasyScore();
const system = f.System();
system
.addStave({
voices: [
score.voice(score.notes('C#5/q, B4, A4, G#4', { stem: 'up' })),
score.voice(score.notes('C#4/h, C#4', { stem: 'down' })),
],
})
.addClef('treble')
.addTimeSignature('4/4');
f.draw();Learn more about EasyScore here.
If you need more control, you can use the low-level VexFlow API. Below, we render a stave using SVG. See a running example here.
const VF = Vex.Flow;
// Create an SVG renderer and attach it to the DIV element named "output".
const div = document.getElementById('output');
const renderer = new VF.Renderer(div, VF.Renderer.Backends.SVG);
// Configure the rendering context.
renderer.resize(500, 500);
const context = renderer.getContext();
context.setFont('Arial', 10);
// Create a stave of width 400 at position 10, 40 on the canvas.
const stave = new VF.Stave(10, 40, 400);
// Add a clef and time signature.
stave.addClef('treble').addTimeSignature('4/4');
// Connect it to the rendering context and draw!
stave.setContext(context).draw();-
Take a look at the VexFlow tutorial.
-
Dig into the unit tests.
Ask on the Vexflow Google Group.
-
Learn and contribute. Check out the VexFlow Wiki.
-
Build VexFlow from scratch. Read the Build Instructions.
-
VexFlow Founder: Mohit Muthanna Cheppudira
Copyright (c) Mohit Muthanna Cheppudira 2010
0xFE mohit@muthanna.com https://www.vexflow.com
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.